Chapter 4 - THE PRICE OF A SILENT WITNESS|
By midnight, the Kang estate had become a fortress.
Cross doubled the security patrols and ordered the household staff to remain away from the private study. The necklace was secured in an evidence case, and the listening device was transferred to an independent technical specialist.
Lawrence Fenn sat alone in the guest suite, guarded by two men.
James did not have him arrested immediately. He wanted to understand whether Fenn had acted alone or whether someone had instructed him to frame Maya.
Maya, meanwhile, was given a guest room on the second floor.
She refused the offer of designer clothing, expensive toiletries, and a silk robe.
"I need a clean shirt and a place to sleep," she told the housekeeper.
The older woman looked embarrassed.
"Mr. Kang said you could have anything you require."
"Then tell him a plain shirt will do."
When the housekeeper left, Maya stood beside the window and watched the storm move over the estate grounds.
She had spent three weeks cleaning the Kang house, memorizing its routines, and studying the people who controlled access to its most private rooms.
She had expected danger.
She had not expected the strange sensation of being treated as a person.
A knock sounded at the door.
James stood in the corridor, holding a folder.
"May I come in?"
Maya stepped aside.
He entered but remained near the doorway.
"Cross found something in the security archive. Fenn contacted an outside number six times during the last month. The number belongs to a consulting firm associated with Daniel Voss."
"Can you identify the calls?"
"Not without additional records."
"Then you have a connection, not proof."
James glanced at her.
"You always correct people when they reach the conclusion you want?"
"Especially then."
He placed the folder on the table.
"I've arranged for an independent investigator to review the records. I also want you to explain the account identifiers you memorized."
Maya sat down.
"I can explain the transaction pattern. The first transfer was listed as a consulting fee. The recipient company had no employees, no physical office, and no operating expenses. Three days later, the money moved to a second company."
"Owned by Voss?"
"Indirectly. The public filings named a nominee director. The real control appeared to sit with a private trust."
James opened the folder.
"Can you reconstruct the chain?"
"Possibly, if we can obtain the original bank records."
"That will take time."
"I know."
James studied her.
"Why risk coming here if you only had fragments?"
"Because fragments were all they left me."
He looked toward the window.
"Do you have family?"
Maya's expression changed.
"My mother died when I was twenty-four. My younger brother, Daniel, lives in Philadelphia."
"Does he know what happened to you?"
"He knows I lost my job. He doesn't know the whole story."
"Why not?"
"Because I was ashamed."
James looked back at her.
"Of being falsely accused?"
"Of believing the system would protect me."
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then James said, "My father used to tell me that power wasn't what you could force people to do. It was what you could afford to let them refuse."
Maya gave him a skeptical look.
"Did you believe him?"
"Not until I was old enough to understand how often he ignored his own advice."
She almost smiled.
James closed the folder.
"You'll have access to the financial records we can lawfully share. You'll also have security while you're here."
"I don't need a bodyguard following me to the kitchen."
"Then you won't have one following you to the kitchen."
"Good."
He paused at the door.
"One more thing. Fenn told the guards you stole the necklace because you were desperate for money. If anyone repeats that accusation, tell Cross immediately."
Maya's voice grew quiet.
"People believed him before they saw the footage."
"I know."
"No, Mr. Kang. You know what happened tonight. I know what it feels like when a lie becomes the only story people are willing to hear."
James accepted the correction without argument.
"Then help me make sure the truth is preserved."
After he left, Maya sat beside the folder.
Inside was a printout of the intercepted letter, along with the first list of suspicious transfers.
She studied the account numbers until they began to blur.
At the bottom of the final page was a company name she recognized.
Northstar Strategic Holdings.
It had appeared in the Halloran Whitmore audit.
May you like
But the company had been dissolved eighteen months earlier.
And according to the records James had provided, it had received a payment from the Kang estate just four days ago.
