Chapter 12 - THE ARREST|
The police arrived with a warrant at 7:15 a.m.
Dominic did not resist when the officers entered the foyer. He stood with his hands visible while a detective read the charges.
Emma watched from the staircase, clutching the notebook.
“This is a setup,” she said.
The detective looked at her.
“Miss, I suggest you stay out of this.”
“Someone edited a recording.”
“That's for the courts to decide.”
Dominic glanced at her.
“Emma, don't make this worse.”
“I'm not letting them take you for something you didn't do.”
“You don't know what I've done.”
The words struck harder than she expected.
Two officers led him outside.
As he passed her, he stopped briefly.
“Whatever happens, don't give the notebook to anyone.”
Then he was gone.
By noon, the story was everywhere. News vans crowded the street outside the Vale residence. Commentators discussed corruption, organized crime, and the sudden arrest of a man who had spent years presenting himself as a legitimate businessman.
Emma returned to Murphy's Diner and found Sal watching the news.
“They're saying he ordered a killing,” Sal said.
“They're lying.”
“Maybe. But you have to be careful. Truth doesn't always protect people.”
Emma placed the notebook on the counter.
“I need help understanding these names.”
Sal read the pages slowly.
When he reached the entry for Vincent Vale, his face changed.
“What is it?”
“Your mother came here once with a man named Vincent. He waited outside while she spoke to me. She said he was helping her.”
“Did she trust him?”
“She wanted to.”
Emma's phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
“Miss Hayes?” a man said. “My name is Detective Marcus Reed. I'd like to speak with you about Dominic Vale.”
“Then ask your questions.”
“Not over the phone. Meet me at the precinct.”
“Am I under suspicion?”
“Not yet.”
She almost laughed.
“That sounds reassuring.”
At the station, Detective Reed showed her the edited recording. Dominic's voice was unmistakable, but the words were fragmented, spliced together from different conversations.
Emma recognized one phrase from the original tape.
“It's handled.”
“That phrase was taken from a recording made twenty years ago,” she said. “It wasn't Dominic speaking.”
“Can you prove that?”
“Not yet.”
Reed studied her.
“Why are you helping him?”
“Because someone tried to kill him. Because my mother left evidence that his family was involved in my father's death. Because the man you arrested may be guilty of many things, but I don't believe he's guilty of this.”
Reed leaned back.
“You understand that if you give me evidence implicating his family, you'll be placing yourself in danger.”
“I already am.”
He slid a photograph across the desk.
It showed Vincent Vale entering a private garage the night before Dominic's arrest.
“Do you recognize the man with him?”
Emma looked closer.
The second man wore a baseball cap.
The same man who had attacked Sal at the diner.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Reed nodded.
“We've identified him as a former security contractor employed by the Vale family.”
“Then arrest him.”
“We tried. He disappeared this morning.”
Emma's heart sank.
“Where would he go?”
Reed hesitated.
“That's what we're trying to find out.”
Emma looked at the photograph again.
In the reflection of the garage window, she could see another figure standing behind Vincent.
A woman.
May you like
Blond hair. Pale coat.
Catherine Vale.
