Chương 6
He studied Evelyn’s face as she entered.
She did not know what expression he expected. Gratitude made her uncomfortable. Anger would have been easier.
Arthur said, “You waited.”
Dana placed a hand lightly against Evelyn’s sleeve before she could answer.
Arthur looked at the attorney. “I’d like to hear from her.”
Dana said, “She will answer appropriate questions.”
“I was not speaking to you.”
“That is why I spoke.”
Samuel glanced down, possibly hiding amusement.
Evelyn sat.
Arthur’s gaze returned to her. “You waited until the glass was in my hand.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought the police were closer.”
“That is not why.”
Evelyn looked at Detective Quinn, who gave no indication that she should speak.
“I wanted the evidence to be undeniable,” Evelyn said.
“So you let me raise it.”
“Yes.”
“You could have knocked the decanter over.”
“Yes.”
“You could have warned security.”
“Yes.”
“You could have told me privately.”
“I didn’t know whether you would believe me.”
Arthur leaned back.
“You decided my life was worth risking for your credibility.”
The statement was true enough that defending herself would have been an insult.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Arthur looked dissatisfied.
Perhaps he had expected explanation to restore the shape of the world. Evelyn understood the disappointment. She had spent years hoping the right explanation would change what people had done to her.
Arthur said, “Celeste claims you arranged the recording.”
“She’s lying.”
“You accepted her money.”
“Yes.”
“You followed her instructions.”
“Until I didn’t.”
“Very late.”
“Yes.”
Dana shifted beside her. Evelyn continued before the attorney could stop her.
“I kept telling myself she only wanted him sick,” Evelyn said, speaking to the table because looking at Arthur had become difficult. “Then I told myself I needed to hear her say more. Then I told myself the police would be there before the wine was poured. Every time I could have stopped, I found a reason to wait for a cleaner moment.”
Arthur’s fingers rested against the polished wood.
“There wasn’t one,” Evelyn said.
“No.”
“No.”
He looked at her hand, where the cut had been covered by a narrow bandage.
“Why did you change your mind at all?”
The answer she had given police was that she understood the danger. The answer she had given Nora was that she had been wrong. Neither reached the part Arthur was asking about.
Evelyn said, “My mother died in a room where three people knew something was wrong and waited for someone with more authority to say it first.”
Dana turned slightly.
Evelyn had not told her that.
Arthur’s expression changed, though only enough to lose its severity.
“She was in a rehabilitation center after surgery,” Evelyn continued. “A nurse noticed her breathing. Another nurse said the doctor had already changed her medication. My father was there, but he didn’t want to make trouble because the insurance had finally approved the room. Everyone waited. By the time someone called an ambulance, there wasn’t much to save.”
“I’m sorry,” Arthur said.
“I hated them for waiting.” Evelyn looked at him. “Then I did the same thing.”
Arthur’s eyes dropped.
Detective Quinn allowed the silence to remain.
Finally Samuel opened a folder.
“There is another issue,” he said. “Mr. Vale understands that Mrs. Vale communicated with Miss Hart about financial documents.”
Evelyn frowned. “She mentioned a blue ledger.”
Arthur’s head lifted.
Dana said, “This has not been part of my client’s prior statements.”
“Because I thought it was just something she said to scare me,” Evelyn replied.
Quinn leaned forward. “Tell us now.”
Evelyn remembered Celeste in the coffee shop, turning the paper sleeve on her tea cup while traffic moved beyond the window.
“She said Arthur kept a blue ledger in his office safe. She said if anything went wrong, I should tell him she had copied it.”
“What did she say was in it?” Quinn asked.
“Names. Payments. She said he’d know.”
Arthur’s face became still.
Samuel removed his glasses and polished them with his tie.
Dana looked from one man to the other. “What ledger?”
Arthur did not answer.
Evelyn said, “She told me he would let her die before he let anyone see it.”
Arthur looked at her then, sharply enough to make the room seem smaller.
“Her exact words?” Quinn asked.
“Yes.”
“Did she explain why?”
“She said, ‘Men like Arthur call it loyalty when the blood is on someone else.’”
Arthur’s mouth tightened.
Samuel put his glasses back on. “We need a private conversation.”
Quinn said, “You can have one after Mr. Vale answers whether such a ledger exists.”
Arthur stood.
Dana said, “Sit down.”
Everyone looked at her.
She folded her hands. “My client is being questioned as a potential participant in a poisoning conspiracy. If Mr. Vale has information relevant to motive, evidence, or the credibility of the person who recruited her, he does not get to leave because the conversation has become unpleasant.”
Arthur remained standing.
Evelyn watched anger move through him and meet something stronger. Habit, perhaps. The knowledge that walking out would look worse than staying.
He sat.
“The ledger exists,” he said.
Samuel stared at him.
“It contains confidential foundation matters.”
Quinn asked, “Where is it?”
“My office safe.”
“Who has access?”
“Myself. Samuel. Celeste knew the code until three months ago.”
Samuel said, “Arthur.”
Arthur kept his eyes on Quinn. “You will need a warrant.”
“We can obtain one.”
“I know.”
The search of Arthur’s office began that afternoon.
The blue ledger was not in the safe.
Inside were property documents, two watches, a pistol registered to Arthur, and a stack of letters tied with black ribbon. The shelf where the ledger had been kept showed a clean rectangle in the dust.
Arthur stared at the empty space while Detective Quinn photographed it.
“When did you last see it?” she asked.
“Two weeks ago.”
“Who knew it was here?”
“Celeste.”
“You said she did not have the code.”
May you like
“She may have learned the new one.”
“Who changed it?”
