Chapter 4 - The Last Night
I dragged Noah away from the window and killed the lights.
By the time I reached the street, whoever had taken the picture was gone.
Ruiz wanted us at the station. I wanted Storage Unit 218.
We compromised: she sent two uniforms with us.
On the drive, I remembered the last night I saw Claire alive.
She had shown up at my house furious, still wearing her office badge.
"Vanessa has access to Dad's trust portal," she had said.
Vanessa laughed from the dining room. "I'm your brother's wife. I help with family finances."
Claire ignored her. "Daniel, someone approved nineteen million dollars in consulting transfers using my credentials. I did not approve them."
I was exhausted. Our father had been dead six months. The company was bleeding from a bad acquisition. Claire and Vanessa had been fighting for years.
"Talk to Elliot," I said.
"Elliot is part of it."
"Then bring me proof."
Claire stared at me. "I'm trying to keep you from becoming proof."
That was the last real thing she ever said to me.
The next morning, her apartment was empty, her office badge sat on her desk, and her phone was found in a rideshare two counties away.
Three days later, the first email arrived.
I need distance. Don't look for me.
I had wanted to be furious more than I wanted to be afraid.
The storage facility manager led us down a concrete hallway while Ruiz kept one hand near her holster.
Unit 218 was small.
Inside sat one black duffel bag, a folding chair, and a metal lockbox.
The duffel held Claire's passport, two sweaters, cash, and the silver compass necklace our mother gave her in college.
Noah made a broken sound when he saw it.
The lockbox held a digital recorder.
No memory card.
"Somebody got here first," Ruiz said.
A uniform called from the hallway. "Detective? You need to see this."
The facility's rear fire door stood open.
Outside, tire marks cut across wet gravel.
Blue paint had scraped the metal frame.
The same color as the sedan outside my house.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new email from Claire's account.
Subject: YOU STILL DON'T LISTEN.
May you like
The body contained one line.
Daniel, Marcus is going to kill you too.
