Chapter 6 - What Grace Buried
Grace stood slowly.
“I can explain.”
My anger was no longer explosive.
It was worse.
It was controlled.
“You told me you didn’t know whether Claire was murdered.”
“I didn’t know for certain.”
“Paul says you had a confession.”
“I had part of one.”
Grace reached for her purse.
She removed an old brass key.
“This opens a safe-deposit box.”
I stared at it.
“You kept evidence from me for two years.”
“I kept Noah alive.”
The words stopped me.
Grace looked toward the officers.
“When Marcus gave me the recording, he was terrified.”
“He told me Ethan suspected someone had copied his files.”
“Three days later, somebody followed me home.”
“I moved twice.”
“Then Claire died.”
Her voice broke slightly.
“And after the funeral, Ethan suddenly became the most attentive uncle in the world.”
I remembered it.
Ethan had stayed at the estate for weeks.
He brought Noah toys.
He brought me food.
He sat beside me when I could barely get out of bed.
I had believed he was saving me.
Maybe he had only been watching me.
Grace continued.
“I thought if Ethan knew Daniel had the evidence, he might kill him too.”
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“And came here as Noah’s nanny.”
“Yes.”
I looked toward Paul.
“What’s in the recording?”
“I heard thirty seconds.”
Paul’s voice lowered.
“Enough to destroy Ethan.”
Grace nodded.
“Marcus recorded a conversation several weeks after Claire’s death.”
“He asked Ethan why he had touched Claire’s car.”
“What did Ethan say?”
Grace swallowed.
“He said Claire forced him to make a choice.”
“What choice?”
“Lose everything.”
“Or make sure she never delivered those records to you.”
I turned toward the officers.
“We’re going to that bank.”
One detective raised a hand.
“We’ll need to coordinate this properly.”
“Then coordinate it.”
The next morning, police escorted Grace and me downtown.
The safe-deposit box had not been opened in twenty-two months.
Inside were two envelopes and an encrypted memory card.
One envelope contained photographs.
Claire.
Ethan.
Victoria.
They were standing outside a restaurant.
The date was three months before Claire died.
I stared at Victoria’s face.
I had not met her until nearly a year later.
Or so I thought.
The second envelope contained a handwritten note from Marcus.
If anything happens to me, Ethan knows Grace has the recording.
Do not trust Detective Warren.
I immediately looked at the officer standing beside us.
His name was not Warren.
“Who is Detective Warren?”
The officer’s expression changed.
“Former homicide.”
“Former?”
“He retired last year.”
“Did he work Claire’s accident?”
The officer nodded slowly.
“He was the lead investigator.”
My blood went cold.
Grace inserted the memory card into a secure laptop.
An audio file appeared.
Marcus’s voice came first.
“You touched her brakes.”
Then Ethan.
“You should be careful what you accuse me of.”
Marcus spoke again.
“She died because of you.”
Silence.
May you like
Then Ethan said the sentence that destroyed whatever remained of my brother in my mind.
“Claire died because she wouldn’t stop protecting money that should have belonged to our family.”
