Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO COULD HAVE SAVED HER
“HE HAD PROOF AND KEPT IT FOR FIVE YEARS?”
Adrian's voice rose.
Detective Bennett stood between him and the doorway.
“Mr. Kingsley, you're not going to that clinic to confront him.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Owen was there when my wife died.”
“And he may be a critical witness in two investigations. Let me do my job.”
For a long moment, Adrian said nothing.
Then he looked down at Mara's broken watch.
“All right.”
It was the second time that evening he had accepted an answer he didn't like.
And I began to understand something about Adrian Kingsley.
He wasn't accustomed to being powerless.
But grief had finally put him in a situation money couldn't fix.
Bennett left with another investigator.
Samuel remained to coordinate security.
Brooke was escorted to a separate room where she could complete her statement without Delilah present.
I finally found my own telephone.
There were six missed calls from Mrs. Alvarez.
My stomach dropped.
I called immediately.
“Natalie, don't panic,” she said. “The children are fine.”
“What's wrong?”
“A woman came by asking whether you still lived here.”
I closed my eyes.
“What woman?”
“She said she worked for the property company. She wanted to know when you'd be home.”
The house I rented was modest.
Two bedrooms.
A tiny backyard.
A kitchen window that stuck every winter.
But it was my children's home.
“Did she speak to Ethan or Sophie?”
“No. I wouldn't let her.”
Relief washed over me.
Then fear followed.
Delilah knew where I lived.
Of course she did.
My address was in my employment records.
When I told Adrian, he became very still.
“Samuel, find out whether anyone from this house contacted Natalie's landlord.”
I immediately shook my head.
“Please don't send men to my neighborhood without telling me. My children don't need strangers frightening them.”
Adrian looked at me.
Then nodded.
“You're right. What would help?”
The question surprised me.
“Have Samuel contact Mrs. Alvarez directly. She'll tell him what she saw. And I want the police informed.”
“Done.”
He didn't offer to buy my silence.
He didn't tell me everything would be fine.
He listened.
That mattered more than he probably realized.
An hour later, Bennett returned.
Owen Mercer had agreed to speak.
But only after learning that Frank had survived.
“He says he didn't deliberately hit Frank,” Bennett explained.
“Then why didn't he stop?” I asked.
“He claims Delilah ordered him to keep driving.”
Brooke had already said the same thing.
It didn't make Owen innocent.
It only showed how many people had chosen obedience over decency.
Bennett placed a photograph on Adrian's desk.
It showed an old freight truck.
Its front bumper was dented.
One headlight was missing.
A large number fourteen had been painted on the door.
“Owen says this truck was removed from service the morning after Mara died.”
Adrian examined the photograph.
“Why?”
“Because its brakes had failed during a scheduled departure from the Prescott yard.”
My heart sank.
“Mara was there to stop it?”
Bennett nodded.
“According to Owen, she was standing near the loading area when the truck rolled forward unexpectedly.”
Adrian looked sick.
“Was she struck?”
“He says she was knocked against a loading barrier.”
“And then?”
Bennett hesitated.
“He claims everyone believed she was fatally injured.”
Adrian whispered, “But she wasn't.”
“No.”
She placed a second photograph on the desk.
It showed the interior of a white car.
A woman's hand rested against the passenger window.
On her wrist was a pale indentation where a watch had recently been removed.
Adrian reached toward the image.
“Mara.”
Owen had kept the photograph.
For five years.
Not because he cared about the truth.
Because it gave him leverage over Delilah.
I felt sick.
“Did he help her?” I asked.
Bennett looked at me.
“No.”
“Did he call an ambulance?”
“No.”
Adrian stood abruptly.
The chair scraped across the floor.
“He could have saved her.”
Bennett didn't disagree.
Then she explained Owen's account.
Delilah had been terrified that an investigation would expose years of falsified maintenance inspections.
Her father's company was already struggling.
A major contract was about to collapse.
And Mara had discovered enough to destroy the business.
Delilah told Owen to move Mara's car away from the freight yard.
Owen claimed he believed they were taking her to a hospital.
But when he realized the destination was Laurel Creek Bridge, he didn't intervene.
“Why?” Adrian demanded.
“Because he was afraid he'd already become part of a crime.”
Adrian covered his face.
I had never seen a powerful man look so small.
Bennett continued.
“Owen says Mara was conscious when they left the yard.”
Adrian lowered his hands.
“Did she say anything?”
Bennett looked at her notes.
“She kept asking them to call you.”
The room fell silent.
Then Bennett turned another page.
“And there's something Owen hasn't explained.”
“What?”
“According to him, there was a fourth person at the freight yard that night.”
Adrian frowned.
“Who?”
Bennett placed a copy of an old vehicle access log on the desk.
May you like
One name appeared beneath the midnight entry.
ADRIAN KINGSLEY.
