Chapter 10 - Under the Pool
The pool lights came on automatically at dusk.
Laura stood at the edge, staring into water that had looked harmless all her life.
"Dad taught all of us to swim here," Evelyn said.
"No," Laura replied. "He taught me before the pool was finished."
Mark, released pending further investigation after Anna verified the restitution trust, stood beside them. His wrists were red from the cuffs.
"Where?" he asked.
"Construction pit. No tile yet. He used to joke that he had built me the world's most expensive bathtub."
Richard walked the pool's edge. "There was a service trench under that side. They filled most of it."
"Most?" Evelyn asked.
Behind a row of hedges sat a locked utility door Laura had not noticed in years. The maintenance key still hung inside the pump house.
The door opened into a narrow concrete passage beneath the pool deck.
Laura switched on her phone flashlight.
"Somebody's been here," Mark said.
At the end of the passage they found a vent cover set into a brick wall. Mark pried it loose.
Inside were three cassette tapes, a flash drive, and a handwritten confession signed by Daniel Vale.
My name is Daniel James Vale. In 1998, I authorized the illegal transfer of pension assets. Samuel Mercer objected. I allowed false evidence to be used against him. Eleanor Vale signed an affidavit she knew was false. Leonard Shaw arranged the evidence and later diverted additional funds for himself...
Richard attempted to expose us. I threatened to destroy him professionally and personally. He left because I made staying impossible.
If anything happens to me before I deliver this confession, Leonard Shaw is the person I fear most.
The silence below the pool felt enormous.
"We have him," Mark said.
"No," Richard replied.
"Leonard knows Daniel made copies. He wouldn't bring us here unless he wanted something."
The utility door slammed shut.
Then the pumps stopped.
Water.
A thin stream began pouring through the vent near the floor.
The stream became a jet.
"No."
Cold water rushed around their shoes.
Mark turned toward the sealed door.
"Leonard isn't trying to get the confession."
The water reached Laura's ankles.
May you like
"He's trying to bury it with us."
The House That Lied
