Chương 6
Marcus shook his head once.
Daniel asked, “What happens in twelve hours?”
“An archive opens.”
“What archive?”
“One you should have destroyed.”
“The Black Ledger.”
A pause.
Sutter had not expected Daniel to name it.
“You were always direct when you were angry,” Sutter said.
“You’ve never seen me angry.”
“I saw you after Evelyn died.”
“That was grief.”
“They resemble each other from a safe distance.”
Daniel gripped the edge of the counter.
Sutter continued. “Room twelve-fourteen. Ten tonight. Bring the authentication phrases.”
“You know I won’t.”
“I know you will make a series of reasonable decisions that feel unlike surrender. You’ll involve police carefully. You’ll position Marcus nearby. You may even contact the federal government. But eventually you’ll enter the room because Lily’s name is now attached to records that could make her look like a participant in your old business.”
Daniel glanced at Marcus.
Sutter said, “Student payroll account. Walker charitable trust. Tuition transfers. Her campus job was funded through one of your old foundations. She received money from it.”
“Scholarship money.”
“Clean money, perhaps. Try explaining the difference on television.”
The call ended.
Marcus reached for the phone. Daniel moved it away.
“We trace it,” Marcus said.
“He wants us to.”
“We still trace it.”
“Do it.”
Marcus took out his own device and stepped into the dining room.
Daniel remained in the kitchen.
On the table lay a grocery list in Lily’s handwriting.
Milk.
Apples.
Dish soap.
Good coffee, not Dad coffee.
He sat and read it twice.
At Mercy General, Lily woke to find Detective Bell beside the window and a hospital attorney near the door.
The attorney introduced herself as Melissa Crane. She wore a charcoal suit, low heels, and an expression designed to suggest concern without liability.
“We want you to know Mercy General takes unauthorized access very seriously.”
Lily’s jaw ached too badly to respond quickly.
Nora Bell handed her a small whiteboard and marker.
Lily wrote, THEN WHY IS A LAWYER HERE?
Melissa’s mouth tightened. “I’m here to explain the hospital’s obligations.”
Lily wrote, TO ME OR TO THE HOSPITAL?
Nora coughed into her fist.
Melissa continued. “Both. We are preserving badge records and security footage. However, we cannot control statements made by third parties regarding how those individuals entered.”
Lily erased the board harder than necessary.
ARE THEY ARRESTED?
Nora answered. “Ethan and Brandon were released pending further investigation. Tyler is still being interviewed.”
Melissa looked at her. “Detective.”
“She asked.”
Lily wrote, WHY?
“Because probable cause is not the same as a complete case,” Nora said. “Ethan claims you stole records and attacked him when he tried to recover them. Brandon says he found Ethan injured and restrained you. Tyler says he arrived after everything happened.”
Lily’s marker stopped.
Nora leaned forward. “Their stories don’t match. That helps us. But there’s no working camera inside the field house, and campus security didn’t preserve the external footage correctly. Part of the recording was overwritten.”
Melissa said, “The university uses a separate contractor.”
“Owned by Tyler’s father,” Lily said through the brace.
Nora nodded. “Yes.”
Melissa stood. “I should remind you that speculation—”
“Leave,” Lily whispered.
The attorney blinked.
Lily pointed at the door.
Melissa gathered her folder. “A patient representative will follow up.”
When she was gone, Nora took the whiteboard.
“I don’t like hospital lawyers either,” she said. “But she’s right about one thing. We need facts we can prove.”
Lily’s eyes filled, though no tears fell. “They came here.”
“I know.”
“They put a lie on my bed.”
“I know.”
“My father caught it like he expected it.”
Nora waited.
Lily looked toward the empty chair where Daniel had sat through the night.
“Did you know who he was?”
“I knew stories.”
“Did people die?”
“Yes.”
The answer landed without softness.
Lily turned her face toward the window.
Nora let a minute pass. A helicopter moved beyond the glass, its sound muffled by thick panes. Somewhere in the room, the IV pump clicked.
“My mother knew?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know.”
“She knew.”
“You should ask him.”
“He lies.”
“Probably.”
Lily looked at her.
Nora folded the whiteboard marker between her fingers. “People like your father don’t survive by telling the truth at convenient times.”
“Are you defending him?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Trying not to make you responsible for deciding what he deserves while you’re still in a hospital bed.”
Lily closed her eyes.
Nora placed a clear property bag on the rolling table. Inside was Lily’s phone, its screen cracked but functioning.
“Forensics made a copy. You can have it back.”
Lily picked it up.
One hundred forty-three notifications waited.
Messages from friends. Missed calls from unknown numbers. Two emails from the university dean expressing concern. A social-media alert showed her name trending locally.
The first public post came from Ethan’s girlfriend.
She had written that a “disturbed student employee” attacked three men after being caught stealing donor records. A photograph of Lily from freshman orientation appeared beneath it. She was smiling, wearing a yellow dress, unaware that the image would one day be used as proof that her face before the beating had been capable of deception.
Nora watched her scroll.
“Don’t respond.”
“They’re saying I stole files.”
“I know.”
“They’re saying Dad threatened them.”
“Did he?”
“He stood there.”
“For some people, that will be enough.”
Lily’s thumb hovered over the screen.
Another notification appeared.
A reporter had posted a question: WHO IS DANIEL WALKER, THE MYSTERIOUS FATHER AT THE CENTER OF THE ST. ALDWYN ASSAULT CASE?
Lily locked the phone.
“I want to make a statement.”
“Not today.”
“They’re already speaking.”
“Let them speak badly. Contradictions are useful.”
“They’ll ruin me.”
“They might try.”
Lily’s breath came faster. The monitor responded.
Nora set the phone aside. “Your job is to heal. Mine is to build the case.”
“My father will do something.”
“Yes.”
“You sound sure.”
May you like
“I met him.”
Lily stared at the empty chair again. “He used to cut my sandwiches into squares because he said triangles wasted space in the container.”
