Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED COAT|
The next clue arrived in the form of an old photograph.
Dominic brought it to Callum's office one rainy afternoon. It showed Victor Raines standing outside a warehouse with three other men.
One was Grant.
Another was a former shipping executive who had been questioned about irregular freight invoices years earlier.
The fourth person was a woman wearing a red coat.
Her face was partly obscured by the angle of the camera.
Callum studied the image.
"Where was this taken?"
"Outside a warehouse in Chelsea, eight years ago," Dominic replied. "The photograph came from a former contractor who kept copies of old site records."
Rowan leaned closer.
"That's the same year Grant left me."
"Yes."
"Who is the woman?"
"We're still identifying her."
Rowan looked at Grant's face.
He appeared younger, more confident, and completely unaware that someone was photographing him.
"Why was he there?"
Callum pointed to a folder.
"The warehouse was used by a company involved in the disputed freight contract. Victor arranged several meetings there."
"Did you attend?"
"No."
"Did anyone from your company?"
"One former associate may have."
Rowan looked at the woman in the red coat again.
Something about her seemed familiar.
She asked Dominic to send her a copy through the proper channels.
Then she called Grant.
He answered on the fourth ring.
"I need to ask you about a photograph."
"What photograph?"
She described it.
Grant went silent.
"Where did you get that?"
"That isn't an answer."
"Rowan, you shouldn't be looking into those old meetings."
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what happened."
"Then explain it."
He exhaled sharply.
"The woman in the red coat was Nathan Cole's sister, Elise. She worked as an accountant for one of the companies involved in the freight contract."
"Was she involved in the dispute?"
"She was trying to expose it."
Rowan sat down.
"Then why was she standing with you and Victor?"
"Because she had arranged a meeting."
Grant explained that Elise had discovered irregular invoices and believed Nathan had diverted money from a business deal. She had contacted several people who might have evidence, including Grant and representatives associated with Callum's network.
Grant had attended because he hoped to recover his company's investment.
The meeting had ended badly.
"Victor accused her of stealing records," Grant said. "She denied it. Then he told everyone to leave."
"What happened to Elise?"
"I don't know."
"Did you report her disappearance?"
"I didn't know she was missing."
Rowan closed her eyes.
The explanation raised more questions than it answered.
"Did you know she had been trying to expose the transactions?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because I thought Victor would destroy my company if I spoke."
"You were afraid again."
"Yes."
Rowan felt exhausted.
Grant's fear might explain some of his decisions, but it could not erase the consequences.
She ended the call and forwarded the new information to the investigators.
That evening, Callum told her his legal team had found evidence that Elise had sent a complaint to a financial oversight office shortly before she disappeared from the industry.
The complaint concerned inflated invoices, undisclosed intermediaries, and the transfer of freight contracts through companies with unclear ownership.
Several of the company names matched the current Meridian records.
"Could Elise still be alive?" Rowan asked.
"We don't know."
"Can we find her?"
"We can ask the investigators to pursue the lead. We shouldn't attempt to contact her through unverified intermediaries."
Rowan nodded.
She knew that chasing a mystery could become dangerous when people were desperate to conceal the answer.
But the photograph had changed the shape of the story.
Grant had not simply walked away from a relationship.
He had walked away from a business dispute involving a woman who had tried to expose wrongdoing.
And Victor Raines had been there.
The following morning, Rowan received an email from an address she did not recognize.
It contained a scanned page from an old accounting ledger.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, ask Callum Voss why he let Victor keep the money.
Rowan stared at the words.
May you like
Then she looked at the sender's name.
Elise Cole.
