Chapter 7 - Confronting Keith Alderman
The net tightened faster than Gideon anticipated. With Adrian’s backing, our security team tracked down Keith Alderman, who had been hiding out in a cheap motel across the provincial border in British Columbia, believing his cut from the Marigold insurance fraud would last forever. Two of Adrian’s men brought him back to Edmonton in handcuffs, dumping him into a soundproof interrogation room in the basement of Voss headquarters.
I stood behind the two-way mirror alongside Adrian as Keith shook with terror, staring up at the burly guards who flanked him. When Adrian walked into the room and placed the kill-order photograph on the steel table, Keith broke down completely. "I didn't know they were going to torch her with the building!" Keith sobbed, his voice cracking hysterically. "Gideon told me it was just a standard insurance write-off! He said if Ellie was inside, it was just collateral damage to ensure the books stayed clean!"
Adrian didn't raise his voice. He simply leaned down, grabbed Keith by the collar of his shirt, and lifted him out of his chair. "You traded a human life for a percentage of a laundered payout," Adrian whispered, his tone terrifyingly lethal. "And now you’re going to sign a formal confession detailing every transaction Gideon Vale ever handed you." Keith nodded frantically, weeping into his hands as Adrian stepped back into the observation room with me.
