Chương 10
He lifted one hand.
“Any one of those things may be incomplete.”
“Together, they may tell us more.”
Naomi said, “And chain of custody?”
“Documented from recovery.”
“Good.”
I looked at the evidence bag again.
“Was it being used recently?”
Price paused.
“We have reason to believe it was.”
My throat tightened.
“How recently?”
“Within the last week.”
A chill moved over my arms.
I had been in the same house as that phone while someone used it under my name.
“Doing what?”
“We’re not ready to characterize everything.”
Ortiz leaned forward slightly.
“But one thing matters tonight.”
I looked at her.
“Your employer received an email yesterday morning from an account associated with this phone.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“That was before my leg was broken.”
“Yes.”
The timing struck harder than the fact itself.
“What did it say?”
Ortiz glanced at Price.
He answered.
“It requested information about the process for long-term medical leave.”
I stared at him.
No one spoke.
The room seemed to lose sound.
Even the hallway outside went strangely distant.
“They planned this.”
My voice barely came out.
Naomi said, “Hannah.”
“They planned it.”
Price shook his head once.
“We cannot conclude that from one email.”
“They asked about medical leave before I was injured.”
“That is significant.”
“Then why are you acting like it isn’t?”
“I’m acting like evidence has to survive scrutiny.”
My eyes burned.
“That’s convenient.”
Ortiz spoke quietly.
“It’s frustrating.”
“No, it’s convenient for them.”
“They can lie.”
“They can steal.”
“They can plan things.”
“And everybody else has to use careful words.”
Price did not defend himself.
He let me finish.
Then he said, “Careful words are how we keep useful evidence from becoming bad evidence.”
I hated him for being right.
Naomi’s voice softened.
“Listen to him.”
I turned my face away.
A nurse passed outside pushing a medication cart.
The wheels clicked over a seam in the floor.
Price waited until I looked back.
“The email does not prove they intended to break your leg.”
I swallowed.
“But?”
“But it raises a question investigators are now taking seriously.”
“What question?”
“Whether your injury occurred in the context of a broader plan to remove you from work and gain additional control over your finances.”
My hands began trembling.
Ortiz noticed.
She did not mention it.
Naomi said, “What was the response from her employer?”
Price looked down at his notes.
“HR explained that documentation from a licensed medical provider would be required.”
I stared at him.
“Mason emailed them before dinner.”
“We believe so.”
“And then Beatrice attacked me.”
“Yes.”
“And after I was hurt, Mason contacted HR again.”
“Yes.”
My stomach turned.
“What did he send?”
“A message stating you had suffered an accident and were experiencing significant psychological distress.”
“That was this morning.”
“Yes.”
“He had a script ready.”
Price’s mouth tightened.
“That is one interpretation.”
“It’s the correct one.”
“Maybe.”
I almost snapped at him.
Then I saw Ortiz watching me.
Not suspiciously.
Cautiously.
As though she wanted me angry enough to keep moving but not angry enough to start filling gaps with assumptions.
I leaned back against the pillow.
“What about the safe deposit box?”
Price’s eyes shifted to Ortiz.
“So Richard told you.”
“He called me.”
Ortiz frowned.
“When?”
“About fifteen minutes before you came in.”
“What exactly did he say?”
I repeated the conversation as accurately as I could.
When I mentioned Mason returning to the house for the laptop, Ortiz wrote that down.
When I described the shove, she stopped me.
“He said officers were present outside?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say they witnessed it?”
“No.”
She wrote another note.
Price asked, “Did Richard tell you which institution holds the box?”
“No.”
“Who owns it?”
“No.”
“What’s inside?”
“No.”
Naomi said, “He gave investigators a key.”
“That’s what he said.”
Price looked toward Ortiz.
“That matches.”
My heart beat faster.
“So you know where it is.”
“We have identified the institution.”
“Can you open it?”
“With the appropriate legal process.”
“How long?”
Price did not answer directly.
“Long enough that guessing about the contents tonight won’t help you.”
I almost smiled despite myself.
“You and Naomi would get along.”
Naomi said, “Absolutely not.”
For one second, Ortiz smiled.
The tiny break in tension felt almost obscene.
Then Price’s face hardened again.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
“What?”
He opened a folder.
“Did Mason ever ask you to record videos confirming your identity for financial institutions?”
I searched my memory.
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“I am.”
“Any situation where he held your phone and asked you to look into the camera?”
I frowned.
“There were some bank verification things.”
“When?”
“Maybe spring.”
“Which bank?”
“I don’t remember.”
“What did he tell you it was for?”
“Our mortgage account.”
Naomi’s voice sharpened.
“Hannah, describe exactly what happened.”
“I was getting ready for work.”
“Mason said our bank had updated security.”
“He opened something on his phone and asked me to look at it.”
“Did you speak?”
“I think so.”
Price leaned forward.
“What did you say?”
I closed my eyes.
The memory arrived in fragments.
Mason standing beside the kitchen island.
Coffee going cold because I was late.
Beatrice complaining from the dining room that somebody had used the last clean travel mug.
Mason holding his phone vertically.
“Read this.”
“What?”
“The sentence on the screen.”
“What sentence?”
I opened my eyes.
“I said my name.”
Price waited.
“And?”
“I think I said something like, ‘I authorize this request.’”
Naomi swore softly.
My skin prickled.
“Mason said it was for online access.”
Price asked, “Did you see the name of the institution?”
“No.”
“Any logo?”
“I don’t remember.”
“How many times did this happen?”
“Once.”
I hesitated.
“Maybe twice.”
Price made a note.
My voice rose.
“What did he use it for?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“You asked for a reason.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me the reason.”
Price looked at me steadily.
“Some lenders use video or identity-verification procedures.”
May you like
My mouth went dry.
“So he could have used my face.”
