Chapter 10 - The Account in Mark’s Name
Detective Ortiz met them at the station just after midnight. She listened to the account of the broken window without interrupting, then placed the music-box cylinder inside a plastic bag.“You should have called before touching it,” she said.“We didn’t touch it,” Sarah replied.“You picked it up.”“With a towel.”Ortiz glanced at Jonah. “You advised them?”“I advised them to document the scene and come here.”“Good. Keep advising.”Sarah handed over the photograph, the plate information, the ledger, and the message. Mark gave her the phone.Ortiz read the text twice.“Who is Claire Vale?” she asked.“A missing woman,” Mark said.“A woman your family may have helped disappear.”Mark did not answer.Ortiz turned to Sarah. “Your husband has admitted entering the property with Ms. Vale. He has admitted transferring money to her. He has not explained the source of that money.”“It came from a private account,” Sarah said.“Do you know whether that account is connected to Whitaker Development?”“No.”Mark reached into his jacket and took out a bank statement.“It is,” he said.Sarah stared at him.“The account received payments from Bellwether Archives,” Mark continued. “Hal used it to pay me for finding documents.”“You were being paid to investigate your own family?” Ortiz asked.“Yes.”“And you kept the money?”“At first.”“What changed?”“I realized Hal knew Claire was alive.”Sarah turned sharply. “Alive?”Mark nodded. “I received a photograph six months ago. Claire was in it.”“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because the picture was a threat. It showed her in a hospital bed. The message said she would die if I contacted anyone.”Ortiz leaned forward. “Where is Claire now?”“I don’t know.”“Who sent the photograph?”“An account registered to Bellwether Archives.”The detective rubbed her forehead. “This is not a family argument. This is a conspiracy with forged companies, missing money, possible kidnapping, and an active threat.”“We know,” Sarah said.“No, you know pieces. My job is to determine which pieces are evidence.”She called a financial crimes investigator. While they waited, Sarah sat beside Jonah in the hallway.“I don’t know whether I can believe anything Mark says,” she whispered.“You don’t have to believe him. You have to compare his statements with records.”“What if the records are controlled by his family?”“Then we find records they do not control.”Priya arrived carrying printed documents. “I searched the hospital archives.”Sarah looked at her. “Why?”“Because you asked me to find Claire’s death records. I found something better.”Priya laid down a copy of an old admission log from a private rehabilitation hospital.The patient name had been blacked out, but the date was legible: October 14, 2007.“The attending physician wrote ‘female, approximately forty, trauma from vehicle collision,’” Priya said. “A nurse added a note that the patient refused to give her name.”“How does that connect to Claire?” Sarah asked.“The insurance payment came through Blue Lantern Properties.”Mark stood abruptly. “Where is the hospital?”“Closed now,” Priya said. “The records were transferred to a county archive.”Ortiz took the copy. “We will subpoena the complete file.”“You’ll need to move quickly,” Mark said. “Hal knows we have the ledger.”“How would he know?”“Because the ledger was in the tunnel.”“And only you, Ms. Vale, and Mrs. Whitaker knew about the tunnel,” Ortiz said.Everyone looked at Sarah.She felt the accusation before it was spoken.“I did not tell him,” she said.“I didn’t accuse you.”But doubt had entered the room.Later, Priya drove Sarah back to her apartment. Leo was asleep on the couch beneath a blanket, Fox tucked under his chin.Sarah stood over him until he stirred.“Mommy?”“I’m here.”“Is Daddy coming?”Sarah sat beside him. “Not tonight.”“Did he do bad things?”She chose her words carefully. “Daddy made choices he should have told us about.”Leo thought about this. “Can people fix choices?”“Sometimes.”Across the room, Sarah’s phone lit up.An image had arrived from an unknown number.It showed Mark standing outside the old rehabilitation hospital in 2007.Beside him was a woman with a bandage across her forehead.The woman’s face was turned away, but the scar above her eyebrow was already visible.Sarah zoomed in.The photograph had been taken before Avery was born.
