Chapter 5 - The Fourth Man
I called Victor from the hospital parking garage.
“You were there.”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“You were on campus the day Renata was attacked.”
“I can explain.”
“Then start.”
“I was following Holloway.”
“Why?”
“Because Holloway contacted me.”
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
I leaned against the concrete wall.
“What did he want?”
“Protection.”
“For Renata?”
“For himself.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
Victor continued.
“He discovered who was using your name.”
“Who?”
“I never got the answer.”
“Because?”
“Holloway saw someone watching him and panicked.”
“So you followed him.”
“Yes.”
“And my daughter?”
“I saw her enter the science building with the boys.”
“You didn’t stop her?”
“I didn’t know she was in danger.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
That answer surprised me.
“I expect you to hate me.”
His voice became quieter.
“But I also expect you to stay smart.”
I ended the call.
That afternoon, Mateo brought me three pieces of information.
The first was about Professor Holloway.
He had withdrawn $15,000 in cash the morning he disappeared.
The second involved the university.
A maintenance employee admitted privately that the science-building cameras had not malfunctioned.
Someone had manually disconnected the recording server.
The third was worse.
Detective Warren had received a $180,000 mortgage payoff from a company connected to the Varela family.
“Can we prove it?”
Mateo nodded.
“Yes.”
“Not yet.”
“You don’t want to expose him?”
“I want to know who tells him what to do.”
We waited.
Two hours later, Warren left the precinct.
Mateo’s people followed him from a distance.
He drove north.
Not to the Varela mansion.
Not to Senator Beltran’s office.
Not to Cordova headquarters.
He drove to a small cemetery outside the city.
I watched through binoculars from inside Mateo’s car.
Warren walked between the graves.
A man was waiting near an old stone mausoleum.
The man wore a dark coat.
Gray hair.
Victor Serrano.
Mateo cursed.
“I knew it.”
“Wait.”
Warren handed Victor an envelope.
Victor opened it.
Then Victor said something that made Warren step backward.
We could not hear them.
But Warren’s face drained of color.
Victor handed the envelope back.
The detective hurried away.
Mateo looked at me.
“We grab Serrano now.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“I said no.”
Victor remained beside the mausoleum.
Then he slowly turned.
He looked directly toward our car.
He knew we were there.
He lifted his phone.
Mine rang.
I answered.
Victor’s voice came through calmly.
“You’re losing your touch.”
“What did Warren give you?”
“The original police report from Elena’s accident.”
I stopped breathing.
“Why?”
“Because he was the first officer at the scene.”
“Nineteen years ago?”
“Yes.”
Victor looked toward us from across the cemetery.
“And Daniel?”
“What?”
“He says Elena was alive when he arrived.”
Every sound around me disappeared.
The official report said Elena had died instantly.
Victor continued.
“She spoke for almost three minutes.”
“What did she say?”
“He only remembers one sentence.”
My voice barely came out.
“Tell me.”
May you like
Victor answered.
“She said, ‘Daniel has to know it was someone inside the family.’”
