Chương 11
“I said I needed air.”
“For two hours?”
Raymond rubbed his forehead.
“Judith doesn’t keep track of me every minute.”
Claire almost said neither did Evan.
Then she remembered the household she had lived in and decided Raymond was lying to himself, if not to her.
“Your phone is with you?”
“Yes.”
“Location services?”
“I don’t know.”
Naomi stepped in.
“Don’t start changing settings.”
Raymond looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because if this becomes part of an investigation, sudden changes create questions.”
He looked sick.
Claire felt a grim flicker of sympathy and resented it.
At ten-forty, Ortega returned.
This time he brought a detective Claire had not met.
Detective Alana Brooks wore plain clothes and carried no visible notebook.
She introduced herself to Claire first, then Raymond.
“I need to speak with Mr. Mercer separately.”
Claire looked at Raymond.
“No.”
Brooks’ eyebrows lifted slightly.
Claire corrected herself.
“I mean I want to hear what he says.”
“That’s understandable.”
Brooks’ voice was calm.
“It’s also not how this works.”
Claire hated her immediately for the same reason she had disliked Marisol.
Competent people kept removing control from her in order to protect the integrity of things she desperately needed.
Brooks took Raymond to a consultation room down the hall.
Daniel paced.
Susan ate half a breakfast sandwich that had gone cold.
Naomi returned to work and promised to check in later.
Claire was left with silence.
She opened the old laptop but did not access the cloud folder.
Marisol’s warning held.
Instead she opened a local spreadsheet.
At the top she typed only facts she personally knew.
Evan controlled joint banking credentials.
Judith took phone.
Injury occurred after three strikes.
Evan refused medical care.
Raymond witnessed second and third strikes.
Rolling pin disposed of next morning.
Drive missing after police contact.
Evan suspended from Vantage Core.
She stared at the final line.
Then she created a second column.
Questions.
Who owns Redbridge?
Who received Claire’s transferred money?
What was stored on the drive?
Who removed the drive?
Why was Evan asking about electronics before the drive was known to be missing?
The act of organizing calmed her.
Not because the answers were closer.
Because uncertainty had boundaries now.
Daniel stopped pacing and looked over her shoulder.
“You made a spreadsheet.”
“Yes.”
“You’re hospitalized with a broken leg and you made a spreadsheet.”
“It’s what I do.”
“I know.”
His voice softened.
Claire looked at him.
He pointed toward the screen.
“You used to make those for Christmas presents.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“When you were thirteen.”
“I did not.”
“You assigned rankings.”
Susan looked up.
“She did.”
Claire stared at them.
“I ranked gift ideas by price and probability of approval.”
Daniel smiled.
“You had a column called Parent Resistance.”
Claire covered her face with one hand.
“I was an awful child.”
“You were efficient.”
For a few seconds, the room felt ordinary.
Then Detective Brooks returned.
She closed the door behind her.
“Mr. Mercer is still speaking with Officer Ortega.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“What did he say?”
“I can’t give you every detail.”
“Everyone says that.”
“I imagine they do.”
Brooks pulled the visitor chair closer.
“I can tell you we are reassessing parts of the original report.”
Claire waited.
“The disposal location he provided is specific.”
“Can you recover the rolling pin?”
“Possibly.”
“It’s been days.”
“Yes.”
“The dumpster could have been emptied.”
“Yes.”
Claire clenched her jaw.
Brooks continued.
“We’re checking collection schedules and whether the property has surveillance footage.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“Finally.”
Brooks looked at him.
“Sir, this is not television.”
He stared back.
“I know.”
“Good.”
Claire almost smiled despite the tension.
Brooks turned to her again.
“The missing drive is more complicated.”
“Why?”
“Because at this point we do not know whether a crime occurred involving that device.”
“It contains financial records.”
“You believe it may.”
“Raymond said Evan called it records.”
“That’s not enough to establish contents.”
Claire wanted to argue.
Instead she said, “What do you need from me?”
Brooks nodded slightly, as if that was the better question.
“Nothing new right now.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s frustrating.”
Claire looked away.
Brooks continued.
“There is one thing I want clarified.”
“What?”
“When you used the office computer before the assault, did you ever handle the physical drive?”
Claire pictured the desk.
The backup unit.
A black rectangular device near the baseboard.
“I may have moved it once while cleaning cables.”
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“Did you disconnect it?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did you ever take it out of the house?”
“No.”
“Ever copy its contents?”
“No.”
“Did Evan know you knew the password?”
“I don’t know.”
Brooks’ expression changed.
“Tell me about that.”
“He gave me the password years ago.”
“For what purpose?”
“A shared household drive.”
“Was it still the same drive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you recently use that password anywhere?”
Claire hesitated.
Daniel stopped moving.
Susan looked up.
“Yes.”
Brooks became very still.
“Where?”
Claire explained the old cloud account.
She described the original text containing the password.
She explained how she had tried variations until the account opened.
Brooks did not interrupt.
“Did you download anything?”
“No.”
“Forward anything?”
“No.”
“Delete anything?”
“No.”
“Photograph the screen?”
Susan spoke.
“I wrote down account numbers.”
Brooks turned.
“Which account numbers?”
“Partial numbers from statements.”
“Do you still have the paper?”
Susan reached toward her purse.
Brooks stopped her.
“Leave it where it is for now.”
Susan froze.
Claire felt dread creep upward.
“Did we mess this up?”
“Not necessarily.”
“That means maybe.”
“It means I need to understand what was accessed and under what authorization.”
Claire closed her eyes briefly.
Brooks’ tone softened.
“You’re not in trouble with me.”
“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”
“It isn’t meant to be reassuring.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“It’s meant to be accurate.”
That, at least, Claire respected.
Brooks stood.
“I’m going to coordinate with the financial crimes unit because of the transfers you described.”
May you like
Daniel looked at Claire.
Brooks added, “And if the company investigation overlaps, there may be additional complications.”
