Chapter 13 - The Man Who Laughed
Avery wanted to throw the photograph away. Briggs had mocked her on the mat, concealed a weapon, threatened Ortiz, and lied in the hearing. The idea that he once helped Daniel felt like another insult.
Reed brought him into an interview room and played the first minute of Daniel's recovered audio. Briggs looked at the floor.
"He trusted you," Reed said.
"For a while," Briggs answered.
"Then what happened?"
"Mercer found out I was keeping copies. He had my brother's benefits stopped. He showed me a forged report that would put me in prison if I didn't cooperate."
"You still hurt people," Avery said from behind the observation glass, unheard.
Briggs admitted the weighted wrap had been meant to provoke Avery into striking him. A disciplinary finding would discredit her medical review. He'd never expected her to notice the insert.
"Who killed Daniel?" Reed asked.
Briggs gripped the edge of the table. "Price hit him. He fell. Keene told us he was dead. But I never checked. They wouldn't let me."
"And Mercer?"
"He made the call to stage the crash."
Briggs offered to unlock the encrypted recorder using a code Keene had taught him. Reed made no deal on the spot; immunity wasn't his to promise.
When the file finally opened, Avery and Chen watched together. Daniel was alive, bruised, and standing with his hands bound in front of him. He demanded a phone. Price shoved him into a table. Daniel fell, then slowly raised his head.
Avery's breath caught. He was alive after the blow.
Keene entered the frame. He ordered everyone out except Mercer. The video continued, the camera recording an empty doorway for nearly a minute. Then two shadows crossed the floor. A man's voice said, "He's breathing."
The next image made Avery stand so fast her chair struck the wall.
Mercer dragged Daniel into view by the shoulders. Daniel's eyes were open.
May you like
He spoke directly toward the camera.
"Avery," he whispered, "they're going to make you think I died."
