Chapter 11 - The Witness Who Disappeared|
Margaret Ellis had spent twenty-three years trying to forget the night Rose Mercer died.
She had been a hospital administrator then, responsible for coordinating transfers, authorizing specialist referrals, and ensuring that patients received the treatment their doctors recommended.
Rose's transfer had been approved.
The specialist had confirmed the appointment.
The transport team had been scheduled.
Then a call came from the medical foundation.
The caller said the transfer was unnecessary and that the family had changed its mind.
Margaret remembered questioning the decision.
She remembered being told that Daniel Mercer had signed the cancellation himself.
She also remembered a woman standing in the corridor, wearing a dark suit and holding a leather folder.
The woman had introduced herself as a representative of the foundation.
Margaret had never seen her again.
Years later, when she learned that the hospital's records had been altered, she began asking questions. She contacted a former colleague, who advised her to stop.
Then Claire Mercer contacted her.
Claire was polite, patient, and unusually thorough. She did not accuse anyone. She simply asked for documents that had disappeared from the official archive.
Margaret agreed to meet her.
Three days before the gala, someone broke into Margaret's house.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
Only a box of old records disappeared.
Margaret called Claire the following morning.
“Someone knows what we're doing,” she whispered.
“Do you have another copy?”
“Yes.”
“Then we should take it to an attorney.”
Margaret hesitated.
“Not your husband's attorney.”
“Why?”
“Because the woman who canceled the transfer worked for the medical foundation. And I remember seeing her at your husband's company years later.”
Claire went quiet.
“Who was she?”
“I need to check one thing first.”
That was the last conversation Claire had with Margaret.
Now Nathan stood in the abandoned house in South Carolina, accompanied by Samuel and a private investigator named Lucas Reed.
The front door had been forced open. Drawers lay overturned, and a desk lamp had been smashed on the floor.
Lucas examined the room.
“Someone was looking for documents, not valuables.”
Samuel picked up a framed photograph.
It showed Margaret standing with several hospital employees. A woman in the background had been partially cut out of the picture.
Nathan recognized the face.
Evelyn Brooks.
He stared at the photograph.
“Why is my wife's attorney in this picture?”
Samuel looked uneasy.
“Perhaps she worked with the hospital.”
Nathan called Evelyn immediately.
She answered on the second ring.
“I was wondering when you would find that.”
Nathan felt anger surge through him.
“You knew Margaret Ellis?”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my mother's canceled transfer?”
“I knew there had been an irregularity. I did not know the full story until Claire found the documents.”
“Why were you at the hospital?”
Evelyn was silent for several seconds.
“Because I was a junior legal assistant for the medical foundation. I was asked to deliver paperwork to the hospital.”
Nathan's voice dropped.
“Did you sign the authorization?”
“No.”
“Did you know who did?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
“I will, but not over the phone.”
Nathan ended the call and turned to Lucas.
“Find Margaret.”
Lucas examined the back door.
“There are tire tracks in the mud. A vehicle left recently.”
Samuel spotted something beneath the desk.
A small digital recorder.
Nathan pressed the power button.
A woman's voice filled the room.
“If you are hearing this, I was unable to get the records to Claire.”
Margaret's voice was shaky but clear.
“The person who canceled Rose Mercer's transfer was not Daniel Mercer. He signed the paperwork afterward to conceal what had happened. The original call came from a woman who worked for the foundation.”
A pause followed.
Then Margaret continued.
“Her name was Evelyn Brooks.”
Nathan felt his blood turn cold.
The recording went on.
“She told the hospital that Rose's family had withdrawn consent. She said the specialist had been informed. Neither statement was true.”
The recorder clicked.
Then another voice spoke.
A man's voice.
“You should have left this alone, Margaret.”
The recording ended.
Nathan looked toward Samuel.
“Who was that?”
Samuel shook his head.
But Lucas had gone pale.
“I know that voice.”
Nathan turned.
“Whose?”
May you like
Lucas hesitated.
Then he said, “Martin Sloan.”
