Chapter 6 - THE EMPTY ROOM
Elena saw the open balcony door first.
Ethan was halfway across the room before she caught him. “Wait. Look.”
A tiny red thread clung to the handle. Noah’s backpack had been dragged past it. Beyond the balcony was a narrow maintenance walkway that connected to the old west wing.
Ethan grabbed a flashlight. “Call the police.”
“They’re already here,” Elena said.
“Call them again.”
They crossed the walkway with two officers close behind. Below, the birthday guests were being escorted into the front courtyard. Sirens washed red and blue across the windows.
At the far end of the west wing, Elena heard a soft click.
Noah’s camera.
Ethan pushed open an office door. Noah crouched under a desk, filming through a gap between two drawers. He put one finger to his lips.
A man stood with his back to them at the office safe. It was Grant.
Ethan stepped inside. “Move away from my son.”
Grant turned. He held Noah’s camera in one hand and an old leather folder in the other.
“Noah followed me,” he said. “I brought him in here so he’d be safe.”
“From whom?” Ethan asked.
Grant looked at the officers. “From the person who set all this up.”
Noah crawled out and ran to Elena. “He told Grandma he knew where the old papers were.”
Grant’s face changed.
“You were with my mother?” Ethan asked.
“She came here after you left the room.”
“Where is she now?”
Grant glanced toward the office window. Below it, a car engine started in the service driveway.
Ethan moved toward the glass. A black sedan pulled away, its headlights off. Vivian sat in the passenger seat.
“Who’s driving?” Ethan demanded.
Grant did not answer.
Noah tugged Elena’s sleeve. “I recorded them talking.”
Grant held up the camera. “It doesn’t prove what he thinks it proves.”
“Give it to the officer,” Ethan said.
For a moment, Grant looked as if he might refuse. Then he handed it over.
On the small screen, the recording began with a shaky view of the office door. Vivian’s voice filled the room.
“I told you to keep Ethan away from the chandelier.”
A man answered, “Cole moved too early.”
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Noah whispered, “That’s Uncle Julian.”
Behind them, the officer’s radio announced that Julian had vanished from the cold storage room.
