Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO CLEANED THE SITE
The retired site supervisor's name was Frank Delaney.
He lived alone in Worcester and answered the door with an oxygen tube under his nose.
When Adrian said Daniel Keane, Frank tried to close the door.
Marissa stopped it with one hand.
"My husband died on your site. You can at least look at me."
Frank did.
Then he started crying.
"I told them not to touch the harness."
Adrian felt his pulse change.
"Who touched it?"
"Security."
"Names."
Frank shook his head.
"I don't know the men. They came from corporate."
After the fall, Frank photographed the scene for insurance.
One image showed Daniel's harness still clipped to the damaged railing.
Two hours later, corporate security removed it.
The official evidence photo showed another harness.
Frank protested.
Richard called him personally.
"He said the wrong serial number had been logged and they were correcting paperwork."
Marissa whispered, "And you believed him?"
Frank stared at the floor.
"I wanted to."
He gave Adrian a flash drive of old photos.
One image showed a black SUV parked near the closed service entrance the morning Daniel fell.
License plate visible.
Naomi traced it.
Registered to Whitmore Protective Services.
The company was owned by Richard through a holding firm.
Adrian called Detective Lena Ortiz, who reopened Daniel's accident file.
By evening, police had a warrant for the site-security archives.
Then Adrian received a call from Hawthorne Elementary.
The superintendent sounded panicked.
"Mr. Whitmore, one of your subcontractors showed up after the shutdown."
"Why?"
"He said he had orders to remove concrete samples."
"Did you let him?"
"No. He forced the storage lock."
Adrian was already moving.
When he reached the school, police had one man in custody.
The sample refrigerator was open.
Three concrete cores were missing.
On the floor lay a dropped access badge.
May you like
MARA CALDWELL.
The woman who had supposedly disappeared fourteen months earlier.
