Chương 12
Claire had not returned since the fire.
The sight of the front steps stopped her.
Maya noticed.
“We can turn around.”
“No.”
“You don't have to prove anything.”
“I know.”
Claire remained still.
A memory arrived.
She had stood on those same steps the afternoon before the fire complaining that someone had replaced the porch lanterns with brighter bulbs.
Daniel had laughed.
“That's your rebellion? Lighting temperature?”
“They're blue.”
“They're white.”
“They're prison white.”
He had kissed her forehead.
She had pushed him away because Margaret was watching from the window.
Such a small thing.
She could not understand how ordinary marriage could exist so close to disaster without sensing it.
Maybe disaster had no smell before it happened.
Claire climbed the steps.
Inside, Cole spoke with officers near the foyer.
“Daniel is in the west corridor.”
“Why haven't you brought him out?” Claire asked.
“He says he wants to show us something.”
“Of course he does.”
Cole looked at her.
“You stay behind me.”
“That seems reasonable.”
It was the first instruction from him she did not resent.
They moved through the house.
The farther west they went, the stronger the smoke odor became.
Plastic sheeting covered doorways.
The walls changed from polished cream to gray-black damage.
Claire's breathing shortened.
Maya touched her elbow.
“Look at me.”
“I am fine.”
“You're staring at a wall.”
Claire turned.
Maya's face was close.
“Can you keep going?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
“Better answer.”
They continued.
Daniel stood at the edge of the sealed study wearing disposable protective coveralls over his clothes. An investigator was beside him.
He turned when Claire appeared.
“What are you doing here?”
She almost laughed.
“You lost the right to ask that.”
Daniel removed the hood from his head.
His hair was damp with sweat.
“I came because I remembered where the card fell.”
Cole stopped.
“Tell me.”
Daniel pointed through the damaged doorway.
“Behind the desk. Near the left leg.”
Cole's expression hardened.
“That is where it was recovered.”
“I know.”
Claire stared at him.
“Because you dropped it.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When I took it out of my wallet.”
“Why?”
“To give it to you.”
Claire blinked.
“What?”
“You weren't authorized for the room. You said you wanted to stay after I left.”
A memory struck.
Daniel holding the card out.
“If you need to get back in, use mine.”
Claire taking it.
His fingers touching hers.
Her anger.
“Don't make this look like trust.”
He flinching.
Claire staggered.
Maya caught her.
“Claire.”
“I remember.”
Daniel took one step forward.
Cole blocked him.
Claire pressed her hand against the wall.
“You gave me the card.”
Daniel nodded.
“I think you put it on the desk.”
“No.”
The memory sharpened.
She pushed it back at him.
He refused.
“It doesn't matter whose name is on the card.”
“It matters to you.”
“Claire, just keep it.”
She threw it.
The card struck the desk and slid behind it.
Claire opened her eyes.
“I threw it.”
Daniel's shoulders dropped.
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell Cole?”
“I didn't remember until this morning.”
“Convenient.”
“Yes.”
He did not argue.
That helped.
Cole said, “What did you come here to find?”
Daniel looked toward the study.
“Her phone charger.”
Claire frowned.
“My what?”
“The fire investigator said the ignition source may have been a portable electronic device under the desk. Claire had a power bank that night.”
Maya said, “How do you know?”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“Because I gave it to her.”
Another memory.
Dinner.
Claire's phone at fourteen percent.
Daniel tossing a slim black battery across the table.
“You'll accuse the family of murder and run out of battery doing it.”
Claire catching it.
She had thought he was joking.
She felt sick.
“The power bank started the fire?”
Cole said, “We don't know.”
Daniel continued.
“It was recalled.”
Everyone turned.
Claire stared at him.
“What?”
“Last year. Battery defect. Overheating.”
Cole's face changed instantly.
“Which model?”
Daniel told him.
Alvarez, who had arrived behind them, was already searching.
She looked up after several seconds.
“There was a consumer recall. Fire risk.”
Claire leaned against Maya.
The world shifted.
A defective battery.
An accidental fire.
For eleven days she had been trying to find a human hand holding a match.
Maybe there had been none.
Then Cole said, “That doesn't explain the door.”
Relief vanished.
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
The investigator near the study approached.
“We may have something on that.”
They moved to a temporary worktable in the corridor.
On it lay enlarged photographs of the damaged latch.
The investigator pointed to two marks.
“These weren't made from inside.”
Claire stared.
“What?”
“Initial assumption was tampering at the interior release. But after cleaning the assembly, both impressions align with access from the door edge while the door was open.”
Cole frowned.
“Meaning?”
“Somebody interfered with the mechanical release before the door closed.”
“When?”
“Can't tell from the marks alone.”
“With what?”
“Flat metal object. Small. Maybe a screwdriver.”
Margaret had followed them down the corridor despite being told to remain in the foyer.
She stopped several feet away.
“I didn't.”
Nobody responded.
Claire looked at Daniel.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Who knew I would be in the study?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No one. You weren't supposed to be.”
Cole looked at Margaret.
“Who gave Claire access?”
Margaret whispered, “I did.”
“Who knew?”
“My assistant.”
Claire turned.
“Your assistant?”
Margaret nodded slowly.
“Lena.”
Claire knew Lena Price.
Forty-two. Quiet. Efficient. She had worked for Margaret for nearly ten years and managed everything from medical appointments to charity seating plans.
“Where is she?” Cole asked.
Margaret frowned.
“She took leave after the fire.”
“When?”
“The next morning.”
“Why?”
“Her mother was ill.”
Cole looked at Alvarez.
She was already making a call.
Claire stared at Margaret.
“Did Lena know about Evelyn?”
Margaret's face changed.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Everything.”
The corridor seemed suddenly colder.
Daniel said, “Why?”
Margaret looked at him.
May you like
“Because she helped me organize Thomas's papers.”
Cole's voice became clipped.
