Chapter 11 - THE CHIEF
Chief Hale called Cole’s phone at 2:41 a.m.
Everybody stared at the screen.
Cole answered on speaker.
“Hale.”
The chief’s voice sounded calm.
“Daniel, where are you?”
“Home.”
A pause.
“No, you’re not.”
Cole looked at Mrs. Alvarez.
She nodded.
Hale continued.
“We found blood at the station.”
Cole said nothing.
“Daniel?”
“I got cut.”
“Come in.”
“I’ll come in tomorrow.”
Another pause.
Then Hale’s tone changed.
“This isn’t a request.”
Cole ended the call.
Maeve looked at him.
“You think he knows?”
“He knows.”
Rocco paced the farmhouse kitchen.
“We take the evidence to state police.”
Mrs. Alvarez shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we don’t know how far this goes.”
Rocco pointed at the ledger.
“We have names.”
“We have coded initials.”
“We have bank records.”
“We have pieces.”
Maeve held up the USB drive.
“And this?”
They found an old laptop in the farmhouse office.
The USB drive contained dozens of folders.
Property deeds.
Payment records.
Recorded calls.
Photographs.
One video file.
Maeve clicked it.
Her father appeared on-screen.
Nora gasped.
Patrick was sitting inside his garage.
He looked exhausted.
“If you’re watching this,” he said, “I probably ran out of time.”
Maeve’s eyes filled instantly.
Patrick looked directly into the camera.
“Maeve, if you ever see this… I’m sorry.”
She covered her mouth.
“You were eight when I recorded this. You were supposed to be worried about school and cartoons and whether you could sneak another cookie before dinner.”
Nora started sobbing.
Patrick continued.
“I never wanted this reaching you.”
Maeve whispered, “Dad…”
Then Patrick looked off-camera.
“There are two men you need to know about.”
Everyone leaned closer.
“Dominic Vale is dangerous.”
Rocco nodded once.
“But he isn’t the one I’m most afraid of.”
Maeve stopped breathing.
Patrick continued.
“Raymond Hale is.”
Cole closed his eyes.
Patrick held up several papers.
“Hale is the one protecting the whole system. Dominic makes money. Hale makes problems disappear.”
Rocco said, “Jesus.”
The video continued.
“If something happens to me, there’s one person I trust with Maeve.”
Maeve looked at Rocco.
Patrick said the name.
“Rocco.”
Rocco looked away.
Maeve’s anger dissolved into something painful.
Patrick smiled faintly.
“He won’t know I said that. He’ll probably be mad.”
Rocco laughed once, but his eyes were wet.
Patrick’s expression became serious.
“One more thing.”
The screen flickered.
“There’s someone inside Dominic’s company feeding me records.”
Mrs. Alvarez leaned closer.
Patrick continued.
“She’s risking everything.”
Maeve frowned.
“She?”
The video glitched.
Then Patrick said the name.
“Nora Vale.”
The room froze.
Rocco whispered, “Dominic’s wife?”
Mrs. Alvarez nodded slowly.
“Ex-wife now.”
Maeve looked at her mother.
“You knew her?”
Nora shook her head.
Before anyone could speak, headlights swept across the farmhouse windows.
One car.
Then another.
Then six.
Cole ran to the window.
His face drained of color.
“Police.”
Rocco looked at him.
“Real police?”
Cole watched Chief Hale step from the first cruiser.
“No.”
May you like
He drew his weapon.
“These are Hale’s.”
