Chapter 9 - The Man in Maintenance
Ben Grant did not take Ethan to the principal.
He took Ethan, Maya, and Mrs. Bennett to the maintenance office beneath the auditorium.
"You can't keep students down here," Danner snapped from the doorway.
Ben did not look impressed.
"Then you can stand outside."
"This is an administrative matter."
"No. This is a camera matter. Cameras are my department."
Danner's face tightened.
"Turn over any footage immediately."
Ben folded his arms. "I'll turn it over to the police."
The room changed.
Danner stared at him.
"You need to think very carefully."
"I've been thinking carefully for eleven years. That's the problem."
He closed the door.
Ethan looked at him. "Why are you helping us?"
Ben sat at a metal desk and connected the hard drive.
"Because I watched that boy's father donate a camera system after his son broke another kid's jaw in eighth grade. And I watched administrators use those same cameras to protect him instead of students."
Maya whispered, "You have other videos?"
"Some. Not enough. Deletions happen fast."
He opened a file.
Library footage filled the monitor.
Mason reached for the laptop. Blake shoved Ethan. The lights went dark. Then a second camera, running on backup power, captured Blake taking the bag and fleeing.
"Can you save this somewhere they can't reach?" Maya asked.
"Already did. Three places."
Ethan thought of the missing flash drive.
"There was something in the laptop. Something from my dad."
Ben's eyes sharpened. "Daniel Cole?"
Ethan froze.
"You knew him?"
Ben leaned back slowly.
"I worked security at Whitmore Construction before Westbridge hired me."
Ethan's heart pounded.
"Were you there when he died?"
Ben looked toward the closed door.
"I was the first person who reached the scaffold after it collapsed."
Ethan could barely speak.
"What happened?"
Ben's face tightened with an old memory.
"Not here."
"Why not?"
"Because the Whitmores don't just donate to this school. They own the company that services half the network equipment in this building."
Maya stared at the ceiling camera.
Ben stood and unplugged the computer.
"Your father tried to expose falsified safety inspections. I saw him arguing with Grant Whitmore the week before he died."
Ethan's mouth went dry.
"Did my dad's accident happen because of that?"
Ben hesitated.
Before he could answer, a loud alarm sounded through the basement.
FIRE SYSTEM FAULT.
Then smoke began sliding under the office door.
Mrs. Bennett gasped.
Ben grabbed the hard drive.
"Everybody out. Now."
They ran into the corridor.
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At the far end, a trash bin was burning beneath the electrical panel.
And standing beside the emergency exit, watching them through the smoke, was Blake Renshaw.
