Chapter 10 - The Missing Recording
Marcus Dean lived in a small coastal town south of Providence.
He was seventy-two and did not seem surprised when Grant appeared at his door.
“You finally figured it out.”
Grant stared at him.
“You knew?”
Marcus stepped aside.
“Come in.”
His living room contained fishing photographs, Navy memorabilia, and a computer older than Noah.
Marcus poured coffee.
“I worked for your father before I worked for you.”
“I was loyal to that family for thirty-one years.”
“Then Vanessa Hale walked into it.”
Claire listened closely.
Marcus said Laura had contacted him eleven days before her death.
She suspected Vanessa was stealing from the foundation.
Laura asked Marcus to quietly preserve security footage.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Marcus looked at Grant.
“Your wife took the primary recorder.”
“She claimed there had been a system failure.”
“I had already made a backup.”
Grant stood.
“You have it?”
“Had.”
Marcus opened a drawer.
Inside was a damaged external hard drive.
“Someone broke into my house six years ago.”
“They didn’t take money.”
“They took this and smashed it.”
Claire picked it up.
“Can anything be recovered?”
“Maybe.”
Daniel knew a digital forensic specialist.
They delivered the drive that afternoon.
The specialist said recovery might be possible from the undamaged platters.
Meanwhile, Marcus told them what happened the morning after Laura’s crash.
Vanessa had arrived at the mansion before Grant returned.
She ordered Marcus to erase garage footage.
He refused.
Two hours later, he was fired.
“Why didn’t you go to police?” Grant asked.
“I did.”
“What?”
Marcus handed him a copy of an old report.
The officer noted there was insufficient evidence of a crime.
The investigation ended.
Claire studied the officer’s name.
Detective Raymond Cole.
Marcus tapped the page.
“He retired three years later.”
“Bought a house in Florida.”
“A very expensive house.”
Grant’s expression darkened.
“You think Vanessa paid him?”
“I think somebody did.”
The forensic specialist called shortly after midnight.
He had recovered twenty-seven seconds.
They gathered around the screen.
The footage began at 11:48 P.M.
Vanessa stood beside Laura’s SUV.
She held something metallic.
She crouched near the front driver-side wheel.
Then another person entered the frame.
A man.
Claire could not see his face.
Vanessa turned toward him.
He handed her an envelope.
The video skipped.
Then Vanessa looked directly toward the camera.
The final second froze.
Grant leaned closer.
The man wore a distinctive silver ring.
Grant recognized it.
May you like
His face turned white.
“That belongs to my chief financial officer.”
