Chapter 6 - The Last Name on the List
Federal agents separated everyone into different rooms inside the station offices.
Daniel refused to surrender his father’s letter until Lena Ortiz agreed to let him photograph it. She examined the handwritten names and confirmed that six were already targets in an ongoing investigation.
Rose’s name troubled her.
“Edward trusted Rose,” Lena said. “He had no reason to list her as a suspect.”
“He didn’t. Read the note.”
Lena studied the final lines.
“She did not betray me at the bridge,” she read. “Find the person who forged her messages.”
Daniel leaned over the table.
“Who received those messages?”
“Victor.”
“What did they say?”
“That Edward planned to meet me at Bellweather Bridge.”
“And they came from Rose’s phone?”
“Yes.”
“Could someone else have used it?”
Lena hesitated.
“Rose reported the phone missing two days before the meeting.”
Daniel sat back.
“Who had access to her house?”
“We’ll have to ask her.”
Rose was brought into the room ten minutes later.
She looked exhausted but composed.
“Who knew where you lived?” Daniel asked.
“Evelyn. Margaret. Mark. Lena.”
“Anyone else?”
“Edward.”
“Did Margaret ever visit?”
Rose’s expression changed.
“Once.”
“When?”
“Three days before Edward died.”
Daniel and Lena exchanged a glance.
“Why?”
“She said she wanted money.”
Rose folded her arms.
“Mark had taken loans from Victor’s companies. Margaret believed I could make them disappear.”
Daniel thought of Margaret’s confession.
She had said she stole the watch to protect her son.
“What happened during the visit?”
“I told her I couldn’t help. She became angry. She accused Evelyn’s family of destroying hers.”
“Did you leave her alone?”
“For several minutes. I went upstairs to find documents proving Mark’s debt had already been sold to another company.”
“Your phone?”
“Was charging in the kitchen.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“Did Margaret know about the bridge meeting?”
“No.”
“Could she have learned?”
Rose looked toward the one-way glass.
“Edward might have told Mark.”
Lena brought Mark in next.
He had been treated by a medic and wore a bandage above his eye. His wrists were free, though an agent remained at the door.
Daniel placed the letter in front of him.
“Did you tell Margaret about Bellweather Bridge?”
Mark read the note.
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“I didn’t.”
“Did my father tell you before the meeting?”
“He called me that afternoon. He said he needed a ride later.”
“Did Margaret hear the call?”
“I don’t know.”
“You lived with her at the time?”
Mark nodded.
He and Emily had stayed in Margaret’s home while saving for their house.
“Where were you when Dad called?”
“In the kitchen.”
“Was your mother there?”
“She might have been.”
Rose studied Mark.
“Why did Edward call you instead of Daniel?”
Mark looked down.
“Because I was already involved.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“Involved how?”
“I had been copying files for him.”
Lena leaned forward.
“You told investigators you refused to help Edward.”
“I lied.”
Emily entered the room before anyone could stop her.
“No more,” she said.
An agent moved toward her, but Lena raised a hand.
Emily stood behind Mark.
“No more half-truths. No more protecting people who hurt us. Tell everything.”
Mark’s eyes filled.
“I started working for Victor because I owed money.”
Emily’s face tightened.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
She stared at him.
“We’ve never had that kind of debt.”
“It wasn’t ours.”
“Whose was it?”
“My mother’s.”
Daniel looked toward the glass wall.
Margaret sat alone in the neighboring room.
Mark continued.
“She invested in a private development project. It was a fraud, but Victor made her personally responsible for the loss. He threatened to take her house.”
“So you joined him,” Daniel said.
“I thought I could work off the debt.”
“You helped destroy other families to save hers.”
Mark flinched.
“Yes.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“How long?”
“Four years.”
The betrayal seemed to drain the strength from her body.
Mark turned toward her.
“I stopped after Lily was born. I realized what kind of father I was becoming.”
“But they didn’t let you leave.”
“No.”
“And Dad helped you?”
“He discovered my name in one of the accounts. Instead of exposing me, he asked me to help copy Victor’s records.”
Daniel understood now why Edward had trusted Mark conditionally.
“What happened at the bridge?”
Mark’s voice lowered.
“I drove your father there. Lena was supposed to arrive at eight. Before she did, Edward received a message from Rose saying the meeting was compromised.”
Rose shook her head.
“I never sent it.”
“He knew something was wrong. He told me to drive away. Then a car blocked the road.”
“Who was driving?”
“I couldn’t see.”
“Who attacked him?”
“A man wearing a hood.”
“One man?”
Mark nodded.
“Edward fought him. I got out of the car, but someone struck me from behind. When I woke up, the attacker was gone and Edward was on the pavement.”
Daniel stared at Mark’s bruised cheek.
“You never told us you were attacked too.”
“I was ashamed.”
“Of what?”
Mark’s eyes moved toward Margaret behind the glass.
“When I woke, my mother’s scarf was lying beside Edward.”
Emily went still.
“What scarf?”
“A red silk scarf with black flowers. I gave it to her for Christmas.”
Daniel remembered it.
Margaret had worn that scarf at Edward’s funeral.
“Why didn’t you confront her?”
“I did.”
Mark’s mouth trembled.
“She said she had lost it weeks earlier.”
“And you believed her?”
“She was my mother.”
Emily’s voice turned bitter.
“That excuse has ruined all of us.”
Lena ordered an agent to search Margaret’s belongings and vehicles.
Margaret was brought into the room.
She looked at Mark with desperate love.
“You told them.”
“You were at the bridge,” he said.
“No.”
“Your scarf was there.”
“It was stolen.”
“Like Rose’s phone?”
Margaret’s eyes darted toward Daniel.
He placed the photograph of Evelyn and Rose on the table.
“You contacted Victor tonight. You stole the watch. You knew where the ledger was hidden. What else are you hiding?”
Margaret began breathing too quickly.
“I didn’t kill Edward.”
“No one said you did.”
She realized her mistake.
Lena leaned forward.
“Who killed him, Margaret?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why were you at the bridge?”
“I followed Mark.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor told me Mark was helping Edward.”
Mark stared at her.
“You knew?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By warning Victor?”
Margaret slammed both hands on the table.
“He said he would kill you!”
“So you gave him Edward.”
“I gave him the meeting location. I didn’t know anyone would get hurt.”
Daniel’s fury became strangely calm.
“You sent the messages from Rose’s phone.”
Margaret nodded through tears.
“I took it while she was upstairs. Victor gave me the words to send.”
“Who attacked my father?”
“I never saw his face.”
“You were there.”
“I stayed in my car beyond the trees. When the fight started, I panicked and drove away.”
Mark looked shattered.
“You left us there.”
“I thought Victor’s man would only frighten Edward.”
Daniel felt something inside him harden permanently.
“You watched my father get beaten and did nothing.”
Margaret sobbed.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily moved closer to her mother.
For one hopeful second, Margaret lifted her arms.
Emily did not embrace her.
She removed the necklace hanging around Margaret’s throat.
A tiny silver pendant rested against her palm.
“What are you doing?” Margaret asked.
Emily turned it over.
A dark speck was embedded near the clasp.
“A camera,” she said.
Margaret stopped crying.
Lena took the pendant.
“Who gave you this?”
Margaret looked toward the door.
No one spoke.
Then the station lights went out.
Emergency alarms began screaming.
In the darkness, glass shattered in the neighboring office.
An agent shouted.
By the time backup lights flickered on, Margaret’s chair was empty.
The window behind her had been broken outward.
On the floor lay the silver pendant.
Its tiny camera was still blinking.
A voice crackled through it.
Distorted.
May you like
Male.
“Margaret, run to Platform Six. Your son’s debt is not paid yet.”
