Nobody spoke while Samuel Price remained on the line.<\/p>\n
I put the phone on speaker.<\/p>\n
Alvarez moved closer and began signaling to someone outside the room.<\/p>\n
Trace.<\/p>\n
Price seemed to know.<\/p>\n
"Detective Alvarez, your technicians won't find me before I'm finished."<\/p>\n
Her expression tightened.<\/p>\n
"Where's Brenda?"<\/p>\n
"With me."<\/p>\n
"Voluntarily?"<\/p>\n
Brenda's voice came faintly through the phone.<\/p>\n
"I'm fine."<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
At least.<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Peter thinks I work for him."<\/p>\n
"Do you?"<\/p>\n
"Sometimes."<\/p>\n
"Victor?"<\/p>\n
"Sometimes."<\/p>\n
"That sounds convenient."<\/p>\n
"Survival often does."<\/p>\n
Richard looked toward the phone.<\/p>\n
"You killed Michael."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Price said, "No."<\/p>\n
Richard's face hardened.<\/p>\n
"You were outside the house."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"You threatened him."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"You were paid after he died."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Then don't insult us."<\/p>\n
Price remained calm.<\/p>\n
"I didn't kill your father."<\/p>\n
"Who did?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Richard laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
"I was sent to frighten him."<\/p>\n
"By Victor?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Peter?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
"Did Victor order Dad killed?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"You're sure?"<\/p>\n
"I heard no such order."<\/p>\n
"Then why did he die?"<\/p>\n
Price exhaled.<\/p>\n
"That's why I'm calling."<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
"Michael believed someone would kill him."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"I believed it too."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because Peter had begun acting without Victor's permission."<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Victor wanted Michael controlled. Peter wanted him gone."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Michael had proof concerning Emily."<\/p>\n
Daniel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Dad had known more than corporate fraud.<\/p>\n
He could expose Peter personally.<\/p>\n
"Did Peter send someone to Dad's house?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
Price paused.<\/p>\n
"Thomas Keene."<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Richard whispered the same word.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Thomas went there the night before Michael died."<\/p>\n
"Thomas was Dad's accountant."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"He was helping him."<\/p>\n
"Mostly."<\/p>\n
Mostly.<\/p>\n
The word cut.<\/p>\n
"What aren't you saying?"<\/p>\n
"Thomas was compromised."<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
"By Peter?"<\/p>\n
"By debt."<\/p>\n
Same pattern.<\/p>\n
"Peter paid him?"<\/p>\n
"First helped him. Then owned him."<\/p>\n
I thought of Thomas's letter.<\/p>\n
I became afraid.<\/p>\n
Maybe fear hadn't been the whole truth.<\/p>\n
"What did Thomas do?"<\/p>\n
Price said nothing.<\/p>\n
"Samuel."<\/p>\n
"He changed Michael's medication."<\/p>\n
The room disappeared around me.<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
"What medication?"<\/p>\n
"Michael took a low-dose prescription for occasional arrhythmia."<\/p>\n
I hadn't known.<\/p>\n
Mom's letter said his cardiac evaluation was healthy.<\/p>\n
Healthy didn't mean no medication.<\/p>\n
"Thomas replaced some tablets."<\/p>\n
"With what?"<\/p>\n
"A drug capable of destabilizing cardiac rhythm in the right conditions."<\/p>\n
Alvarez spoke sharply.<\/p>\n
"Name it."<\/p>\n
Price gave one.<\/p>\n
She wrote it down.<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
"Because Peter asked me to obtain it."<\/p>\n
Richard lunged forward in bed and gasped from pain.<\/p>\n
"You gave it to him?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"So you killed Dad."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"You supplied the weapon."<\/p>\n
Price went quiet.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
That admission changed everything.<\/p>\n
He might not have administered it.<\/p>\n
He had enabled it.<\/p>\n
"Did Thomas know what the pills would do?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Did he replace them?"<\/p>\n
"I believe so."<\/p>\n
"Believe?"<\/p>\n
"I saw him leave Michael's house."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"The evening before he died."<\/p>\n
"And you did nothing."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Every adult in this story had watched the next disaster approach and chosen fear.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"I've lived with that."<\/p>\n
"Good for you."<\/p>\n
"I didn't call for forgiveness."<\/p>\n
"Then why?"<\/p>\n
"Because Peter is cleaning the remaining witnesses."<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
Brenda.<\/p>\n
Richard.<\/p>\n
Price himself.<\/p>\n
"Thomas is dead."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Did Peter kill him?"<\/p>\n
"I believe Sloane did."<\/p>\n
"Proof?"<\/p>\n
"I have communications."<\/p>\n
"Send them."<\/p>\n
"I will."<\/p>\n
"Now."<\/p>\n
"After we make an arrangement."<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
"What arrangement?"<\/p>\n
"Protection."<\/p>\n
Alvarez stepped closer.<\/p>\n
"We can discuss surrender."<\/p>\n
Price laughed softly.<\/p>\n
"I'm not surrendering to local police."<\/p>\n
"Then federal."<\/p>\n
"Maybe."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"I choose."<\/p>\n
Alvarez looked irritated.<\/p>\n
I interrupted.<\/p>\n
"What does this have to do with Richard lying?"<\/p>\n
Price became silent.<\/p>\n
Richard's face changed.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Something.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Richard looked away.<\/p>\n
"Richard."<\/p>\n
"Not now."<\/p>\n
"Now."<\/p>\n
Price said, "Ask your brother why Thomas was at Michael's house."<\/p>\n
"I know why."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Richard closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Ask him who sent Thomas there."<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
I looked at my brother.<\/p>\n
"Who?"<\/p>\n
Richard said nothing.<\/p>\n
"Richard."<\/p>\n
His voice came quietly.<\/p>\n
"I did."<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"You sent Thomas to Dad's house?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"To get the evidence."<\/p>\n
"What evidence?"<\/p>\n
"The Emily file."<\/p>\n
Daniel looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
"You knew about Emily?"<\/p>\n
Richard nodded.<\/p>\n
"Some."<\/p>\n
"At twenty-six?"<\/p>\n
"Dad told me enough."<\/p>\n
I could barely process it.<\/p>\n
"You told me Dad kept you on the outside."<\/p>\n
"He did."<\/p>\n
"Not completely."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Why send Thomas?"<\/p>\n
"Because Dad and I had fought."<\/p>\n
"About what?"<\/p>\n
"Going public."<\/p>\n
Richard looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
"I wanted to release everything immediately. Dad wanted to build a case."<\/p>\n
"So you sent Thomas behind his back."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Did you know Thomas was compromised?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did you know Peter had approached him?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did Thomas change Dad's pills while he was there because you gave him access?"<\/p>\n
Richard's face collapsed.<\/p>\n
"I didn't know."<\/p>\n
"But he was there because of you."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
My anger arrived so fast I had to step away.<\/p>\n
Eleven years.<\/p>\n
Richard had carried this too.<\/p>\n
Not murder.<\/p>\n
But guilt.<\/p>\n
A decision that opened the door.<\/p>\n
"That's why you disappeared."<\/p>\n
"Partly."<\/p>\n
"You thought you caused Dad's death."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"And you never told me."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
It sounded ugly.<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
"Stop saying my name like it repairs things."<\/p>\n
Richard looked down.<\/p>\n
Daniel remained silent.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Price spoke through the phone.<\/p>\n
"Michael knew Richard had sent Thomas."<\/p>\n
I turned back.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"He found out."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"That night."<\/p>\n
"Did he blame Richard?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Richard looked up.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Michael called me."<\/p>\n
"Why you?"<\/p>\n
"Because he knew I had supplied Peter with something."<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
"What did Dad say?"<\/p>\n
Price hesitated.<\/p>\n
"He said Richard had made a mistake because he was scared."<\/p>\n
Richard's eyes filled.<\/p>\n
"He said the mistake belonged to the people exploiting fear, not the people trapped inside it."<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
That sounded like Dad.<\/p>\n
It also sounded like exactly what Richard had needed to hear for eleven years.<\/p>\n
"Did you tell Richard?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"I was a coward."<\/p>\n
At least he knew.<\/p>\n
"Where is the recording?"<\/p>\n
"Safe."<\/p>\n
"Play something."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Anything proving you have it."<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
Then Dad's voice came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
Clearer than the copy Brenda had played.<\/p>\n
Victor, Peter is going to get someone killed.<\/p>\n
Another voice.<\/p>\n
Victor Lang.<\/p>\n
I'll handle Peter.<\/p>\n
Dad:<\/p>\n
You haven't yet.<\/p>\n
The clip stopped.<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
Price said, "Original recording."<\/p>\n
Alvarez asked, "What do you want?"<\/p>\n
"Federal immunity discussion."<\/p>\n
"You won't get immunity for homicide."<\/p>\n
"I didn't commit homicide."<\/p>\n
"You supplied the substance."<\/p>\n
"Then negotiate."<\/p>\n
Alvarez's jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
"I can't promise anything."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Then why call us?"<\/p>\n
"Because Chloe has something Peter needs."<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Michael's notebook."<\/p>\n
"Peter knows."<\/p>\n
"He doesn't know about the last section."<\/p>\n
I looked toward my bag.<\/p>\n
"What last section?"<\/p>\n
Price paused.<\/p>\n
"Michael removed pages."<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
"The notebook isn't complete?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Where are they?"<\/p>\n
"Richard knows."<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
Richard looked genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
"I don't."<\/p>\n
Price said, "Not consciously."<\/p>\n
"What does that mean?"<\/p>\n
"Michael hid them somewhere connected to you two."<\/p>\n
My frustration sharpened.<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
"He told me once."<\/p>\n
"Tell me."<\/p>\n
Price gave a small laugh.<\/p>\n
"I forgot for years."<\/p>\n
"And now?"<\/p>\n
"Your father's phrase reminded me."<\/p>\n
"What phrase?"<\/p>\n
"Do the work."<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Price continued.<\/p>\n
"Michael said the pages were where his children first learned what work meant."<\/p>\n
Richard and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
I knew instantly.<\/p>\n
So did he.<\/p>\n
Dad's workshop.<\/p>\n
Not the house.<\/p>\n
The old rented workshop where he repaired furniture on weekends.<\/p>\n
He had taught Richard welding there.<\/p>\n
He had taught me bookkeeping there, paying me five dollars an hour to record materials and customer payments.<\/p>\n
The building still existed.<\/p>\n
I had driven past it years ago.<\/p>\n
"Where is it?" Alvarez asked.<\/p>\n
I didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Price said, "Peter will figure it out eventually."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because Victor knew about the workshop."<\/p>\n
My heart accelerated.<\/p>\n
"Does Peter have Victor's records?"<\/p>\n
"Most."<\/p>\n
"Then we need to move."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Where are you?"<\/p>\n
Price ignored that.<\/p>\n
"One more thing."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Don't take Daniel."<\/p>\n
Daniel stiffened.<\/p>\n
"Why does everyone say that?"<\/p>\n
Price answered calmly.<\/p>\n
"Because the missing pages are about Sterling."<\/p>\n
Daniel stared.<\/p>\n
"About my company?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Price's voice lowered.<\/p>\n
"About you."<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
Alvarez immediately turned to her team.<\/p>\n
"Trace?"<\/p>\n
An officer shook his head.<\/p>\n
Too short.<\/p>\n
Too layered.<\/p>\n
Nothing useful.<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
His expression was unreadable.<\/p>\n
"You stay here."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Samuel said\u2014"<\/p>\n
"I don't care what Samuel said."<\/p>\n
"I do."<\/p>\n
"Chloe."<\/p>\n
"Whatever Dad hid was hidden from you deliberately."<\/p>\n
"Eleven years ago."<\/p>\n
"Until I know why, that matters."<\/p>\n
Daniel looked hurt.<\/p>\n
I hated that I noticed.<\/p>\n
But trust could not be awarded because someone looked wounded by its absence.<\/p>\n
Richard spoke from the bed.<\/p>\n
"She's right."<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
"Easy for you to say."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Richard's voice was tired.<\/p>\n
"I lied to her for eleven years."<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
"She's right not to trust any of us."<\/p>\n
That was perhaps the most honest thing he'd said.<\/p>\n
Alvarez arranged transport.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, I opened Mom's second letter.<\/p>\n
I had almost forgotten it.<\/p>\n
Only four lines.<\/p>\n
Chloe,<\/p>\n
Richard carries something he believes I never forgave.<\/p>\n
Tell him I did.<\/p>\n
And tell him Michael would have too.<\/p>\n
Love,
\nMom<\/p>\n
I looked at my brother.<\/p>\n
He saw my face.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
I handed him the letter.<\/p>\n
He read it.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Then pressed it against his chest and turned his face toward the window.<\/p>\n
I left without saying anything.<\/p>\n
Some moments did not improve when filled with words.<\/p>\n
Outside, Alvarez waited beside an unmarked car.<\/p>\n
"Workshop?"<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"We go quietly."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"No Sterling."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"No Marcus."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"No improvising."<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
"Two out of three."<\/p>\n
She sighed.<\/p>\n
We drove toward the place where Dad had taught Richard to weld and me to balance a ledger.<\/p>\n
Behind one wall, somewhere in a building I hadn't entered since childhood, might be the pages Peter Vale was willing to kill to find.<\/p>\n
And according to Samuel Price, they weren't about my father.<\/p>\n
They were about Daniel.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke while Samuel Price remained on the line. I put the phone on speaker. Alvarez moved closer and began signaling to someone outside the room. Trace. Price seemed to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28541,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28442\/revisions\/28541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}