Chapter 13 - A Witness With No Name
Ortiz traced Martin Cole's last debit-card purchase to a roadside motel north of Reno. She traveled with a Nevada detective to interview him. Ethan stayed home because she refused to let a civilian walk into a possible trap.
For two days, no one found Martin.
Then a local hospital reported an older man admitted after a fall. He had given a false name, but the scar on his hand matched Samuel Pike's old work injury.
Samuel initially denied knowing Daniel Mercer.
Ortiz placed a photograph on his bedside table. Daniel, Margaret, and six-year-old Ethan at a county fair.
Samuel began crying.
"I tried to pull him out," he said.
He described how Frank had been paid to disable an alarm. Richard wanted to destroy paperwork stored in the warehouse, but the fire spread faster than expected. Daniel was trapped behind a locked west exit.
"I opened the loading bay," Samuel said. "I thought I could get to him. Frank hit me with a pipe. When I woke up, everything was burning."
"Why fake your death?" Ortiz asked.
"They said I killed Daniel. They said they'd put me away forever if I told anyone. Frank gave me cash and a new name. I was twenty-two."
Samuel agreed to testify, provided he had protection.
Across town, Richard's attorney approached Ethan with an offer: a large settlement, an apology to Margaret, and lifetime medical care if Ethan abandoned the corporate claims and stopped speaking publicly.
"He'll make your family rich," the attorney said.
Ethan looked at the paper. "My mother wanted a quiet life. Your client took that from her."
"Think carefully. Trials can go badly."
"Then we'll tell the truth carefully."
After the lawyer left, Maya received a court notification: Frank Daley had petitioned for immunity in exchange for testimony.
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His proposed target wasn't Richard.
It was Margaret Mercer.
