Chapter 3
The accident file was more complicated than Alistair remembered.
Evelyn's SUV had been inspected after the crash.
The report found no conclusive evidence of mechanical sabotage.
The vehicle had sustained extensive damage, making some components difficult to evaluate.
Weather and speed were listed as contributing factors.
Alistair had accepted the conclusion.
He had been grieving.
Sadie had been asking every night when her mother was coming home.
He wanted the investigation finished.
Now Rebecca brought in an independent crash reconstruction specialist, Thomas Avery.
Thomas reviewed the original photographs, repair history, police reports, and insurance records.
He refused to promise a dramatic discovery.
“Four years is a long time,” he said.
“Can you tell whether the crash was deliberate?” Alistair asked.
“Not from these documents alone.”
“Can you tell whether something was missed?”
“Possibly.”
Thomas noticed that Evelyn's SUV had been serviced six days before the crash.
The work was performed by Westbridge Automotive, a luxury vehicle service company.
The invoice listed routine brake inspection, tire rotation, and an electronic systems check.
Nothing unusual.
But the shop had changed ownership the following year.
Its original service manager, Robert Ellis, had resigned shortly after Evelyn's accident.
Rebecca located him.
Robert initially refused to speak.
Then he learned the investigation concerned Evelyn Montelli.
His voice changed.
“I remember that car.”
“Why?” Rebecca asked.
“Because the paperwork caused trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The inspection report was amended after the vehicle left.”
Rebecca sat forward.
“Who amended it?”
“I don't know.”
“Why was it amended?”
Robert hesitated.
“The first report noted a warning from the stability-control system.”
“What did the final report say?”
“That everything tested normally.”
“Was that accurate?”
“I didn't personally verify the final test.”
Rebecca asked him to preserve every record he still possessed.
Meanwhile, Daniel reviewed Corinne's background.
Her brother did work in insurance.
But not automotive claims.
He was a commercial risk consultant.
His firm had advised Westbridge Automotive during a dispute four years earlier.
The timing was close to Evelyn's death.
Alistair stared at the report.
Corinne had not simply known Evelyn socially.
Her family had professional connections to the business that serviced Evelyn's vehicle shortly before the fatal crash.
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That did not prove murder.
It did prove there was more to investigate.
