Chapter 8 - THE LOCKER THAT WASN’T EMPTY
I spent the rest of the night at the hospital with Nora.
No fracture.
A concussion evaluation.
Instructions printed on paper I could barely focus on.
My face would heal.
That was what the doctor said.
She didn’t promise anything about the rest of me.
By morning, photographs from the engagement dinner were online.
In one, I stood behind Vanessa holding a serving dish.
Someone had circled my face.
Another post called me the maid who tried to blackmail a millionaire.
My landlord texted before breakfast.
I hope there won’t be police activity at the building.
I stared at the message.
Nora took my phone.
“Eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Then be not hungry while you eat toast.”
At ten, Detective Mara Ellis called.
She wanted to confirm what I remembered about the guest-room documents.
I described the folder, the payment amounts, the names.
Then she asked about Daniel’s locker.
“I never went to the warehouse,” I said.
“We found it.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Was anything inside?”
“A lunch bag.
Work gloves.
A maintenance manual.”
I waited.
“The manual had a false paper cover.
Inside were copied invoices and a handwritten list of delivery dates.”
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had known enough to hide them.
Not enough to save himself.
“There was also an envelope,” Ellis said.
“Addressed to his wife.”
“Did you give it to her?”
“Not yet.
We need to document it first.”
“Please don’t let it become another thing she has to beg for.”
The detective was quiet.
Then she said, “I won’t.”
That afternoon, Luca came to Nora’s apartment.
He stayed in the hallway.
No guards at the door.
No flowers.
No jewelry.
“I’ve arranged paid leave for the staff,” he said.
“Through whom?”
He seemed surprised by the question.
“An outside payroll firm.
My attorney is overseeing it.”
“Good.”
He looked at my bruised cheek.
“I should have noticed sooner.”
“You noticed when it interrupted your dinner.”
He accepted that without defending himself.
Then he handed me a sealed envelope.
“Copies of your employment records.
Your real signature samples.
The police have them.”
I took it.
He turned to leave.
“Luca.”
He stopped.
“Did Daniel come to you himself?”
For the first time, he looked away.
“Yes.”
The hallway seemed to narrow.
“And what did you tell him?”
May you like
His answer was almost too quiet to hear.
“To stop making trouble.”
