Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN WAITING AT THE STATION|
I did not go alone.
Detective Mitchell arranged discreet surveillance around the abandoned railway station, while Marcus positioned security officers along the access road. Hannah stayed with Lily at home.
I arrived ten minutes before the time written on the note.
The station looked smaller than I remembered it. Its brick walls were stained by years of rain, and weeds grew between the old tracks. A broken clock hung above the platform, frozen at 4:17.
At 8:03 p.m., a figure emerged from the maintenance building.
My mother.
She looked exhausted. Her coat was buttoned incorrectly, and her hair had fallen loose around her face.
"David."
I stepped toward her.
"Where have you been?"
"Trying to keep you safe."
"By disappearing?"
She looked down.
"I thought I could get the recording before Meredith destroyed it."
"Where is it?"
My mother reached into her handbag and produced a small metal case.
Inside lay a flash drive and several folded documents.
"Sarah gave me copies of the financial records. She also gave me a recording of a conversation between Meredith and Paul. They were discussing a plan to make her disappear from the foundation."
I took the flash drive.
"Why didn't you give this to the police?"
"Because the recording didn't prove they intended to kill her. And Meredith knew I had it. She threatened to accuse you of financial misconduct if I released it."
"So you let me marry her."
My mother began to cry.
"I thought I could control the situation. I thought if I stayed close to Meredith, I could keep her from hurting you and Lily."
"You watched her punish my daughter."
"I didn't know about the laundry room."
"You knew enough to be afraid of her."
She flinched.
I looked toward the station building.
"Why did you move Sarah's car?"
"To help her leave. I thought she would be safe if no one knew when she had gone."
"Then what happened?"
My mother lowered her head.
"Paul called me. He said Sarah had been in an accident. He told me not to go to the police until he explained what happened. By the time I arrived, Meredith had already spoken to the investigators."
I stared at her.
"You knew Paul was involved."
"I suspected it."
"And you stayed silent."
"Yes."
The honesty was worse than another lie.
A sound came from the maintenance building.
My mother turned sharply.
"Someone's here."
Detective Mitchell's voice came through my earpiece.
"David, step away from the building. We have movement on the east side."
A man emerged from the shadows.
Paul Danner.
He held a small pistol at his side.
My mother gasped.
"Paul, please. This isn't what we agreed."
He looked at her.
"You were supposed to bring the recording."
"I did."
"Give it to me."
I stepped between them.
"You're not taking anything."
Paul raised the gun.
For a moment, the station seemed to hold its breath.
Then a floodlight came on.
Police officers emerged from behind the maintenance building, ordering Paul to drop the weapon. He hesitated, then lowered it to the ground.
He was arrested without a shot being fired.
My mother sank onto a bench.
I stood several feet away, the case in my hands.
"Did you know he was going to hurt Sarah?"
She shook her head.
"No. But I knew he had threatened her. And I knew the money was missing."
It was not enough.
Not yet.
Detective Mitchell examined the documents and found a final page attached to the back of the ledger.
It was a copy of a repair order for Sarah's car, signed the morning before the accident.
The mechanic's name was missing.
But the authorization number belonged to my company's fleet department.
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And the person who had approved the work was listed beneath it.
David Mercer.
