Chapter 6 - Midnight at Pier 19
Claire had no intention of going alone.
She also had no intention of telling Grant that.
By seven that evening, Rebecca was awake.
Grant remained at the hospital.
Claire left with Daniel.
They rented a vehicle under a corporate security company's name and drove toward a warehouse district near the East River.
Pier 19 had been abandoned for years.
Northstar once leased nearby storage.
Claire knew the area.
Daniel parked four blocks away.
"If Nathan sees me, this goes badly."
"It may go badly anyway."
"Comforting."
Claire checked the small recording device hidden beneath her coat.
Daniel had arranged private security nearby.
No police.
Claire hated that compromise, but Peter's life made caution necessary.
At 11:57, she approached the pier.
Rain had stopped.
Fog hovered above the river.
A warehouse door stood open.
Claire entered.
"Peter?"
Her voice echoed.
A light switched on.
Peter sat in a chair near the center of the warehouse.
His hands were bound.
He looked exhausted but conscious.
Claire moved toward him.
"Stop."
Nathan Cole stepped from behind a steel column.
Claire had seen him hundreds of times.
At Northstar events.
In Grant's office.
At Christmas parties.
He was forty-one, handsome in an unmemorable corporate way, always polished, always helpful.
Tonight he wore a dark jacket and gloves.
Claire looked at Peter.
"Are you hurt?"
Peter shook his head.
Nathan smiled.
"He's fine."
"You kidnapped him."
"I invited him to reconsider his loyalty."
"With rope?"
"He became difficult."
Claire looked at Nathan.
"What do you want?"
"The documents."
"You already have them."
"Not yours."
"Why do you care what I have?"
"Because your copies connect me to the transfers."
Claire almost laughed.
"You blackmailed Grant and you're worried about bank records?"
"I'm worried about narratives."
"Narratives?"
Nathan stepped closer.
"Truth is mostly timing, Claire. People believe the first complete story they hear."
"You plan to tell yours."
"I plan to survive."
"And Peter?"
"He goes home when I have what I need."
Claire held up a flash drive.
Nathan's eyes moved toward it.
"This?"
"Everything we collected."
Nathan smiled.
"Give it to me."
"Release Peter."
"First the drive."
Claire looked at Peter.
He shook his head slightly.
Nathan noticed.
"Peter."
His voice remained calm.
"Don't make this unpleasant."
Claire said, "I want the recording."
Nathan's smile disappeared.
"What recording?"
"Victoria and whoever killed Samuel Knox."
Nathan studied her.
"Grant told you more than I expected."
"Do you have it?"
"Yes."
"Did Victoria order Samuel's death?"
Nathan's expression changed.
"That's the million-dollar question."
"You demanded seventeen."
"Inflation."
Claire did not react.
Nathan circled slowly.
"The interesting thing about powerful families is that everyone assumes the worst person is the loudest."
"Grant."
"Grant is selfish. Reckless. Weak when frightened. But he's not especially complicated."
"And Victoria?"
Nathan smiled.
"Victoria built Grant."
Claire waited.
"She decided what schools he attended. Who he met. Which directors supported him. Which journalists got access. Which rivals disappeared."
"Professionally?"
"Usually."
The word hung in the warehouse.
Claire asked, "Did she kill Samuel?"
Nathan shrugged.
"You want certainty. Life rarely offers it."
"Play the recording."
"Give me the drive."
"Play it."
Nathan pulled a phone from his pocket.
He tapped the screen.
A woman's voice filled the warehouse.
Victoria.
Even distorted by age and recording quality, Claire recognized her immediately.
Samuel has become a problem. Make sure he never reaches the board.
A man's voice responded.
And if he refuses to stay quiet?
Victoria paused.
Then the recording ended.
Claire stared at Nathan.
"That's it?"
"That's the sample."
"You cut it."
"Naturally."
"What comes next?"
Nathan smiled.
"The part people would pay a great deal to hear."
Claire held out the flash drive.
"Release Peter."
Nathan motioned toward a man Claire had not noticed near the rear door.
He stepped forward and untied Peter.
Peter stood slowly.
"Go."
Peter moved toward Claire.
Nathan extended his hand.
"The drive."
Claire gave it to him.
Nathan inserted it into a laptop.
His expression immediately hardened.
"This is encrypted."
"Of course."
"Password."
"Once Peter is outside."
Nathan looked toward his associate.
The man opened the door.
Peter walked out.
Nathan turned back.
"Password."
Claire glanced toward the warehouse entrance.
"Mercer."
Nathan typed.
The files opened.
He smiled.
"Thank you."
Claire waited.
Nathan's eyes scanned the folders.
Then he frowned.
"Where are the bank authorizations?"
"Different drive."
His expression changed.
"You lied."
"No. I brought the Vale documents. Exactly what your message requested."
Nathan stepped toward her.
"You think you're clever."
"No."
Claire reached inside her coat.
Nathan tensed.
She removed her phone.
"I think you're predictable."
Nathan's phone buzzed.
Then again.
His associate's phone buzzed.
Nathan looked at his screen.
His face drained of color.
Claire said, "While you were checking my drive, Northstar's board received seventeen million reasons to ask questions."
Nathan stared at her.
"You sent the transfers."
"Daniel did."
Nathan's expression twisted.
"You have no idea what you've done."
"I exposed blackmail."
"You exposed Grant."
"Good."
Nathan laughed.
"You still think Grant is your biggest problem."
Claire heard sirens outside.
Nathan looked toward the door.
"You brought police."
"No."
The sirens grew louder.
Nathan's associate disappeared through the rear exit.
Claire frowned.
She had not called police.
Neither had Daniel.
Nathan appeared equally confused.
Then the warehouse door burst open.
Three federal agents entered.
"Hands where we can see them!"
Nathan froze.
Claire raised her hands.
Peter shouted from outside.
Daniel appeared behind the agents.
Claire stared at him.
"What happened?"
Daniel looked as surprised as she was.
"I didn't call them."
An agent moved toward Nathan.
"Mr. Cole, you're being detained in connection with wire fraud and unlawful confinement."
Nathan looked at Claire.
Then smiled.
That terrified her more than anger would have.
As agents handcuffed him, Nathan leaned close enough to whisper.
"Ask Grant who called them."
Claire's eyes narrowed.
Nathan continued.
"Then ask yourself why."
He was taken outside.
Claire called Grant.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
She called the hospital.
After several transfers, a nurse answered.
"Mr. Whitmore left approximately an hour ago."
"Where did he go?"
"We don't know."
Claire looked at Daniel.
Then she called Evelyn Mercer.
Evelyn answered immediately.
"Claire?"
"Did you contact federal investigators?"
A long pause.
"No."
Claire's stomach tightened.
"Then someone else did."
At 1:18 in the morning, Claire received a message from Grant.
May you like
Only one line.
I finally know what my mother did. Do not come home.
