Chapter 14 - THE STORAGE UNIT|
The storage facility was nearly empty when we arrived.
Gideon brought two attorneys and a security officer. I carried the key from his father's letter.
The unit number was written on the envelope.
Inside were several boxes, an old laptop, and a locked metal case.
The first box contained acquisition records, financial statements, and handwritten notes from Charles Ashford.
The second held photographs of the old Hale Meridian headquarters.
I found one showing the east corridor.
A red circle had been drawn around Preston's office door.
Beneath it, Charles had written:
Door lock manually engaged from outside. Confirm with security report.
My hands began to shake.
The metal case required the small key from the envelope.
Inside was a digital recorder, two memory cards, and a sealed letter addressed to me.
I opened the letter.
Vivian,
If you are reading this, then the people who tried to bury the truth have failed to keep it buried. I am sorry that you were hurt. I am even more sorry that my company may have been used to silence you.
I do not know who started the fire. I do know that Martin Kessler and Preston Hale were arguing about a ledger before it happened. I also know that one of them believed you had recorded their conversation.
The recording may contain the truth.
Please do not let anyone convince you that what happened to you was your fault.
I stopped reading.
For the first time, someone had acknowledged what I had endured without asking me to forgive anyone.
Gideon inserted one of the memory cards into a secure laptop.
It contained several audio files.
Most were financial discussions. One was labeled with the date of the fire.
We listened.
At first, there was static.
Then Preston's voice.
"Move the ledger before the review. I don't care how."
Martin replied.
"If it disappears, the insurance claim will be questioned."
Preston said, "Then make sure there is no record of where it went."
The audio continued.
A door opened.
Someone entered.
The voice was not Preston's.
It was Richard Cole.
"Charles is asking questions. We need to stop the acquisition."
Martin answered, "The fire will do that."
There was a pause.
Then Preston said, "Nobody is supposed to get hurt."
Richard replied, "Then don't be there when it happens."
I felt sick.
The recording did not prove who started the fire, but it proved that the men had discussed using it to destroy records and sabotage the acquisition.
A second recording began.
This one was quieter.
Preston was speaking to Martin after the fire.
"She saw you."
"She saw smoke."
"She heard the door."
"Then you should have left her there."
The room seemed to disappear around me.
I gripped the edge of the table.
Gideon stopped the recording.
"Vivian."
I couldn't speak.
Preston had known I was inside.
He had known I had returned for him.
And someone had suggested leaving me to die.
I stared at the audio timeline.
"Is that all?"
Gideon opened the next file.
The voice that emerged was Richard Cole's.
"Charles will pay to keep this quiet. But the woman is a problem."
May you like
Then Martin said something that made Gideon go pale.
"Don't worry. Preston already has a plan for his wife."
