Chapter 6 - The Detective Who Already Knew
Elena returned to the bank as Adrian crossed the street.
Security locked the doors behind her.
The old phone stopped ringing.
When Elena pressed the power button, nothing happened. There was no call history, no active screen and no battery indicator.
The security director placed the device inside a signal-blocking bag.
Adrian knocked on the glass doors.
“Elena!”
She stepped away.
He displayed his identification to the guard.
“I am her husband.”
“She asked us not to admit you,” the guard replied.
Adrian looked through the glass at Elena.
His expression was calm again, but his eyes were not.
Rowan arrived twelve minutes later with another detective.
He was in his late forties, with tired eyes and a dark overcoat. He showed his badge, spoke briefly with bank security and entered the lobby.
Adrian remained outside.
Rowan approached Elena.
“You mentioned Claire Bennett.”
“Yes.”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“From Maya Mercer.”
Something flickered across his face.
“You should not trust Maya.”
“My aunt wrote the same thing.”
Rowan glanced toward Elena’s purse.
“What did you find in the box?”
Elena remembered the voice from the old phone.
Do not let Rowan see the notebook.
“An old device,” she said. “The bank has secured it.”
“Nothing else?”
“Nothing.”
Rowan held her gaze long enough to make the lie feel visible.
“Mrs. Mercer, I investigated the Mercers before.”
“I know.”
“Then you know someone disappeared during that investigation.”
“Daniel Voss.”
“He was my source.”
“Did he know Claire?”
“I believe so.”
Adrian struck the glass door with his palm.
Rowan turned.
“Your husband is becoming impatient.”
“He followed me.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“Not directly.”
“That family rarely makes direct threats. They prefer consequences that look accidental.”
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“Do you believe Claire is alive?”
“I believed she died eight years ago.”
“And now?”
“Now a bank camera shows a woman resembling her using a dead person’s identity.”
Rowan asked Elena to explain everything from the transfer agreement to the photograph in the elevator.
She told him most of it but kept the notebook hidden.
When she mentioned the condo, Rowan became still.
“Who lived there before Lydia?”
“My aunt owned it for decades.”
“Did she rent it?”
“Sometimes.”
“To Claire Bennett?”
“I do not know.”
Rowan took out his phone and searched an archived database.
“Claire used an Ashbourne Tower address on a temporary business license nine years ago.”
“Which unit?”
He turned the screen toward her.
Twenty-three nineteen.
Elena’s condo.
Claire had lived inside Elena’s home before disappearing.
Rowan looked toward the old phone sealed in the signal bag.
“I need to take the device.”
“Can you protect it?”
“I can document every person who touches it.”
“That was not my question.”
His expression hardened.
“Elena, if that device contains evidence, keeping it hidden could put you in greater danger.”
“Would you tell Maya that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Maya once gave me evidence that had been altered.”
“What evidence?”
“A voice recording of Adrian discussing Daniel Voss.”
“Was it fake?”
“We could not prove it was real.”
“That is different.”
“It was enough to destroy the case.”
The bank manager approached.
“Mrs. Mercer, your husband has called his attorney. The attorney claims the contents of the box may be Mercer property.”
“They are not.”
“We understand, but we advise you to leave through the secure garage.”
Rowan nodded.
“My partner will take you home.”
“I am not going to the estate.”
“Good.”
“Take me to my condo.”
Rowan shook his head.
“That is the first place Adrian will expect you to go.”
“It is also where Claire hid something.”
“You do not know that.”
“My aunt said she did.”
Adrian’s voice carried through the door.
“Elena, Maya is gone.”
Elena turned.
“What?”
He held up his phone.
On the screen was a photograph of Maya lying beside a road.
Her eyes were closed.
A dark stain marked the pavement near her head.
Elena rushed toward the glass.
Rowan stopped her.
“Where is she?” Elena shouted.
Adrian pressed the phone closer to the door.
“Give me the key and I will tell you.”
Rowan drew his weapon.
“Step away from the entrance.”
Adrian smiled.
Then his phone screen changed.
The photograph disappeared.
A live video began.
Maya opened her eyes and looked directly into the camera.
May you like
She whispered one sentence.
“Do not believe the detective.”
