Chương 11
“I didn’t ask for lights.”
“I don’t want deputies knocking.”
“I didn’t ask for that either.”
“What did you ask for?”
“A drive-by.”
I folded my arms.
“No stop unless they see something.”
“I said no.”
Mercer put the phone against his chest.
“This is not about your pride.”
My voice sharpened.
“It is not pride.”
“Then what is it?”
I looked at Pamela.
She suddenly became fascinated by her phone.
Mercer understood.
He stepped outside the office and waited.
I followed because apparently six years was not enough time to learn how not to be baited by Daniel Mercer.
The hallway was empty except for a pallet jack parked beside the wall.
A handwritten sign warned employees not to leave pallet jacks there.
I stared at it.
Mercer said nothing.
“I don’t want anyone noticing me.”
“That ship has sailed tonight.”
“I mean where I live.”
“Why?”
“Because I have spent six years making sure my house looks like every other house on the street.”
He leaned against the wall.
“You think a marked unit driving past ruins that?”
“I think people notice police.”
“People also notice ambulances.”
I stared at him.
He continued.
“And crime scene tape.”
“Don’t.”
“Then let me reduce the chance of either.”
I looked down the fluorescent hallway.
A young employee in a produce apron pushed a cart past us and tried very hard not to stare.
That was the problem with trying to be invisible.
Eventually, somebody always noticed you trying.
“Unmarked car,” I said.
Mercer considered it.
“I can arrange that.”
“No contact.”
“Unless there’s an immediate threat.”
I nodded.
He lifted the phone again.
“And I want somebody checking the rear access.”
“My house does not have rear access.”
He looked at me.
“Fence?”
“Yes.”
“Gate?”
“Yes.”
“Locked?”
“Yes.”
“Then somebody checks from the street.”
“That’s enough.”
He made the call.
I waited until he finished.
“Happy?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“That wasn’t sarcasm.”
“I know.”
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Then Mercer said, “Who was your emergency contact?”
The question was so personal I almost laughed.
“Why?”
“Because whoever accessed it may have been looking for leverage.”
“There wasn’t any.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
“Still in Ohio?”
I looked at him.
“You remember that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged once.
“You talked about her.”
“I barely talked about anything.”
“You talked about her.”
I hated that he remembered.
Her name was Rachel.
She had two boys who were nearly grown now.
At least I assumed they were.
I had not seen them in five years.
“She isn’t listed anymore.”
“Why not?”
“That is not relevant.”
“Might become relevant if someone downloaded an older record.”
I could not tell whether he was using procedure to pry or prying because procedure allowed it.
Either way, I answered.
“We’re not close.”
“Would Derek have any way to know her name?”
“No.”
“Would Calvin?”
“Maybe from old personnel records.”
Mercer nodded.
“We’ll include that in preservation.”
I rubbed my wrist.
The watch had stopped at 2:31.
I had cracked the face during the struggle without noticing.
Mercer looked at it.
“You still wear that thing?”
“It worked until tonight.”
“You bought it at the exchange in Bahrain.”
I stared at him.
He almost smiled.
“You complained about the price for three weeks.”
“I was right.”
“It was thirty-eight dollars.”
“Thirty-eight dollars was a lot for a watch that ugly.”
He glanced at the fractured face.
“Six years is a decent return.”
“I’ve had it nine.”
His smile disappeared.
“Right.”
The silence that followed felt different.
Not easier.
Just less hostile.
Pamela opened the office door.
“They found the hallway footage.”
Mercer straightened.
“And?”
“It shows Calvin entering his office at 10:42 that morning.”
“What day?”
“The day the ticket was closed.”
“Anyone else go in?”
“Not for twenty-six minutes.”
I felt my teeth press together.
Pamela continued.
“He leaves at 11:08.”
“What time was the camera ticket closed?”
“10:49.”
“And my profile?”
“11:04.”
Mercer’s face hardened.
“That narrows it considerably.”
Pamela nodded.
“Very considerably.”
“Does the footage show the office door the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Any alternate entrance?”
“No.”
Mercer glanced toward the front of the store.
“Then I need to speak with the district attorney’s office before anybody touches Calvin’s devices or workstation.”
Pamela said, “Corporate legal wants a copy of everything.”
“They can request what they’re entitled to.”
She did not argue.
That made me trust her a little more.
Calvin was still outside when we returned to the parking lot.
He sat alone now.
Derek and the other three men had been moved into separate patrol vehicles.
The sky had begun to pale slightly near the horizon.
Not sunrise yet.
Just the first thinning of black into deep blue.
Calvin looked up when he saw us.
Pamela stopped several feet away.
Mercer stayed beside her.
I stood behind them.
Calvin’s eyes found mine anyway.
“What?”
Nobody answered immediately.
His face changed.
“You found something.”
Mercer said, “Mr. Price, I’m not asking you any investigative questions right now.”
“That means yes.”
“You said you wanted an attorney.”
“I do.”
“Then I am respecting that.”
Calvin stood.
“Pamela?”
She looked tired.
“Corporate security reviewed the access logs.”
His breathing changed.
“What logs?”
She did not answer.
“Pamela.”
Mercer said, “Don’t.”
Calvin looked at him.
“I’m talking to my boss.”
“Your boss is a potential witness.”
That shut him down for half a second.
Then anger returned.
“This is insane.”
Teresa had come back outside with Kayla.
They stood near the entrance.
Calvin saw them and seemed to fold inward.
Not physically.
Something in his expression simply lost structure.
“I made a mistake,” he said.
Mercer’s attention sharpened.
Calvin looked at him.
“I’m not answering questions.”
“Nobody asked one.”
“I’m saying I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
Pamela asked.
Mercer immediately held up a hand.
Calvin laughed bitterly.
“See?”
Pamela’s face tightened.
“You requested counsel.”
“I know.”
“Then stop talking.”
May you like
“I’m trying to explain.”
Mercer said, “You can explain with your attorney present.”
