Chapter 3
The red key opened a cabinet in the old garage.
Not the main one.
A service cabinet Daniel used when he repaired cars himself.
Inside were spare fuses.
Tools.
Oil records.
And a metal box.
No label.
The key fit.
Inside sat three things.
A burned cufflink.
A black ledger.
And a voice recorder.
I recognized the cufflink immediately.
Reed’s.
Family crest.
Custom made.
He wore the pair at dinner the night before the fire.
One had been missing afterward.
He claimed it fell at the lake.
Apparently it fell somewhere else.
I opened the ledger.
Vehicle movements.
Fuel deliveries.
Staff access.
Daniel’s handwriting.
Then repeated entries near the final pages.
WEST GENERATOR — MANUAL OVERRIDE.
Three dates.
Each followed by initials.
R.V.
Reed Vale.
My jaw tightened.
The west wing fire began near the backup generator corridor.
That much I knew.
What I did not know was why Daniel had been recording Reed’s access to it.
I pressed play on the recorder.
Static.
Then Daniel’s voice.
“If you’re hearing this, I couldn’t tell August directly.”
My chest tightened.
He continued.
“Reed has been using the old generator corridor after midnight.”
Pause.
“He thinks nobody notices because the cameras are disabled during fuel transfer.”
Another pause.
“I checked anyway.”
Then:
“He’s meeting someone.”
A man’s voice entered faintly in the background.
Not clear enough to identify.
Daniel whispered:
“They keep talking about succession.”
Of course.
Always succession.
Then Reed’s voice.
Distinct.
“If the west wing goes first, he’ll run toward the study.”
My blood went cold.
My study.
The room where I kept family records.
Where everyone knew I worked late.
The recording ended.
I did not move for several seconds.
Rafe, standing beside me, finally asked:
“Boss?”
I looked at the burned cufflink.
Daniel had not stolen from Reed.
He had taken proof.
Then hidden it.
Reed turned a witness into a thief after the witness died.
Classic.
I picked up the recorder.
“Find June Brooks.”
Rafe nodded.
Then I added:
“Quietly.”
May you like
If Reed had one partner, maybe he had more.
And whoever helped plan the fire might already know Daniel left something behind.
