Chương 12
Claire’s voice became quieter.
“He left his office.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know.”
“You manage his calendar.”
“I manage what he lets me manage.”
Something old moved through Natalie’s expression at that.
Not surprise.
Experience.
Claire continued.
“He canceled the car to the airport.”
Renner stepped forward.
“When?”
“About four.”
“Did he tell you why?”
“He said he had another ride.”
“To Chicago?”
“He said he was still going.”
Natalie stared at the hangar floor.
“Did you believe him?”
Claire did not answer immediately.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He didn’t take his overnight bag.”
That changed the room again.
Tessa looked at Natalie.
“Where was the bag?”
“In his office.”
Claire’s voice wavered.
“I noticed after he left.”
Marcus looked toward the executive mezzanine above the hangar.
“Did anyone check his office this morning?”
Tessa shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Renner looked at her.
“We need to.”
“We will.”
Marcus asked, “Did Graham own another vehicle?”
Claire answered.
“Two.”
“Where?”
“One at home, one at his lake place.”
“Did he leave Whitmore in either one?”
“I don’t know.”
Tessa said, “We’ll pull parking footage.”
Claire inhaled sharply.
“Tessa.”
“What?”
“I need to tell you something else.”
Natalie looked at the phone.
“What?”
“I lied about Chicago because he told me to.”
Renner closed his eyes.
Natalie’s voice went flat.
“Of course he did.”
“He said if anyone asked, I was to say he was already there.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Claire.”
“I don’t.”
Her voice cracked for the first time.
“He said it was temporary and he’d explain this morning.”
Natalie stared at nothing.
Marcus could see her anger trying to find somewhere stable to land.
It had nowhere.
“Did he sound afraid?”
Claire went quiet.
Then she said, “Yes.”
Tessa’s posture changed.
“Of whom?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Did he mention anyone?”
“No.”
“Did he receive any calls while you were with him?”
“One.”
“From?”
“I couldn’t see the number.”
“What happened after?”
“He stopped talking.”
Natalie frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“He just stood there with the phone in his hand.”
Claire swallowed audibly.
“Then he told me to leave.”
Marcus asked, “Was that normal?”
“No.”
“Did he ever use the phrase ‘if something happens’ or anything like it?”
Claire hesitated.
“No.”
“Anything close?”
“He said, ‘Don’t involve Natalie unless you have to.’”
Natalie flinched.
Claire must have heard the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
Natalie’s answer was almost a whisper.
“For which part?”
Claire did not respond.
Tessa took the phone from Natalie gently.
“Stay where you are.”
“I’m at the airport.”
“Don’t board anything.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“We’ll call you back.”
Tessa ended the call.
For several seconds, the only sound came from a tug vehicle reversing somewhere outside the hangar.
Its warning beep repeated with maddening regularity.
Natalie turned toward Renner.
“You knew he was fighting the deal.”
“I knew he opposed the margins.”
“You knew more than that.”
Renner looked tired.
“I knew he was building support against you.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I did tell you.”
“You told me he had concerns.”
“He had concerns.”
“He was organizing votes.”
“That is what directors do.”
Natalie laughed once, without humor.
“Not behind my back with the COO.”
Renner’s expression hardened.
“The company is not your dining room.”
The sentence struck.
Everyone nearby suddenly found another place to look.
Natalie’s face went cold.
Renner seemed to regret the phrasing, but he did not withdraw it.
“You own thirty-one percent,” he continued.
“Not one hundred.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then stop treating dissent like betrayal.”
Marcus watched her jaw tighten.
For a moment, he expected another explosion.
Instead she looked at Tessa.
“Check Graham’s office.”
They went upstairs in a smaller group.
Tessa insisted only Natalie, Renner, Marcus, and Garrison come with her.
Priya stayed below with the aircraft.
Derek returned to facilities to preserve access logs before IT began its forensic copy.
Graham’s office occupied the corner above the hangar floor.
The glass walls had adjustable privacy panels, all currently opaque.
Tessa photographed the door before Natalie unlocked it with her executive credential.
The room looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
A leather briefcase sat beside the desk.
An overnight bag stood near a bookcase.
A coffee mug had dried brown residue along the bottom.
A blazer hung from the back of a chair.
Marcus stopped at the threshold.
“Don’t walk in yet.”
Tessa glanced back at him.
“What?”
“Floor.”
The carpet was dark gray.
Near the desk, one area had been disturbed in a way that would have meant nothing if they were not already suspicious.
A chair had been pushed at an angle.
A small ceramic planter lay on its side beneath the credenza.
No soil had spilled because the plant inside was artificial.
Natalie stared at it.
“He hates fake plants.”
Renner looked at her.
“Then why does he have one?”
“Claire bought it.”
Marcus looked at the planter.
There was a faint scratch along its rim.
Tessa photographed everything, then entered carefully.
She checked the desk, the chair, the window, the bag.
No obvious blood.
No broken furniture.
No overturned papers.
Garrison stood near the doorway.
“Could have just bumped it.”
“Yes,” Marcus said.
“Could have.”
Tessa opened the overnight bag after documenting it.
Shirts.
Toiletries.
Medication.
A charger.
Everything someone planning to spend two nights in Chicago would probably have packed.
Natalie stared at it.
“He never intended to go.”
Renner answered.
“Or something changed.”
Marcus looked at the desk.
“Phone?”
Tessa checked.
Nothing.
“Laptop?”
The docking station was empty.
Natalie frowned.
“He always leaves his laptop here if he’s traveling with the tablet.”
Renner looked at the credenza.
“Tablet?”
“No.”
Tessa opened a side drawer.
Inside were two charging cables and a pair of reading glasses.
No tablet.
Marcus glanced at the wastebasket.
Receipts.
A torn envelope.
A paper coffee sleeve.
One folded sheet of printer paper.
He pointed.
“Tessa.”
She photographed the basket before lifting the sheet with gloved fingers.
May you like
It was a draft production schedule.
Three lines had been circled in blue ink.
