Chương 9
“But later?”
“I knew enough.”
“How much?”
“Enough to ask fewer questions.”
Claire leaned back.
“Why?”
“Because the company was our life.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the answer. You simply dislike it.”
Claire looked at the repaired drawer.
Evelyn said, “You are thirty-two. You still believe there is a clean version of adulthood available if you make enough correct decisions.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“That doesn’t mean I accept yours.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Claire asked, “Do you think Gavin tried to kill us?”
Evelyn’s voice changed.
“I think Gavin spent twenty years watching this family teach people that anything could be justified if enough jobs, reputations or money depended on it.”
Claire felt a chill.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
“Did you know he was stealing?”
“No.”
“Did Richard?”
“I doubt it. Gavin was patient. Richard respected patience.”
Claire looked toward the window.
“Do you love Daniel?”
Evelyn went silent.
Claire almost apologized.
Then Evelyn said, “That is an offensive question.”
“Probably.”
“Of course I love my son.”
“You don’t act like you like him.”
“That is not the same requirement.”
Despite herself, Claire laughed.
Evelyn did too.
Just once.
The sound was surprisingly ordinary.
Then she said, “He has always needed people to admire him. Richard taught him that admiration was evidence of competence. I taught him that fear was.”
“And what did either of you teach him about trust?”
Evelyn did not answer.
Three weeks later, investigators showed Claire still images from hangar security footage.
The footage itself had gaps.
One camera had been offline for maintenance.
Another showed only the north side of the aircraft.
But Gavin appeared at 6:18 a.m.
Cole appeared twelve minutes later.
At 6:41, Cole carried a small tool bag into the helicopter.
At 6:47, he came out.
Gavin entered the cabin at 6:49.
He remained inside for fifty-three seconds.
When he emerged, he was holding nothing visible.
The investigator paused the image.
“Do you recognize anything unusual?”
Claire looked.
Gavin’s sleeves were rolled to his forearms.
His right hand was partly closed.
“No.”
“Take your time.”
She leaned closer.
There was something pale between two fingers.
Small.
Translucent.
Packaging plastic.
Maybe.
Or sunlight.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s fine.”
The investigator advanced the video.
At 7:31, Claire and Daniel arrived.
Walter greeted them.
Daniel carried Claire’s handbag.
At 7:35, Daniel placed it on the rear seat while Claire went inside the terminal building.
At 7:36, Gavin appeared at the far edge of the frame.
Claire’s skin prickled.
He approached Daniel.
They spoke.
No audio.
Daniel looked irritated.
Gavin gestured toward the building.
Daniel shook his head.
Then Walter approached, and Gavin stepped away.
At 7:38, Daniel walked toward the cockpit with Walter.
Gavin stood alone beside the open cabin door.
For eleven seconds.
The camera angle did not show his hands.
At 7:39, Claire returned.
Gavin was gone.
Claire sat back.
“What did Daniel say they discussed?”
The investigator answered carefully.
“Mr. Bennett says Mr. Mercer told him the additional fuel stop had been arranged.”
“And Gavin?”
“He initially denied speaking to Mr. Bennett at the hangar.”
Claire looked at the frozen image.
“Initially.”
“Yes.”
“What does he say now?”
“That he does not remember the conversation.”
Claire almost laughed.
Of course.
The investigator closed the laptop.
“Mrs. Bennett, I want to be clear. This footage does not show anyone sabotaging the aircraft.”
“I understand.”
“It establishes access.”
“I understand.”
“And access alone is not proof.”
“I know.”
She appreciated him for saying it.
That night, Daniel came to the apartment.
Claire almost did not let him in.
Then she did.
He looked around the living room.
“This couch is terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He sat carefully.
The couch forced his knees too high.
Claire had not noticed before.
She enjoyed it.
Daniel looked toward the kitchen.
“You fixed the drawer.”
Claire stared at him.
“How did you know it was broken?”
“You complained about it on the phone.”
“I did?”
“Four days ago.”
She did not remember.
He smiled slightly.
For a few seconds they were married again.
Then Claire remembered why he was there.
“The investigator showed me the hangar footage.”
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
“I know.”
“Gavin lied.”
“Yes.”
“You spoke to him.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me about that.”
Daniel looked confused.
“When?”
“At the hotel. You said you didn’t know he was there.”
“I didn’t remember seeing him until investigators showed me.”
Claire stared.
“That is hard to believe.”
“I know.”
She waited.
Daniel rubbed the side of his thumb.
A nervous habit he had had since she met him.
“He stopped me for maybe thirty seconds. He said the schedule change was handled. I was angry because you had barely spoken to me that morning. I wasn’t thinking about Gavin.”
“You always think about Gavin.”
“Not like that.”
Claire walked to the window.
Traffic moved through the parking structure across the street.
Daniel said, “There’s a reason I came.”
“What?”
“I found another Westmere payment.”
She turned.
“When?”
“Today.”
“To whom?”
“Not to whom.”
Daniel removed a folded piece of paper from his jacket.
Claire did not take it.
“What is it?”
“A transfer from Westmere into an employee investment entity Gavin controls.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred thousand.”
“When?”
“Two months after Dad died.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because it came from a payment I approved.”
Silence.
Daniel placed the paper on the table.
“I signed six million dollars in legacy settlements that year.”
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“How much went back to Gavin?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You’re investigating him yourself?”
“I have independent forensic accountants.”
“Does the board know?”
“Yes.”
“Investigators?”
“They’ll receive everything.”
Claire folded her arms.
“Why tell me?”
“Because I need to stop deciding what you should know.”
The answer hurt.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it was late.
May you like
Claire sat opposite him.
“What are you going to do?”
