Chapter 7 - LOCKER 417
Locker 417 did not exist anymore.
That was the first problem.
Union Station had replaced its old private storage system years earlier.
But Detective Ellis found an archived record connecting Box 417 to a private luggage service that had operated beneath the station.
The company still maintained an off-site warehouse containing unclaimed boxes from long-term contracts.
Getting legal access required hours.
Ryan hated hours.
Ellis made him wait anyway.
At 8:40 that evening, they entered a secure municipal evidence room where the old storage box had been transferred.
Key 417 fit.
Inside were three things.
A child’s yellow blanket.
A sealed envelope addressed to Claire.
And a red leather ledger.
Ryan stared at it.
Emily whispered, “Oh my God.”
Detective Ellis put on gloves.
“No one touches anything.”
Ryan almost argued.
Then remembered Claire had spent six years protecting this book.
He stepped back.
Pages were photographed.
Entries dated back twenty-nine years.
Payments.
Shell corporations.
Property transfers.
Political donations.
Private settlements.
But Ethan’s notes appeared only near the end.
Question marks.
Highlighted names.
One sentence underlined twice:
WHY IS G.W. MOVING E.C. ASSETS BEFORE DEATH?
Ryan went cold.
The transfers began six weeks before Ethan’s accident.
Graham Whitmore had started repositioning Ethan’s trust assets before Ethan died.
Not afterward.
Before.
Detective Ellis photographed the page.
“That’s significant.”
Ryan nodded.
“But still not murder.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“It is enough to open more doors.”
The sealed envelope for Claire contained a letter from Ethan.
Claire,
If I’m wrong, burn this and make fun of me forever.
If I’m right, don’t trust Graham. Don’t trust Dad’s security people. And until I know who signed the original lake house transfer, don’t tell Ryan everything. He’ll confront them before we have proof.
That’s who he is.
I love him for it.
It may also get him killed.
Take the ledger somewhere nobody connected to us would look.
If our baby arrives before this is over, tell her I tried to fix it.
Tell her I loved her already.
Ethan.
Ryan stopped reading.
He walked away.
Emily followed but did not touch him.
For six years, Ryan had grieved his brother as the victim of bad weather and bad luck.
Now he could no longer tell which memories were grief and which were evidence he had ignored.
“Ryan.”
He looked at his wife.
“Claire knew.”
“She knew Ethan was afraid.”
“She knew enough to run.”
“Yes.”
“And you met her three months ago.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“What did she give you?”
Emily opened them.
He saw the answer before she spoke.
“Nothing.”
“Emily.”
“I swear.”
“What did she ask?”
Emily’s voice dropped.
“She asked whether Graham still handled your family trusts.”
“And?”
“I said yes.”
“What else?”
“She asked if you had ever investigated Ethan’s accident.”
Ryan stared.
“What did you say?”
“That you hadn’t.”
His jaw tightened.
“Then?”
“She started crying.”
“Why?”
“She said she had made a terrible mistake staying away.”
Ryan waited.
“She said somebody had found Ava’s school records.”
“Ava attended school?”
“Under another name.”
“What name?”
Emily hesitated.
“Grace Nolan.”
Ryan absorbed it.
“So they were living normally somewhere.”
“For periods.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Claire ask for money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand.”
Ryan stared.
“You gave her twenty thousand dollars and didn’t tell me?”
“I gave my sister enough to move.”
“From what?”
“My personal account.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“I know.”
Emily looked toward the evidence room.
“She said if you knew she was alive, Graham would know within a day.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It did to her.”
Ryan thought about Graham’s access.
Legal files.
Trust records.
Security privileges.
Executives.
Ryan’s calendar.
His home.
Perhaps Claire was not paranoid.
Perhaps she understood the Carter family better than Ryan did.
Detective Ellis approached holding a printout.
“We found a recent transfer.”
Ryan turned.
“From the trust?”
“No.”
She pointed.
“From Graham Whitmore’s law firm to a private investigation company.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
Ryan’s stomach tightened.
“Name?”
“Hollis Kane Investigations.”
Emily went still.
Ryan noticed.
“You know it.”
“No.”
“You reacted.”
Emily swallowed.
“Claire mentioned a name.”
“What name?”
“Hollis.”
Detective Ellis looked at Ryan.
“What did Claire say?”
Emily’s face went pale.
“She said Hollis Kane was the man who found Ava.”
Ryan immediately reached for his phone.
Mark answered.
“Sir?”
“Where’s Ava?”
“Upstairs with Lily and Dr. Morris.”
“Lock the house.”
A pause.
“Why?”
“Do it.”
Ryan turned toward Ellis.
At that moment, her phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She looked at Ryan.
“Hollis Kane’s company address is fake.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
Ellis continued.
“But one of his vehicles was photographed three days ago.”
“Where?”
She turned the screen.
A traffic camera image.
Black SUV.
Illinois plate.
May you like
Parked across the road from Ryan’s estate.
Someone had been watching the house before Ava arrived.
