Chapter 7 - THE OLD BUILDING
Rain hammered the windows of the old Caldwell headquarters by the time Mary arrived.
The building had been empty for two years, waiting for conversion into luxury offices.
Ethan had volunteered to oversee the project.
Now Mary knew why.
Security Chief Lena Brooks walked beside her with two guards.
Daniel stayed on speakerphone from headquarters.
The brass key fit locker 314 in the basement.
Mary opened the metal door.
Lena swept a flashlight across the interior.
“Recently emptied,” she said.
A clean rectangle showed where dust had been disturbed.
Mary’s anger flashed hot.
“We’re late.”
“Maybe not.” Lena pointed to the back panel. “That’s loose.”
A guard removed two screws.
Behind the panel sat a cheap black phone and a small notebook.
Mary opened the notebook.
Dates. Initials. Dollar amounts.
One set of initials appeared again and again.
Robert Caldwell.
Mary’s pulse jumped.
“Daniel, I found a ledger with Dad’s initials.”
“Don’t assume it means him.”
Then the basement lights died.
Total darkness swallowed them.
Lena immediately pushed Mary against the lockers.
“Stay down.”
Footsteps thundered somewhere near the stairwell.
One of the guards shouted, “Security!”
Lena’s flashlight snapped on.
At the end of the hall, an emergency exit swung closed.
The second guard reached it first and looked outside.
“Black SUV. No plates.”
Mary’s phone buzzed.
She answered before Lena could stop her.
A distorted voice said, “The wedding was your warning.”
Mary’s skin prickled.
“Who is this?”
“You should have married him.”
Mary looked down at the cheap phone from the locker.
Its screen suddenly lit.
WHERE ARE YOU? WE NEED TO MOVE ROBERT BEFORE SHE FIGURES IT OUT.
Mary stopped breathing.
The phone was not Ethan’s.
It belonged to someone working with him.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
SHE’S AT THE BUILDING.
