Chapter 14 - The Mechanic
Tony agreed to meet at a diner outside Albuquerque.
Grant wanted police present.
Tony refused.
So Claire went with Grant and a private investigator.
Tony looked twenty years older than his archived employee photograph.
He kept checking the parking lot.
“I didn’t cut the brakes,” he said before sitting down.
Grant’s voice hardened.
“Then tell me who did.”
Tony stared into his coffee.
“Vanessa.”
Grant did not move.
Tony continued.
“She came to the service garage after closing.”
“She said Mrs. Whitman wanted the brake line inspected.”
“I told her the vehicle was fine.”
“She offered me fifty thousand dollars.”
Claire leaned forward.
“For what?”
“To loosen the connection at the hydraulic line.”
Grant’s hands tightened.
“And you did it?”
Tony looked ashamed.
“No.”
“Then how did it happen?”
“I refused.”
“She threatened my daughter.”
Grant stared at him.
Tony continued.
“I still refused.”
“But I made a mistake.”
“I showed her where the line was.”
Claire felt her stomach turn.
“The next morning, I heard about the crash.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Richard Halpern paid me.”
Grant looked sharply at him.
“For silence?”
Tony nodded.
“He said nobody would believe me.”
“He said if I talked, I’d be blamed.”
“He gave me two hundred thousand dollars.”
“I took it.”
Grant stood.
Tony flinched.
Then Grant sat again.
“Can you prove any of this?”
Tony reached inside his jacket.
He removed an old flip phone sealed in plastic.
“I recorded her.”
Claire stared.
Tony explained that he had started recording after Vanessa threatened his daughter.
He had kept the phone hidden for six years.
Never trusting police.
Never deleting the file.
The audio was rough but clear.
Vanessa’s voice filled the diner.
“Either you loosen it, or I will find someone who will.”
Tony’s younger voice answered.
“You’re talking about killing her.”
Vanessa replied.
“I’m talking about solving a problem.”
Grant closed his eyes.
The investigator immediately contacted prosecutors.
For the first time, the case had direct pre-crash evidence.
But Tony had one final piece of information.
“The man she found after me wasn’t Richard.”
Grant frowned.
“Who was it?”
Tony looked at him.
“Someone from your house.”
Claire’s heart dropped.
May you like
Tony whispered the name.
“Your old chauffeur.”
