Chapter 14 - The Locket Was Not Jewelry
Claire opened the locket with a thumbnail.
Inside was a microSD card.
Daniel stared at her.
"You've had another recording this whole time?"
"I didn't know what was on it. Dad told me never to open it unless he died and Mom came after you. When she attacked Emily, I finally tried. It was encrypted."
Ortiz took the card.
"Nobody goes to Site 14 tonight. We handle the card here."
The technician worked for an hour.
The password was not a word.
It was Thomas's wedding anniversary.
The first file opened to grainy footage from an office hidden camera.
Thomas sat behind his desk. Margaret stood across from him.
"I want the ledger," she said.
"No."
"Then I give police the truck. Daniel's prints are all over it."
Thomas leaned forward. "He was seventeen and unconscious. Evan was driving."
Daniel stopped breathing.
Margaret did not deny it.
"Can you prove that?"
"Keller heard Daniel say he was in the passenger seat."
"Keller says whatever keeps Keller alive."
Thomas's voice cracked with fury. "You let Michael Carter die to protect Evan and then used my son as a shield."
Margaret's face became ice.
"I protected the company. The company protected all of you."
"You poisoned this family."
"And you helped me hide the body."
The video ended.
Emily stared at the black screen.
"Body," she whispered.
Ortiz looked at the file list.
A second video was labeled LAKE ROAD.
It showed a pickup truck driving away from the lake house before dawn. Evan was behind the wheel. A tarp-covered shape lay in the bed.
GPS metadata pointed to an old quarry owned by Hayes Construction at the time.
Emily stood.
"We're going there."
"Police are going there," Ortiz corrected. "You are not."
"That is my father."
Ortiz held her gaze. "Which is exactly why you should not be standing over a recovery scene."
Daniel put a hand on Emily's shoulder.
She shook it off.
"I need air."
Claire followed her outside.
Daniel stayed with Ortiz as she coordinated a search warrant.
Five minutes later, the station alarm sounded.
Daniel ran into the lobby.
The front doors were open.
Emily stood alone on the sidewalk.
"Where's Claire?" he asked.
Emily turned, confused. "She went to get water."
Daniel's phone buzzed.
A video message played automatically.
Claire was tied to a chair in a dark room.
Evan Pike stepped into frame.
"Bring the locket and the Carter files to Site 14. No police."
He leaned close to Claire's ear.
"You have one hour."
Behind him, a red digital timer began counting down.
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