Chapter 6 - Dana’s First Truth
Dana sat alone for twenty minutes before agreeing to speak.
Naomi conducted the interview while another investigator recorded it. Evelyn watched through the observation window but was not permitted inside.
Michael had always spoken for Dana in public.
At fundraisers, he finished her sentences.
At charity dinners, he selected what she ate.
During interviews about their engagement, he answered questions about where they would live, when they would marry and whether Dana would continue working.
Grayhaven called it devotion.
Behind the glass, Evelyn saw something else.
Dana kept looking at the closed door as though Michael might enter at any moment.
Naomi placed a still image from the terminal video on the table.
“Is that you?”
“Yes.”
“Is that Michael Voss?”
“Yes.”
“Is that Captain Ross?”
Dana stared at the image.
“Yes.”
“What was inside the metal box?”
“I do not know.”
“Why were you there?”
“Michael asked me to come.”
“Why?”
“He said the property needed to be inspected before demolition.”
“Did you see Miriam Hart?”
Dana nodded.
“Did she strike you?”
Dana touched the small bandage above her eyebrow.
“No.”
Outside the interview room, Michael rose from his chair.
He could not hear the conversation, but he could see Dana through a narrow glass panel.
An officer ordered him to sit down.
He remained standing.
Inside, Naomi asked, “How were you injured?”
Dana’s lips trembled.
“Michael pulled me away from the door. I lost my balance.”
“Did he intend to hurt you?”
“I do not know.”
“What did he do afterward?”
“He called Captain Ross.”
“What did Ross tell you?”
Dana closed her eyes.
“He said Miriam had stolen confidential property. He said if I reported what happened, Michael’s company would collapse, my family would lose its loans and I would be charged as an accomplice.”
“So you accused Miriam.”
“Yes.”
“Did Captain Ross help prepare your statement?”
“Yes.”
“Did Michael?”
“Yes.”
Naomi allowed several seconds of silence.
“Why are you telling the truth now?”
Dana looked toward the observation window.
Although she could not see Evelyn clearly through the glass, she seemed to know someone was there.
“Because Miriam could have exposed me at the terminal.”
“What do you mean?”
“She recorded everything. She heard me discussing the box. She could have left me there and saved herself.”
“But she did not?”
Dana shook her head.
“When Michael grabbed me, Miriam came back. She told him to stop. She put herself between us even though she was already hurt.”
Naomi’s voice softened.
“What else happened?”
Dana looked at the camera.
“Captain Ross arrived before Miriam reached the station.”
“That is impossible. Station logs show he entered afterward.”
“He was at the terminal. He used the service entrance.”
“Why does the video only show him in the window reflection?”
“Because he knew where the cameras were.”
Evelyn felt Naomi’s investigator beside her shift uneasily.
Ross had not simply helped Michael after the incident.
He had been present during the evidence transfer.
Naomi placed the image of the unidentified woman on the table.
“Who is she?”
Dana’s face changed.
“I never saw her clearly.”
“That is not what I asked.”
“She arrived in a state vehicle.”
“Which agency?”
“I do not know.”
“Did Michael speak to her?”
“Yes.”
“What did he call her?”
Dana looked toward the door again.
Then she whispered, “Director.”
Naomi leaned forward.
“Director of what?”
Before Dana could answer, the station lost power.
The observation window went black.
Emergency lights activated in the hallway.
Someone shouted from the evidence room.
Evelyn rushed toward the door.
Inside the interview room, Dana screamed once.
When the backup lights came on, the chair across from her was empty.
Naomi had been pulled into the hall by an emergency alarm.
The rear interview-room door stood open.
Dana was still seated at the table.
In front of her lay a folded note that had not been there seconds earlier.
Naomi opened it with gloved hands.
One sentence had been printed across the page.
May you like
The widow was supposed to find the ledger.
The daughter was supposed to destroy it.
