Chương 10
“Why?”
Cal whispered, “Because my daughter was in rehab and I owed money everywhere.”
Logan looked away.
There it was.
Not an excuse.
A reason.
Cal continued.
“Dominic covered one of the treatment bills.”
“How much?”
“Thirty-eight thousand.”
“And you paid him back by approving fake invoices.”
“I told myself I was borrowing time.”
Amelia’s face tightened.
“People always call it something nicer while they’re doing it.”
Cal did not argue.
Then he said, “You need to leave town.”
Logan stepped closer.
Amelia’s eyes snapped to him.
“Why?”
Cal’s breathing changed.
“He knows about Nora.”
Logan felt cold spread through his chest.
“How?”
Amelia asked.
“I told him.”
Her face went blank.
“You what?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You told him where I hid the records?”
“I didn’t know where.”
“Then what did you tell him?”
“That you trusted Nora.”
Amelia gripped the phone hard enough that her knuckles whitened.
“You used me.”
“Amelia.”
“You used me.”
“I was trying to keep Dominic from coming after you.”
“And now he’s watching her.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to say that like it hurts you.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“Please.”
Cal’s voice became urgent.
“He is not trying to scare you anymore.”
Logan moved closer to the phone.
“What does that mean?”
Cal went silent.
“Caleb,” Logan said.
The man on the other end inhaled.
“Who is this?”
“Logan Mercer.”
Another pause.
Then Cal whispered, “You need to get your wife somewhere safe.”
“Why?”
“Because Dominic thinks the diner video shows him threatening you.”
“It does.”
“And he thinks Amelia has enough financial records to tie him to the vendors.”
“She might.”
“You don’t understand.”
Cal’s voice trembled.
“He isn’t trying to destroy evidence anymore.”
A vehicle engine roared somewhere behind him.
Cal gasped.
“Cal?”
Amelia shouted.
The line filled with scraping noise.
Then Cal spoke one final sentence, barely audible.
“He’s trying to make it look like you two stole the money together.”
The call disconnected.
Logan stared at the dead screen in Amelia’s hand.
“Call him back.”
She did.
It rang once, then went straight to voicemail.
Again.
Straight to voicemail.
Amelia’s face tightened.
“Something happened.”
“Maybe.”
“You heard that.”
“I heard noise.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Turn uncertainty into a wall.”
Logan took out his old phone.
“I’m trying not to turn fear into fact.”
He called Rusk.
The attorney answered before the first full ring.
“What now?”
“Caleb Harris called.”
Logan gave him the exchange as precisely as he could.
Rusk interrupted only once.
“He admitted signing approvals after learning the vendors were questionable?”
“Yes.”
“Did he admit taking money?”
“No.”
“Did he admit receiving a benefit?”
“He said Vance covered a thirty-eight-thousand-dollar rehab bill for his daughter.”
A silence followed.
“That matters.”
“He also said Vance plans to blame the missing money on Amelia and me.”
“Did he explain how?”
“No.”
“Did he identify any evidence Vance has or intends to fabricate?”
“No.”
“He said Vance thinks the diner video shows him threatening Logan,” Amelia said.
Rusk’s voice sharpened.
“Mrs. Mercer, are you on speaker?”
“Yes.”
“Did Harris sound impaired?”
“No.”
“Coherent?”
“Yes.”
“Did he sound as though someone was physically threatening him?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at Logan.
“He was scared.”
“That’s not the same question.”
Amelia’s mouth tightened.
“No, I couldn’t tell.”
Rusk said, “Good.”
She frowned.
“What’s good about that?”
“That you didn’t exaggerate.”
Logan walked to the front window.
Mrs. Weller and the terrier had gone inside.
The street was empty now.
“Can you get someone to locate Harris?”
“Not by asking police to trace a phone on our say-so.”
“So what can you do?”
“I can notify the federal contact that a potential witness just made statements suggesting retaliation and then became unreachable.”
“That sounds slow.”
“Legal reality often is.”
Amelia paced behind Logan.
“If Dominic gets to him first—”
“We do not know that Dominic is going anywhere near him.”
“He just said—”
“I heard what you told me.”
Rusk’s tone stayed firm.
“We preserve the call details and avoid turning inference into accusation.”
Logan glanced toward the driveway.
A pair of headlights passed the house without slowing.
“Can Amelia be framed using county records?”
Rusk was quiet for a beat.
“In theory, anyone with sufficient system access could alter records or create misleading documentation.”
Amelia stopped pacing.
“So yes.”
“In theory.”
“Cal said he would blame the vendor accounts on us.”
“Then I need to know whether your credentials were used for any approvals.”
Amelia’s face changed.
“They might have been.”
Logan turned.
“What?”
She looked at him.
“I processed reconciliations.”
“That isn’t approving invoices.”
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“But there were batch certifications.”
“Explain.”
“Month-end close.”
Rusk spoke.
“Amelia, did you certify that expenses matched records?”
“Yes.”
“Did those batches include the suspect vendors?”
“Probably.”
“Probably is not enough.”
“I’d have to check.”
“Can you access the county system remotely?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
Logan shook his head immediately.
“Don’t.”
Rusk said the same thing a half second later.
“Do not log in.”
Amelia looked between the phone and Logan.
“Why?”
“Because if records are being altered, we don’t want your credentials appearing in the audit trail tonight.”
She stared at the laptop sitting closed on the counter.
“I already logged in this morning.”
“That is different.”
“What if they change everything now?”
“Then changes may leave metadata.”
“May?”
“Nothing is guaranteed.”
Amelia gave a frustrated laugh.
“I hate lawyers.”
“Frequently mutual.”
Logan almost smiled.
Rusk continued.
“Do you have any original copies created before today?”
“Yes.”
“The envelope.”
“Anything else?”
Amelia looked away.
Logan saw it.
“Amelia.”
She exhaled.
“I emailed two files to myself.”
Rusk’s voice changed.
“Personal email?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“Did you open them at home?”
“Yes.”
“Forward them anywhere?”
“No.”
“Do not touch them now.”
Logan leaned against the sink.
“What files?”
“A vendor summary and one approval report.”
“What do they show?”
“Enough to show I didn’t create the accounts.”
“Maybe.”
May you like
She glared at him.
“I know what they show.”
