Chapter 15 - The Airport Call

I didn't chase Adrian to the airport. I called Detective Brooks.

"We have reason to believe he may be leaving town," I said, explaining Vivian's statement. "I can't verify it."

"That's useful. Don't confront him."

The detectives and the company's attorneys took it from there. I spent the afternoon at Harbor House helping residents copy lease documents and write down the practical problems the threatened sale had caused: missed work, canceled school plans, deposit demands from landlords.

Mrs. Alvarez showed me a shoebox filled with receipts from twenty-three years of rent payments.

"Your father shook my husband's hand when we moved in," she said. "He told us not to worry about being rich. Just be good neighbors."

I found myself crying in front of a room full of strangers. Nobody looked away.

At six, Margaret called. Adrian had reached the airport but had not boarded. Detectives had interviewed him after obtaining the necessary legal process. Grant's passport was in Adrian's briefcase, along with a folder of financial documents.

"Why take Grant's passport?" I asked.

"Possibly leverage. We don't know yet."

Grant appeared at Margaret's office an hour later without an appointment. His hands shook as he set down a bottle of water.

"Adrian is blaming me for everything," he said.

"Is he wrong?"

"I signed approvals. I knew the numbers were bad. But he created the fake vendors. He told me the hotel would collapse if we disclosed the losses."

"You could have told me."

"I was afraid you'd leave."

"You gave me every reason to."

He stared at the floor. "I did."

I wanted to believe that admission mattered. Maybe it would someday. It didn't undo what he'd done.

"Tell the investigators," I said. "And bring documents."

Grant reached into his jacket and produced a key card.

"There's a locked archive at the hotel," he said. "Vivian keeps a second ledger there. You'll find more than invoices."

"What else?"

His answer was barely audible.

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"The names of everyone she paid to stay quiet."

THE NIGHT SHE TURNED THE TABLES |