Chapter 18 - Where the Fire Began
The studio had been rebuilt as a storage facility, but the back wall remained. Claire arrived with Ruiz and two officers nearby. Daniel was waiting beside the loading entrance, his hands visible.
“You came,” he said.
“I came with police.”
He nodded. “Fair.”
He held out a small envelope. “My father recorded a statement before he died. He left it in a safe deposit box. My mother found it and hid it. I got a copy.”
Claire didn't take the envelope.
“Why now?”
“Because I can't keep choosing what you deserve to know.”
“That would've been useful before the wedding.”
“I know.”
He opened the envelope and showed her a transcript. Thomas Mercer admitted he had started the fire after a confrontation with Evelyn. He claimed he thought everyone had left. He also admitted that Robert Whitmore had agreed to help suppress the investigation in exchange for a share of the design rights.
Claire read the words twice.
“Did your father know Rosa was inside?”
“He said he didn't. But he knew she might be.”
“That's not an accident.”
“No.”
The transcript continued. Thomas had paid June to alter the inspector's report and Margaret to move company funds. He had also asked Robert to sign a false statement claiming Evelyn had taken the designs before the fire.
Claire lowered the pages.
“You could have given this to Ruiz.”
“I will. I wanted you to see it first.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to do one thing without hiding behind my family.”
She looked at him. “You don't get a medal for finally telling the truth.”
“I know.”
A sound came from inside the building. A metal door slammed.
The officers moved toward it.
Daniel turned. “I didn't tell anyone else I was coming.”
A figure stepped out from behind a stack of pallets.
Margaret.
She held a small pistol pointed at the ground, but her hand was shaking.
“Give me the transcript,” she said.
Ruiz shouted for her to drop the weapon.
Margaret looked at Claire. “You have no idea what this will do to Daniel.”
Claire stepped back.
“It will show what he did,” she said. “That's all.”
Margaret raised the gun.
And Daniel moved between them.
May you like
Margaret's arrest did not bring relief so much as a long exhale. Claire knew there would be trials, appeals, headlines, and more details that would hurt. But the people who had controlled the story were no longer the only ones speaking. She and Lena could answer questions. They could correct the record. They could refuse to let their mothers be reduced to victims.
THE DRESS FULL OF SECRETS |
