Chương 6
Mara sat down.
“On the floor?”
“On the glass fragments and my shoes.”
“What kind?”
“They haven’t completed the analysis.”
“So she’s arrested.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“The police searched her apartment and office this afternoon. They found prescription medication, but nothing matching the preliminary result.”
“Grant took the vial.”
“Probably.”
“You keep using that word.”
“So do the police.”
Mara looked at the television again. A commentator was explaining that temporary workers sometimes developed obsessive attachments to wealthy clients.
“Your company fired me.”
“My company?”
“The staffing agency said a client complained.”
“I did not authorize that.”
“Someone did.”
“I’ll find out.”
“Don’t.”
“Mara—”
“I don’t need you to fix my job. I need you to tell the truth.”
“I have.”
“No, you released a statement saying there was an incident under investigation and that you were cooperating with authorities.”
“My counsel advised—”
“Your counsel wasn’t holding your wrist.”
He stopped speaking.
Mara’s hand shook. She switched the phone to her other ear.
“The video online makes me look insane,” she said. “You could say I stopped you from drinking poison.”
“The laboratory result is preliminary.”
“You believe me.”
“Yes.”
“Then say that.”
Another pause.
“If I make a public accusation before charges are filed, Celeste’s attorneys will say I am manipulating the investigation to remove her from the company.”
“You are removing her from the company.”
“The board has not voted.”
Mara laughed without humor.
“You almost died, and you’re worried about meeting procedure.”
“I am responsible for nine thousand employees.”
“You’re responsible for yourself first. That may be the problem.”
Daniel’s voice changed.
“What does that mean?”
“You built a company with someone you say hid eighteen million dollars. You planned to remove her quietly. You didn’t tell anyone who worked for you that something was wrong. You let her walk into a ballroom and make a toast.”
“I didn’t know she would try to kill me.”
“No. You only knew she might destroy people beneath you to protect herself.”
“That is not fair.”
“Neither is suspension without pay.”
She ended the call.
Ellen, who had been pretending not to listen while rearranging the fruit, placed a pear back in the bowl.
“You were rude.”
“He deserved it.”
“He also told you the drink was poisoned.”
“I already knew.”
“Knowing and proving are not the same thing.”
Mara stared at her mother.
Ellen lifted both hands.
“The detective said it first. Don’t look at me like that.”
Late that evening, Alvarez arrived with news that made the room feel smaller.
The footage on the local security system had been erased. The physical drive removed from the console was found in a trash compactor two blocks from the hotel, cracked and soaked in cleaning solvent. Technicians might recover fragments, but nobody promised anything.
Grant’s phone was off. Traffic cameras showed his car entering New Jersey shortly after ten. After that, the trail disappeared.
Celeste had provided the gown, shoes, purse, and jewelry she wore at the gala. No vial was found. No trace of the toxic compound appeared on her hands or clothing.
“She changed clothes before leaving the hotel,” Mara said.
“The coat came from her vehicle, but multiple officers saw the gown.”
“She could have washed her hands.”
“She says she did, in the restroom, after champagne splashed near her.”
“It didn’t splash near her.”
“Several guests moved through the area. Her lawyer will say she had reason to wash.”
Mara paced to the window.
“What about the server who saw her drop something?”
“Tasha Green.”
“I knew it.”
“She saw a dark object fall near the side table. She did not see it come from Ms. Rowan’s hand.”
“It did.”
“Did you see it?”
Mara replayed the moment. Celeste stepped backward. Her right hand opened. Grant was not in the ballroom then, or Mara had not seen him. The guests shifted. Someone moved a chair.
“I saw her hand move.”
“That is not the same.”
“Nothing is ever the same when you say it.”
Alvarez removed her coat and draped it over a chair.
“That’s because details matter.”
“They matter more for her than for me.”
“Money buys better lawyers. It does not change the toxicology report.”
“It changes how long she gets to call me crazy.”
“Yes.”
The honesty disarmed Mara.
Alvarez sat down.
“There is another problem.”
“Of course.”
“Ms. Rowan’s lawyer says the video was created before the gala.”
Mara turned.
“How?”
“The timestamp is embedded in the image, not independently verified. The clip on your message is fourteen seconds long. It begins after Ms. Rowan enters the pantry and ends before she leaves. There is no unbroken sequence establishing time or location.”
“It is the Mercer Grand pantry.”
“We know that. A jury would know that. Her lawyer may argue the act was staged at another time for another reason.”
“What reason?”
“Medication. A rehearsal. A test of a glass. It does not have to be persuasive now. It only has to create alternatives.”
“She switched the glasses.”
“Yes.”
“She put the poisoned one in front of Daniel.”
“The clip does not show that part.”
Mara sat opposite her.
“I saw it.”
“On the monitor?”
“In the ballroom. She rotated the tray.”
“Then your testimony matters.”
Mara looked away.
Alvarez waited.
“What aren’t you saying?” Mara asked.
“The district attorney’s office wants to know whether you saw the vial directly before entering the security room.”
“I told you I didn’t.”
“They think the case is stronger if you did.”
“But I didn’t.”
“I know.”
“Do they want me to change it?”
“They want to make certain you are not uncertain.”
“I’m not uncertain.”
Alvarez’s expression remained neutral, but something in her shoulders eased.
“Good.”
Mara stared at her.
“Would it help?”
“For a day.”
“And after that?”
“After that, Sayer would compare every statement you gave. He would find the difference. Then the case would become a trial about you.”
“It already is.”
May you like
“Not in court.”
Mara touched the edge of the bandage near her temple.
