Chương 6
Tessa watched Ivy’s face.
“Meaning?”
“Do no further work on behalf of Hanover Crest.”
“You still need to notify the city that the hotel operated a sealed elevator.”
“We will comply with our obligations.”
“When?”
“When counsel determines what those obligations are.”
“Nia could have died.”
“Ivy, your personal history with this property is now public. Opposing counsel will argue bias, retaliation, and evidence contamination. You should have disclosed the extent of your father’s involvement.”
“I did.”
“You described him as a former employee disciplined after an accident.”
“That is what he was.”
“You did not mention the dead worker’s family still worked at the hotel.”
“I didn’t know Nia was assigned there when I accepted.”
“You knew her mother was.”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
Martin’s voice softened, which made Ivy distrust him more. “You are good at this work. Protect your license. Let the investigation proceed.”
“Without me.”
“For now.”
He ended the call.
Ivy set the phone down.
Tessa pushed the coffee closer. “Drink.”
“I’m not thirsty.”
“That has never stopped coffee.”
“They suspended me.”
“I gathered.”
“They’ll hand the file to somebody who thinks a machine is safe if the paperwork has enough initials.”
“Maybe.”
“They’ll bury the anonymous complaint.”
“Maybe.”
“I should call Rina.”
“You should drink coffee, shower, and sleep for two hours.”
“That is terrible legal strategy.”
“I’m not giving legal advice. I’m trying to prevent you from becoming the kind of person who says things like terrible legal strategy while wearing someone else’s pajama pants.”
Ivy looked down. The pants had small yellow ducks on them.
“Why do you own these?”
“A former girlfriend thought I needed joy.”
“She was wrong.”
“She left, so perhaps.”
Ivy laughed, then put a hand to her stitches.
At nine, Officer Wright called.
He had been assigned to assist the detective reviewing Celeste’s assault and theft complaints because he witnessed the aftermath and had responded to the earlier elevator inspection. He told Ivy that the hotel had provided access records showing her temporary credential entering the executive suite.
“My credential never left my pocket,” Ivy said.
“Was it a physical card?”
“A phone-based guest credential issued by the insurer.”
“Could anyone access it?”
“Not without my phone or account.”
“Did you connect to hotel Wi-Fi?”
“Yes.”
“Could the credential have been copied?”
“Possibly, but the log should contain device information.”
“The hotel says it doesn’t.”
“The hotel is lying or its system is older than it claims.”
“Inspector Cho requested the raw server logs.”
“Did they provide them?”
“They say the vendor controls them.”
“Which vendor?”
“Grant doesn’t remember.”
“Of course he doesn’t.”
Wright paused. “There’s more. Celeste Marlowe has bruising on her forearm.”
“She grabbed me. I pushed her hand away.”
“She says you twisted her arm.”
“She dragged me by mine.”
“I saw that part.”
Ivy adjusted the corn bag. “Are you charging me?”
“Not today.”
“Reassuring.”
“I need you to understand that public opinion is not evidence.”
“I didn’t ask the public to film her.”
“No. But your friend Nguyen is organizing a press conference.”
Ivy looked at Tessa.
Tessa raised both eyebrows.
“She’s sitting across from me,” Ivy said.
“Tell her that statements made before we secure records may cause witnesses to align their memories.”
Tessa leaned toward the phone. “Tell Officer Wright that silence gives the hotel a full news cycle to call an injured teenager irresponsible.”
“He can hear you.”
“Good morning, Officer.”
Wright made a sound that might have been a laugh if he were not on duty. “Ms. Nguyen.”
Tessa took the phone. “We are not discussing the mechanics. Laverne will make a short statement asking the hotel to preserve evidence, cover immediate medical expenses, and stop contacting her daughter without counsel.”
“That is more reasonable than I expected.”
“You should examine your expectations.”
“I try not to.”
She handed the phone back.
Wright said, “I also need your father’s contact information.”
Ivy went still.
“Why?”
“The bypass key recovered from the elevator is an older series. According to the contractor, only three were issued. Grant Pike had one. The service company had one. Your father had the third.”
“My father hasn’t worked there in twelve years.”
“The keys were supposed to be returned after the old accident. The hotel says his was never recovered.”
“That key had Grant’s name on it.”
“On removable label tape.”
“You think my father reopened the elevator?”
“I think somebody wants me to consider it.”
Ivy lowered the phone. The room seemed smaller than it had a moment earlier.
Tessa said, “What?”
Ivy put the call on speaker.
Wright repeated what he had learned.
Tessa’s expression lost its humor. “Do not contact Owen Calder without notice.”
“He is a potential witness.”
“He is also in poor health.”
“I did not know that.”
“Now you do.”
Ivy picked at a loose corner of the corn bag label. “I’ll give you his number.”
Tessa turned sharply. “No.”
“He’ll find him anyway.”
“Ivy.”
“He’ll find an old address, knock on the wrong door, and my father will decide the police have come to arrest him for something from 2014. Give me an hour.”
Wright said, “I can do that.”
After the call, Tessa closed the distance between them.
“You are not going there alone.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“You were going to.”
“I have to warn him.”
“You have to ask whether he still has the key.”
Ivy looked toward the window. Traffic moved below, commuters inching through a construction detour. A man on a bicycle slapped the hood of a car and shouted something nobody inside the apartment could hear.
May you like
Twelve years had reduced her father from a public disgrace to a private inconvenience. He lived in a narrow house near the river, fixed radios for neighbors, and refused to replace a refrigerator that leaked water onto the kitchen floor. Ivy visited every few months and called every Sunday unless one of them found a reason not to.
They discussed groceries, blood pressure, and whether the city should remove a dead tree from his street.
