Chương 12
“This is private enough,” Lydia said.
A cheer came from outside.
She looked toward the wall.
“Relatively.”
Shaw nodded.
“We’re primarily here about the vehicle and Mr. Niles.”
She turned to me.
“Mrs. Vale, you also made a complaint regarding a suspected forged signature?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll separate that for now.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a different allegation.”
I almost argued.
Dana gave me one look.
I stopped.
Detective Ruiz asked Lydia when she had last physically seen Marcus.
“At the reception.”
“Time?”
“Maybe four thirty?”
I checked my watch.
“Closer to four forty.”
Ruiz wrote it down.
Lydia looked irritated.
“I was guessing.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t make it sound like I lied.”
“I didn’t.”
Dana touched Lydia’s wrist.
“Answer the question asked.”
Lydia leaned back.
“Fine.”
Shaw continued.
“Did your husband tell you he planned to leave?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you where he was going?”
“No.”
“Did he mention Adrian Kessler today?”
“No.”
“Before today?”
Lydia hesitated.
“I had heard the name.”
“When?”
“A few times.”
“In what context?”
“Marcus called him a lender.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Did you ever meet him?”
“I don’t think so.”
Shaw paused.
“You don’t think so?”
“I met a lot of people through Marcus.”
“What did Kessler look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how would you know whether you met him?”
Lydia’s face tightened.
“I wouldn’t.”
Shaw nodded.
No judgment.
Just another note.
I watched my daughter struggle with being uncertain in front of someone who did not rescue her from it.
It was useful and painful.
Ruiz asked, “Did Marcus ever tell you he was afraid of Kessler?”
Lydia looked down.
“He said Kessler was aggressive.”
“How?”
“Calls.”
“Threats?”
“I don’t know.”
Ruiz waited.
Lydia sighed.
“He’d call late.”
“How late?”
“Midnight sometimes.”
“What would happen after?”
“Marcus would leave the room.”
“Did you hear arguments?”
“Yes.”
“What words?”
“Mostly money.”
“Anything about harm?”
“No.”
“Anything about deadlines?”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
She frowned.
“A lot.”
Ruiz wrote again.
I said, “He demanded fifty thousand from me today.”
Both detectives looked at me.
Dana said, “Eleanor.”
“They should know.”
“They will.”
Shaw asked, “What was the demand?”
I told them.
No embellishment.
No interpretation.
Just the amount, the deadline, the property demand, and the threat to exclude me from Lydia’s life.
Ruiz asked, “Was that recorded?”
“No.”
“Witnessed?”
“Lydia.”
“And Mr. Thorne?”
“Yes.”
Ruiz almost smiled.
“Mr. Thorne is not usually an ideal witness against himself.”
“Fair.”
Shaw looked at Lydia.
“Did that conversation happen substantially as your mother described?”
“Yes.”
“Did Marcus tell you why he needed the money?”
“He said liquidity.”
“Did you know about the additional eight million North Harbor might advance?”
“No.”
Dana said, “We’re getting close to financial matters tied to potential exposure for my client.”
Shaw nodded.
“We can stop there.”
Lydia looked at Dana.
“That sounded ominous.”
“It sounded careful.”
“I’m beginning to hate careful.”
“Most people do when they need it.”
Detective Ruiz closed his notebook.
“One more thing.”
He looked at Lydia.
“Peter Niles told officers that Marcus had a banker’s box when he left.”
Lydia nodded.
“We got a photograph.”
Shaw’s eyebrows rose.
“A photograph?”
Lydia showed her the text.
Shaw photographed the screen with departmental equipment, then asked permission to export the messages.
Dana agreed after reviewing the request.
Ruiz said, “Mr. Niles claims he followed because he believed those files contained original subscription agreements and internal cap table records.”
“What’s a cap table?” Lydia asked.
“Ownership records,” I said.
Dana looked at me.
“Sorry.”
Ruiz continued.
“Mr. Niles also said there were documents in that box that did not match the electronic versions stored on the company server.”
Everyone went still.
I said, “In what way?”
“Handwritten amendments.”
“Whose?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
“Why not?”
“He requested counsel.”
Tessa looked at Dana.
Dana’s face did not change.
Shaw said, “Mr. Niles also stated that when he approached the van, Kessler told him to walk away.”
“Then Peter grabbed the door?”
“Yes.”
“And got cut?”
“That’s his account.”
“What caused the cut?”
“Broken metal on the interior latch.”
“So no one attacked him?”
“Not according to him.”
Lydia exhaled.
The relief lasted about two seconds.
Shaw continued.
“He also says Marcus yelled at the driver to keep going.”
Lydia stared at the floor.
Ruiz said, “Mr. Niles let go after several yards.”
“Then why abandon the van?” I asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Where did Kessler and Marcus go?”
“We don’t know.”
“Do you believe they’re together?”
Shaw gave me a tired look.
“We believe they were together when Mr. Niles saw them.”
I nodded.
Fair again.
The detectives left after taking formal contact details and arranging a follow-up.
They did not arrest anyone.
They did not promise an arrest.
They did not call Marcus a fugitive.
They called him a person they needed to locate and interview.
That distinction irritated me because it was sensible.
After they left, Lydia stood in front of the sink and washed her hands for almost a minute.
The diamond ring flashed beneath the water.
I watched her look at it.
Then she twisted it off.
She held it between two fingers.
“I can’t wear this.”
Dana said, “You don’t need to decide what it means tonight.”
“I know what it means tonight.”
She set the ring on the counter.
Not dramatically.
Almost carefully.
I wanted to tell her to keep it safe because it was valuable.
I managed not to.
That might have been my greatest achievement of the day.
Helen appeared in the doorway.
She looked at Lydia, then the ring, then me.
“People are leaving.”
“Good.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“What would you prefer?”
“Something human.”
“I’m tired, Helen.”
Her face softened.
“So am I.”
She came into the room and hugged Lydia without asking.
Lydia stiffened.
Then she held on.
Helen stroked the back of her veil.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
That nearly broke her.
She pulled away before it could.
“Aunt Helen, please don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Be nice.”
May you like
Helen looked offended.
“I can be unpleasant if that helps.”
