Chương 6
He sat at the kitchen table with his laptop open, not working.
His phone contained forty-seven missed calls.
Clients.
Board members.
Reporters.
His managing partner.
Michael.
Michael had called nine times.
There were also messages.
CALL ME BEFORE YOU MAKE THIS WORSE.
YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT SHE SAW.
THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK.
DANIEL, PLEASE.
The last one arrived at 2:52.
I loved Sarah too. Don’t destroy what she built because you’re angry.
Daniel read that sentence until the letters seemed to shift.
Sarah.
Michael had known her before Daniel did.
They met through the foundation when she was a pediatric physical therapist volunteering at a summer program. She introduced Daniel to Michael at a fundraiser eleven years earlier.
Michael later became godfather in everything but title to Emma.
He spoke at Sarah’s funeral.
Don’t destroy what she built.
Daniel took a screenshot of the message, then hated himself for the instinct.
Evidence.
Everything was evidence now.
Victoria came into the kitchen barefoot.
“You should sleep.”
“You first.”
“I tried.”
She opened the refrigerator.
“You have nothing in here.”
“I have food.”
“You have mustard, blueberries, and six kinds of sparkling water.”
“There are eggs.”
“Those expired Monday.”
Daniel looked at the refrigerator.
“Emma eats at school.”
“That is not a defense.”
“I wasn’t defending myself.”
“You were absolutely defending yourself.”
She found a bottle of water.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Victoria said, “Michael sent me something.”
Daniel looked up.
She handed him her phone.
A single message.
You know how easily stories get distorted. Don’t become part of the mob.
Daniel gave the phone back.
“He’s isolating.”
“Maybe.”
“He wants us to feel irrational.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
Victoria sat across from him.
“I’m trying not to do tonight what I did last month.”
“What?”
“Decide what’s true because I dislike the alternative.”
Daniel leaned back.
“That sounds almost healthy.”
“Don’t make fun of me. I hate growth.”
He smiled despite himself.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He almost ignored it.
Victoria said, “Answer.”
He did.
“Daniel Hayes?”
“Yes.”
“This is Curtis Bell.”
Daniel straightened.
“You changed numbers?”
“This is my personal phone.”
“What do you want?”
“To tell you I was wrong to come to the hotel.”
“That’s all?”
“No.”
Curtis breathed into the phone.
“I’ve represented Michael or entities controlled by Michael on and off for eight years. There are matters I cannot discuss.”
“Then why call?”
“Because there are things I can.”
Daniel stood and walked toward the window.
“Go on.”
“Two years ago, I was asked to review a settlement agreement involving the mother of a child who participated in one of the foundation’s after-school programs.”
Daniel shut his eyes.
“What happened?”
“The agreement described an accidental injury.”
“What kind?”
“Wrist and shoulder.”
Daniel’s free hand closed around the edge of the counter.
“Who caused it?”
“The document did not establish that.”
“You’re a lawyer, Curtis. Stop talking around it.”
“I am a lawyer. That’s why I’m being precise.”
Daniel heard movement behind him.
Victoria was standing now.
Curtis continued.
“The mother alleged that Michael restrained her daughter during an argument after the girl entered an office she’d been told was restricted.”
Daniel’s stomach turned.
“How old?”
“Nine.”
“What happened to the complaint?”
“It never became a criminal case, as far as I know.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie.”
A long silence.
Curtis said, “I know the mother accepted a civil settlement through an insurance structure connected to the foundation.”
“You drafted it.”
“I reviewed language.”
“You buried it.”
“I did my job.”
Daniel laughed without humor.
“Of course.”
Curtis’s voice sharpened.
“You think I haven’t said that to myself?”
“I don’t care what you say to yourself.”
“No. You’re right.”
That stopped Daniel.
Curtis lowered his voice.
“There was another matter six months later.”
Daniel looked at Victoria.
She was staring at him.
“What matter?”
“An employee complained Michael was having private meetings with minors without a second staff member present, which violated the foundation’s own safeguarding policy.”
“What happened?”
“The employee was terminated.”
“For complaining?”
“Officially, budget restructuring.”
“And unofficially?”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep not knowing extremely useful things.”
“I wasn’t inside the foundation.”
“You were inside enough to protect it.”
Curtis exhaled.
“Yes.”
There was no defensiveness in the word.
That made Daniel angrier.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because tonight I saw your daughter.”
Daniel said nothing.
“I had convinced myself,” Curtis continued, “that the settlement was an employment-adjacent liability problem. Then that the policy complaint was governance. Separate matters. Separate boxes.”
“Lawyers love boxes.”
“Yes.”
Daniel leaned his forehead against the window.
Rainwater moved down the glass.
“Do you have documents?”
“Some.”
“Give them to the police.”
“I’m arranging counsel.”
“For yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“I expected you to call me a coward.”
“I don’t have the energy.”
Curtis gave a tired laugh.
“There’s one more thing.”
Daniel waited.
“The man in the garage photograph. If you send me a still, I may recognize him.”
Daniel’s instincts surged.
Then Carver’s warning returned.
Chain of custody.
Do not distribute evidence.
“I’m not sending anything.”
“Good.”
Curtis almost sounded relieved.
“Describe him?”
“No.”
“Also good.”
“Why ask?”
“To see whether you’d do it.”
Daniel pulled the phone away and stared at it.
Curtis said, “You are not the only lawyer who can be insufferable.”
Daniel hung up.
Victoria was still watching him.
“How bad?”
He told her.
She sat.
For a while, neither spoke.
At four twenty, Daniel finally lay down on the couch.
He woke at seven to Emma standing over him.
“Your phone is screaming.”
His phone was vibrating against the coffee table.
He reached for it.
His managing partner.
Before answering, he looked at Emma.
“How’s your wrist?”
“Attached.”
He almost smiled.
“Breakfast?”
“Real breakfast.”
“Demanding.”
“You said the cereal was food.”
“It was.”
“It was punishment.”
Victoria called from the kitchen, “She’s right.”
Daniel answered the phone.
“Morning, Richard.”
“Do not say my name.”
May you like
Daniel sat up.
Emma’s eyes widened.
