Chapter 17 - No More Hiding
Ethan photographed the threat without touching the contents and called Ortiz. She collected the package for fingerprints and trace evidence.
"I'm tired of being afraid," Ethan told her.
"Then let fear help you make careful decisions," she said. "Not reckless ones."
Margaret moved to a protected residence while the case continued. At first she protested.
"I spent twenty-six years hiding," she told Ethan. "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life doing it."
"This isn't hiding. It's giving the detectives room to work."
She considered that, then nodded. "Only until I can walk without that awful walker."
Ethan rented a modest workshop and began repairing furniture, something Daniel had taught him when he was little. The smell of sawdust steadied him when the courthouse news grew overwhelming.
Claire came by one afternoon with Owen. She brought a box of old family photographs and a written account of every time Richard pressured her to mislead Ethan. She had also formally dissolved Harbor Lantern and turned over its records.
"I don't expect forgiveness," she said.
"Good," Ethan answered. "Because I can't offer it on demand."
She nodded. "I wanted you to have the truth anyway."
Owen found Daniel's hard hat on a shelf. "He wore that?"
"Every day," Ethan said.
"My father told me builders cut corners because everybody does it."
"Some people do. Some spend their lives making sure they don't."
That evening, a news alert reported Peter Knox had been arrested crossing the Canadian border with forged documents. He asked immediately for an attorney and made no public statement.
The next morning, the prosecutor called Maya. Knox had offered information about the warehouse fire in exchange for a plea agreement.
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According to him, Richard hadn't planned to kill Daniel that night.
He had planned to kill someone else.
