Chương 10
“And when I got sick?”
“She said your body was adjusting.”
“You watched me collapse.”
“I called the doctor.”
“You told him I had skipped dinner.”
“You had.”
“You knew the drops might be involved.”
“I suspected after the third episode.”
“The third.”
Vanessa began crying, but even then she did it quietly, as if someone might hear and downgrade her.
“I thought she was frightening me,” she said. “She said if I stopped following instructions, she would tell you everything. The loans. The withdrawals. The trust. She said you would believe I was trying to kill you whether I was or not.”
“So you kept giving it to me.”
“I reduced the amount.”
Adrian’s hand went numb around the phone.
“You reduced it.”
“I poured some out.”
“You continued.”
“I was trying to figure out how to get away from her.”
“You had six hundred thousand dollars ready.”
“She wanted it to disappear.”
“Why put it under my blanket?”
“I told you. Lily came in.”
“No. Why bring it near me at all?”
“Mara was supposed to meet me in the room after you fell asleep.”
“After I drank the tea.”
Vanessa did not answer.
Adrian’s next breath shook. “Did you know I might die?”
“No.”
“Did you think about it?”
Silence.
That was the answer.
He ended the call.
For several minutes, he sat without moving.
His glucose monitor vibrated against his arm, warning that his level was dropping. He opened the refrigerator, removed the yogurt, and peeled back the lid. His hands shook so badly that some spilled onto the counter.
He ate standing up.
The ordinary sour taste made him furious.
Detective Brooks was not pleased that he had contacted Vanessa without counsel, recording, or notice.
“You obtained a partial admission that may become difficult to use,” she said in the corporate apartment the next morning. “You also warned her which details concern you.”
“She confessed to administering unprescribed drops.”
“To you. On an unrecorded call she can characterize differently.”
“Phone records prove we spoke.”
“Phone records do not contain words.”
“My device may have captured—”
“It did not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because your phone was examined. You do not have automatic call recording, and Illinois law creates additional issues even if you did.”
Adrian sat at the kitchen island. “She said Mara blackmailed her.”
“That may be true.”
“She admitted stealing wedding funds.”
“That is financial misconduct, not attempted murder.”
“She knew the trust clause.”
“So do your attorneys, your trustees, members of your staff, and probably anyone who reviewed the estate filings.”
“Are you defending her?”
“I am explaining why suspicion is not a charge.”
Brooks placed a clear evidence bag on the counter. Inside was a small amber bottle with a black cap and a white label marked by a red stripe.
Lily’s description.
Adrian stared at it.
“Where?”
“Mara’s condo. Hidden in a box of winter gloves.”
“What was inside?”
“Residue consistent with the substance in your blood.”
“Arrest her.”
“We need to find her first.”
“Vanessa said Mara supplied it.”
“We are aware.”
“You spoke to Vanessa?”
“Her attorney provided a written statement this morning. She claims Mara misrepresented the bottle as a nutritional supplement. She admits giving it to you on four occasions.”
“Twelve.”
“She says four.”
“She said ten or twelve.”
“To you.”
Adrian stood, walked to the window, and looked down at traffic crossing the river. People moved beneath umbrellas. A tour boat passed nearly empty.
Brooks said, “There is something else.”
He turned.
“Mrs. Doyle reviewed access logs for the medication cabinet. Mara opened it on eleven nights corresponding with your episodes.”
“That proves it.”
“It proves access.”
“And Vanessa?”
“Her access code was used twice.”
Adrian remembered Vanessa turning the engagement ring as she spoke about safety.
“Was Mara working those nights?”
“One of them.”
“The other?”
“She was off duty.”
A new shape formed around the facts.
“Vanessa had the bottle.”
“Possibly.”
“Why are you still saying possibly?”
“Because her code could have been used by someone else. Because electronic logs can be imperfect. Because certainty is earned.”
Adrian looked again at the evidence bag.
“What do you need?”
“Complete financial records. Full cooperation from your household staff. Access to security footage not controlled by your company. Time.”
“What footage?”
“The building stores service-elevator video through a third-party vendor. Someone requested deletion for privacy maintenance two days after Lily says she saw the first exchange.”
“Who?”
“The request came from your office.”
“I made no request.”
“Your executive assistant’s credentials were used.”
Adrian’s assistant, Noah Chen, had access to more of his life than anyone except Graham. Noah arranged travel, medical appointments, board materials, gifts, family obligations, and the apologies Adrian sent when he did not attend something.
“Bring Noah in.”
“He is being interviewed.”
“Did he know about Helix?”
“Everyone in your executive office knew about Helix.”
“Did he know about the trust?”
“We are investigating.”
Adrian’s first instinct was betrayal. His second was calculation. Noah had worked beside him for five years. His salary was high. His mother lived in a condo Adrian helped him purchase through a company loan. He had once missed his sister’s graduation because Adrian moved a Tokyo trip forward by one day.
Loyalty, Adrian had believed, was a rational response to opportunity.
He was beginning to see how often he had mistaken dependence for loyalty.
Noah arrived at the apartment that afternoon with his attorney.
He looked younger without the dark suit he wore to work. His hair was damp from rain. He sat at the opposite end of the island and placed both hands around a paper cup without drinking.
“I did not request the deletion,” he said.
“Your credentials did.”
“My credentials are stored in the executive password system.”
“Who has access?”
“You, Graham, IT security, and anyone who can unlock my work laptop.”
“Vanessa?”
Noah looked down.
Adrian felt something cold move through him. “Answer.”
May you like
“She used your office often.”
“My office is secured.”
