Chapter 9 - THE PRICE OF SILENCE
The victim’s name was Thomas Bell.
Daniel remembered him.
Everybody in local construction did.
A city inspector who had disappeared eighteen months earlier.
His truck had been found near a lake.
His body never was.
Evan stared down at his hands.
“The video showed my father meeting Bell in an unfinished warehouse.”
Pike’s voice stayed controlled.
“And?”
“They argued.”
“About what?”
“Bell wanted money.”
“Blackmail?”
Evan nodded.
“He’d been taking payments from my dad for years. Then he got scared. Said federal investigators were asking questions.”
Daniel felt sick.
“And your father killed him?”
Evan shook his head.
“No.”
Pike frowned.
“You said the video showed murder.”
“It did.”
“Then who killed Bell?”
Evan slowly lifted his eyes.
“Baker.”
Silence.
Collins whispered, “Jesus.”
Evan continued.
“Baker used to work private security for my dad before joining the detention department.”
Pike stared at him.
“And the video?”
“Bell recorded the meeting.”
“How?”
“Hidden camera. My dad found it later.”
“Then why keep the footage?”
“My dad didn’t know it existed until we found the lockbox.”
Daniel leaned back.
Everything connected.
The hidden box.
Richard.
Evan.
Baker.
The truck.
The robbery.
The false identification.
“Why frame me?”
Evan looked ashamed.
“Because you found the box.”
“I gave it to your father.”
“But you knew where it came from.”
“So?”
“My dad panicked.”
Daniel stood.
“He destroyed my life because I found a box I never even opened?”
Evan’s voice cracked.
“He thought you might’ve copied something.”
“Copied what? I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS IN IT!”
Pike raised a hand.
“Daniel.”
Daniel ignored him.
“You could’ve told the truth.”
“I was scared.”
“You were scared?”
Daniel laughed.
“Try telling your six-year-old you can’t hug him because somebody else was scared.”
Evan looked away.
Daniel wanted to hit him.
For one terrible second, he imagined doing it.
Then he pictured Mateo.
He sat back down.
“Where’s the drive?”
Evan hesitated.
Pike said, “This is the part where you decide whether you’re a witness or a co-conspirator.”
“My dad has it.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You lie when your right hand shakes.”
Evan immediately tucked his hand under the table.
Daniel leaned forward.
“I watched you lie to customers for years.”
Evan’s face tightened.
“You know exactly where that drive is.”
Evan breathed through his nose.
Then he whispered, “There’s a storage unit.”
Pike grabbed his notebook.
“Address.”
Evan gave it.
“Unit number?”
“214.”
“Code?”
Evan looked toward Daniel.
“Daniel’s birthday.”
Daniel went still.
“What?”
“The code.”
Evan swallowed.
“My dad used your birthday.”
Daniel felt something inside him turn cold.
“Why?”
“So if anyone found the records, he could say the unit belonged to you.”
Collins cursed under her breath.
Daniel stared at Evan.
This wasn’t just panic.
It wasn’t a quick frame-up.
Richard Wallace had built layers.
Backup lies.
Escape routes.
Daniel’s name hidden inside every one of them.
Pike stood.
“I’m sending a team.”
Evan suddenly shot up.
“No!”
Pike’s hand went near his weapon.
“What?”
Evan’s face had gone white.
“If you go to that unit, don’t open the red toolbox.”
“Why?”
Evan backed toward the wall.
“Because Baker told my dad if the police ever got close, he’d make sure nobody walked away with the evidence.”
Pike’s eyes narrowed.
“What’s in the toolbox?”
May you like
Evan whispered:
“A bomb.”
