Chapter 15 - The Woman Who Kept Every Receipt

"Her name is Ruth Calder," Mateo said. "She ran Bellwether's records office. She kept carbon copies of every placement form, every check, every forged signature."

I remembered Ruth. She had smelled of peppermint and always wore purple cardigans. She taught me how to straighten paper clips into tiny hooks. For years my mother said Ruth had moved overseas.

"She's alive?" I asked.

"Yes. She's been in protective housing under a different name. Someone leaked her location."

Eli took out his phone and called the investigator supervising Ruth's deposition. No answer. He called a second number. A woman answered, sounding furious.

"Eli, you've been suspended. You can't keep calling me."

"Listen," he said. "Ruth Calder is in danger. The location is compromised."

Silence. Then, "How do you know that name?"

"Because the witness asked me to find her records. Please tell me where she is."

"I can't."

"Then move her now."

"She's already missing. Her escort never showed up."

I felt the day's floor tilt beneath me.

Mateo covered his face. "They found her."

"Not necessarily," Jo said. "A woman who saved copies for seventeen years might know how to disappear on purpose."

I thought of my mother, her steady hands at the sewing machine, and Ruth's little purple cardigan. Everybody in my childhood had apparently been keeping secrets with the dedication of professional magicians.

Adrian turned to me. "What did Conrad give you besides the key?"

"Nothing."

"Think. He could have just had you dragged away. Why give you access to B-14?"

I remembered Conrad's expression: tired, calculating, almost regretful. He had wanted me to find the recording. Or he had wanted someone else to see me find it.

"Maybe he wanted us to chase the ledger," I said. "Maybe this whole thing is a way to flush Ruth out."

Jo snapped her fingers. "The mansion presentation link. Anyone with admin access could see our file uploads. We put the photographed document online before the party. Conrad knew what we had, and what we didn't."

Mateo shook his head. "Then he knows Ruth has the missing witness page."

My phone vibrated. An unknown number sent a short video. My mother sat tied to a chair. A purple sleeve appeared beside her, and an older woman leaned into the frame.

"Mara," Ruth Calder said, voice steady, "they want you to come alone. Please don't."

A hand pulled her away.

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Then the camera tilted, showing a clock on the wall.

Eleven forty-three.