Chapter 13 - The Man Behind the Third Signature
Roman wanted to send a team without me.
I insisted on going.
The location was an abandoned printing warehouse on the southern edge of the city. Malcolm Reed sat tied to a chair beneath a hanging work lamp, his expensive suit stained with dust.
He looked nothing like the polished attorney who had attended Richard Blackmere's funeral.
When he saw Roman, he began to cry.
"Thank God."
Roman stopped several feet away.
"Who did this?"
Malcolm looked at me.
"She did."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Victor told me you had stolen the ledger. He said you were going to destroy the family."
"You know that's a lie."
"I know nothing anymore."
Roman crouched in front of him.
"Start with the third signature."
Malcolm swallowed.
"It belonged to your father."
Roman's face hardened.
"You told us it belonged to someone else."
"I lied."
"Why?"
"Because Richard ordered the transfers, but he didn't control the operation. Victor handled the money. I handled the documents. The third signature was a legal authorization that allowed us to move assets between companies."
"Who benefited?"
Malcolm closed his eyes.
"All of us."
The confession seemed to drain the air from the room.
He explained that the warehouse bookkeeper had discovered that money was being diverted from legitimate businesses into accounts controlled by Victor. Richard wanted the operation stopped, but Victor threatened to expose Richard's involvement in earlier crimes.
The two men argued.
The bookkeeper disappeared.
Then the warehouse burned.
"Who killed him?" Roman demanded.
Malcolm shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Who ordered it?"
"I don't know."
Roman grabbed the chair's arm.
"You're lying."
Malcolm flinched.
"I swear it. Victor told me the man had been taken care of. I never saw the body."
I stepped closer.
"What did my mother know?"
Malcolm looked at me with sudden recognition.
"Margaret found copies of the transfers. She discovered that Victor had been moving money through accounts belonging to dead people."
"Why was she dismissed?"
"She refused to give the documents back."
I felt sick.
"Did Victor threaten her?"
Malcolm nodded.
"He threatened everyone."
"Did he hurt her?"
"I don't know."
I wanted to believe that answer.
But Malcolm's expression told me there was more.
"Your mother gave the documents to someone she trusted," he whispered. "Someone who promised to keep them safe."
"Who?"
He looked at Roman.
Then at me.
"Richard Blackmere."
Roman went completely still.
"My father took the documents?"
"Yes. He intended to expose Victor. But before he could, he died."
I stepped backward.
The man I had spent years fearing had been connected to my mother.
The man Roman had worshipped had possessed the evidence that might have saved her.
"Where are the documents now?" I asked.
Malcolm shook his head.
"I don't know."
Roman stood.
"Then you'll help us find out."
Malcolm nodded desperately.
As Dominic began untying him, a gunshot rang out from somewhere beyond the warehouse.
The lights went dark.
Someone shouted.
I felt a hand close around my wrist.
For one terrible instant, I thought Victor had found me.
Then Roman's voice reached me through the darkness.
"Nora, it's me. Stay with me."
A second shot struck the metal door.
May you like
And from somewhere outside, Victor Sloane began to laugh.
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