Chapter 10 - Locker 414
Mara killed the room lights. Sophie dialed the detective. Claire crouched below the window and listened to tires crackle on loose gravel.
"They're trying to scare us into moving," Mara said. "If we run, they can follow."
"And if we stay?" Sophie whispered.
"The police come here."
The SUV left before the first unit arrived. Alvarez sent an officer to guard the motel and personally drove the three women to the downtown train station, where locker 414 stood between a vending machine and a wall of tourist posters.
"Why put it here?" Claire asked.
"Cameras," Mara said. "And lots of witnesses."
The key turned reluctantly. Inside sat a canvas shopping bag, a prepaid phone, and a yellow envelope marked FOR CLAIRE BENNETT.
Claire opened the envelope. Her father's handwriting filled the first page.
Claire, if you are reading this, I failed to protect you from the people I thought I could negotiate with.
Her hands shook. The letter explained that Thomas had discovered concealed toxic waste beneath the proposed waterfront development. His foundation owned the access parcel and could stop construction. When he threatened to report the contamination, Eleanor offered money. When he refused, someone tampered with his car.
Thomas survived the crash but fled after receiving proof that a hospital employee had been paid to declare him dead. He feared a second attempt would target his daughters.
"He let us bury an empty coffin?" Sophie said.
Claire kept reading. Thomas wrote that he had stayed hidden to obtain records strong enough to expose the entire scheme. A note at the bottom contained a date and an address on the harbor road.
May you like
Mara switched on the prepaid phone. One video file appeared.
The opening frame showed Adrian in the driver's seat of Thomas Bennett's damaged car, holding a pair of wire cutters.
