Chương 9
The machine had been stolen from a mobile imaging contractor called Cardinal Diagnostic Transport.
The same red bird Maya had seen on the delivery truck in the loading lot.
It was not a delivery driver who had interrupted the kidnapping.
It was another part of it.
Someone had sent the truck deliberately, either to help Kroll escape or to move Lucia elsewhere. Maya’s intervention had disrupted a larger plan.
The intruder was identified as Owen Pritchard, a former paramedic whose license had been revoked after he stole medication from an ambulance service. He had worked briefly for Northstar Protective Services as a medical transport specialist.
Northstar’s largest client was Vale Meridian Freight.
The company’s contracts had been approved by Vincent Lasko.
Lasko returned from Toronto that evening on a chartered plane.
He came directly to the hospital.
Maya expected someone visibly sinister. Instead, Vincent Lasko looked like a man who might apologize sincerely for keeping a restaurant table too long. He was in his mid-fifties, silver-haired, trim, and dressed in a navy overcoat over a pale blue shirt. He carried no weapon Maya could see.
He hugged Adrian in the hallway.
“I came the moment Rourke called,” Vincent said.
Adrian did not return the embrace.
“Rourke is under investigation.”
Vincent stepped back. “For what?”
“He visited Lucia’s school.”
“I sent him.”
The hallway fell quiet.
Adrian’s eyes sharpened.
Vincent looked confused. “You asked me to review alternate pickup procedures after the threats last month. I sent Rourke to assess the school entrance.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I sent the report to your office.”
“When?”
“Tuesday morning.”
Camille checked her phone.
Adrian said, “Northstar employed the men who took her.”
Vincent’s face lost color.
“Recently?”
“Four years ago.”
“That company has thousands of former contractors.”
“Owen Pritchard worked for them.”
Vincent glanced through the glass at the overturned equipment being removed.
“What happened?”
“He entered with a syringe,” Camille said.
Vincent looked at Lucia, then at Maya.
“You stopped him?”
Maya said nothing.
His gaze dropped to the denim jacket around Lucia’s shoulders.
“They found the phone in that jacket, didn’t they?”
No one moved.
Vincent seemed to hear his own words a moment too late.
Detective Ortiz, standing near the nurses’ station, turned slowly.
The location of the phone had not been released.
It had not been mentioned in front of Vincent.
He smiled, but the expression arrived unevenly.
“Rourke told me.”
Rourke was being questioned in another building and had no access to his personal phone.
Adrian stepped closer.
Vincent lifted both hands.
“Or Camille. Someone did. I’ve been getting fragments for twelve hours.”
Camille said, “I did not.”
Maya watched Vincent’s right thumb rub across the side of his index finger. Once. Twice. A small movement, almost polite.
The bearded kidnapper had done the same thing while telling her to leave the van lot.
It might mean nothing.
People shared habits. People copied superiors. People became like those they feared.
Ortiz approached.
“Mr. Lasko, I’d like you to come with me and answer a few questions.”
Vincent’s expression settled.
“Am I under arrest?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll speak after I see Lucia.”
Adrian moved into his path.
“You will not.”
“Adrian, I have known her since she was born.”
“You knew where the phone was.”
“So did half this hallway by now.”
“No,” Ortiz said. “They didn’t.”
Vincent looked at her.
Then he laughed once, quietly, as if embarrassed by everyone’s seriousness.
“All right. I’ll answer questions.”
He went with the detective voluntarily.
Maya did not feel relieved.
That night, Lucia slept holding the sleeve of Maya’s jacket.
Adrian stood by the window, looking down at the city.
“Do you trust him?” Maya asked.
“I did.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“No.”
“How long has he worked for you?”
“Twenty-three years.”
“Longer than some marriages.”
“Longer than mine.”
Maya studied his reflection.
“What happened to your wife’s car?”
His head turned.
“Why are you asking?”
“Because your sister thinks you killed her, and the person who may have taken your daughter controls your transportation contracts.”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened.
“The crash was investigated.”
“By whom?”
“State police. Insurance investigators. My own people.”
“Vincent’s people?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Maya rubbed sleep from one eye.
“What kind of crash?”
“Brake failure on the mountain road north of the city.”
“And everybody decided it was an accident?”
“The brake line ruptured.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Adrian looked at Lucia.
“My wife had asked for a separation three days earlier.”
Maya waited.
“Her sister believed I sabotaged the car,” he continued. “Elena believed it too.”
“Did Vincent?”
“He defended me.”
“Convenient.”
“You think he killed Sofia?”
“I think a man who tells you what you need to hear for twenty-three years has had plenty of practice.”
Adrian’s eyes moved to his steel watch on the windowsill.
“Vincent gave me this,” he said. “The day Lucia was born.”
Maya looked at the watch.
“Don’t make it symbolic.”
His brow tightened.
“It’s a watch. You still need evidence.”
Adrian almost smiled.
The next morning, Detective Ortiz returned without Vincent.
He had answered questions for four hours. He acknowledged authorizing Northstar contracts and sending Rourke to the school. He denied knowing the kidnappers personally. His travel records confirmed he had been in Toronto when Lucia was taken, though that proved little about remote coordination.
He had voluntarily surrendered his phone.
The device contained no incriminating messages.
“Too clean?” Maya asked.
Ortiz shrugged. “Some people are organized.”
“Some people carry two phones.”
“Some carry six.”
Adrian stood near the door. “Search his office.”
“We need probable cause.”
“He knew where the burner was.”
“He claims Rourke told him.”
“Rourke denies it.”
“That contradiction helps. It does not grant unlimited access to a corporation.”
Adrian’s patience thinned. “I own the corporation.”
“Then you may authorize access to company records.”
Camille turned toward him. “That includes communications, security logs, payment files, internal audits, and potentially unrelated evidence.”
May you like
Ortiz did not look away from Adrian.
“We can narrow the initial review,” she said. “But once you invite us in, I will follow crimes where they lead.”
