Chương 12
A uniformed officer arrived with a woman in plain clothes carrying a badge case.
Mina recognized the first officer from the funeral home.
He introduced the woman as Detective Lena Ruiz.
Ruiz was in her forties, with tired eyes and an expression that suggested she did not believe in wasting language.
She looked at the envelope.
“Who found this?”
Claire raised her hand.
“Where?”
“My apartment.”
“Exact location?”
“Taped under the kitchen sink.”
“When did you last check that area before today?”
Claire frowned.
“I don’t know.”
“You clean under there?”
“Sometimes.”
“How often?”
“Not enough to answer that without embarrassing myself.”
Ruiz almost smiled.
“Fair.”
She put on gloves.
“May I take it?”
Claire handed it over.
Daniel stood.
“Do I have a right to know what’s inside?”
Ruiz looked at him.
“You have a right to ask.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the answer I have right now.”
Daniel exhaled.
Ruiz examined the front and back.
“Do any of you recognize the handwriting?”
All three said yes.
She photographed the envelope before opening it.
Inside were twenty-three sheets of paper, a small USB drive, and a handwritten letter folded twice.
Daniel stepped forward when he saw the letter.
Ruiz lifted one hand.
“Stay there.”
“That’s addressed to me?”
“No name on the outside.”
“But if it’s from Evelyn—”
“Stay there.”
Daniel stopped.
Ruiz unfolded the letter.
Her eyes moved quickly.
Then slower.
Mina watched her expression remain deliberately blank.
“What does it say?” Claire asked.
Ruiz finished reading.
She looked at Daniel first.
Then at Claire.
Then Mina.
“Mrs. Mercer wrote that she believed money was being moved from dormant and deceased-client accounts through a series of internal transfers.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Ruiz continued.
“She states she found approval records using Daniel Mercer’s credentials.”
Claire inhaled.
Daniel went completely still.
Mina felt the waiting room sharpen around them.
Daniel said, “No.”
Ruiz did not react.
“She also states she did not believe he authorized all of them.”
Daniel blinked.
Mina looked at him.
Ruiz glanced back at the letter.
“She believed someone was using his access.”
Daniel sat down again.
His legs seemed to give rather than bend.
“Who?”
Ruiz said, “The letter doesn’t conclusively name anyone.”
Claire asked, “Does she mention Thomas?”
Ruiz looked at her.
“Yes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“What does she say?”
“That she confronted him indirectly and he told her to stop interfering in matters she didn’t understand.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“That sounds like him.”
No one smiled.
Ruiz continued.
“She also says she became concerned after discovering that several transfers were approved during times when Daniel was verifiably elsewhere.”
Mina asked, “Could Thomas use his credentials?”
Daniel stared at the floor.
“He knew the systems.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Daniel rubbed his mouth.
“When we started the firm with Dad, we shared more access than we should have.”
Ruiz said, “How much more?”
“Admin-level access in some places.”
“Current?”
“No.”
Daniel hesitated.
“At least, it shouldn’t be.”
Ruiz’s attention sharpened.
“When was it changed?”
“Two years ago.”
“Who handled that change?”
Daniel looked sick.
“Thomas.”
Claire sat back.
Mina asked, “What else is in the letter?”
Ruiz turned another page.
“Mrs. Mercer says she copied internal reports because she believed records were being altered after she accessed them.”
Daniel looked up.
“What reports?”
Ruiz glanced at the stack.
“Client ledgers, login histories, transaction authorizations.”
Daniel stared at the USB drive.
“That could destroy the firm.”
Claire snapped, “Your wife almost died.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“I know.”
“Then why is that what you said?”
“Because both things can be true.”
His voice rose.
“My wife can almost die and a file can destroy two hundred people’s jobs.”
Claire looked away.
Daniel pressed his palms together.
“I’m not saying the company matters more.”
“It sounded like it.”
“I know what it sounded like.”
The ICU doors opened again.
A nurse approached.
“Mr. Mercer?”
Daniel stood immediately.
“She’s more awake.”
His face changed so quickly that Mina felt almost ashamed for every suspicion she had entertained.
The nurse continued.
“She’s still intubated, so she can’t speak.”
“Can she understand?”
“We think so.”
“Can I see her?”
“Yes.”
The nurse looked at Detective Ruiz.
“Law enforcement asked to be notified when she could communicate.”
Ruiz nodded.
“No interview yet.”
The nurse said, “Good.”
Daniel took one step, then stopped.
He looked at Ruiz.
“Does the letter say Evelyn was afraid of me?”
Ruiz glanced down at the pages.
“Yes.”
Daniel swallowed.
Claire looked at him.
Ruiz added, “It also says she was afraid for you.”
That struck harder.
Daniel’s face collapsed inward.
“For me?”
Ruiz nodded.
“She thought someone was setting you up.”
The nurse waited.
Daniel looked toward the ICU doors but did not move.
Mina said, “Go.”
He did.
This time no one stopped him.
Ruiz repacked the documents.
“I’m taking these into evidence.”
Claire nodded.
Mina asked, “What happens now?”
Ruiz looked at her.
“We verify what’s real.”
“And Thomas?”
“We find him.”
Mina frowned.
“You let him leave.”
“He wasn’t under arrest.”
“Can you arrest him now?”
“Not because you’re suspicious.”
Mina looked away.
Ruiz’s voice softened slightly.
“But things have changed.”
The first officer’s radio crackled.
He stepped aside to answer.
Ruiz sealed the envelope in an evidence bag.
Her phone rang.
She checked the screen and answered.
“Ruiz.”
She listened.
Her expression changed.
“What time?”
Another pause.
“Who confirmed it?”
She looked at Mina.
“All right.”
She ended the call.
Claire said, “What?”
Ruiz slipped the phone into her pocket.
“Thomas Mercer’s vehicle was found in the parking garage at his office.”
Mina stood.
“Where is he?”
“We don’t know.”
The officer returned from his radio call.
Ruiz said, “Get someone to the Mercer residence.”
Mina’s stomach dropped.
“Why?”
Ruiz looked at her.
“Because the alarm was disabled twelve minutes ago.”
Claire whispered, “By who?”
Ruiz shook her head.
“Unknown code.”
Mina thought of the medication drawer.
May you like
Then the kitchen.
Then the study Evelyn rarely entered because Thomas sometimes used it when he worked from the house.
