Chapter 10: The Voice That Destroyed Daniel
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The recording continued playing through Frank Dalton's small device.
Daniel's voice sounded furious.
"Matthew, if you tell anyone what happened to our mother, I'll make sure you never leave this hotel alive.""
Then came a loud crash.
A chair scraping against the floor.
A struggle.
And finally, silence.
Daniel stared at the device.
"That's not possible.""
Frank pressed the playback button again.
"Would you like to hear it one more time?""
"Turn it off!""
Frank smiled.
"Why? Don't you remember threatening your own brother?""
Detective Miller kept his weapon trained on Frank.
"Put the device down.""
Frank ignored him.
"Tell him, Daniel. Tell him what you did that night.""
Daniel shook his head.
"I was recovering from a concussion. I was in the hospital.""
Frank laughed.
"You were recovering from something, all right.""
He pressed another button.
A second recording began.
This time, a different voice spoke.
Richard Hayes.
"The medication should keep him confused for several hours. After that, he'll remember very little.""
Vanessa answered.
"And if he remembers Matthew?""
Richard replied.
"Then we'll have to make sure nobody believes him.""
Frank stopped the recording.
"Your brother was trying to tell you the truth. You threatened him. Then he died.""
Daniel looked as if someone had struck him.
I was still trapped against Frank's chest, the pistol pressing into my side.
But I noticed something.
Frank kept glancing toward the bedroom.
He wasn't looking at Detective Miller.
He wasn't looking at Daniel.
He was watching the evidence compartment.
He wanted something inside it.
"Frank," Daniel said quietly.
"What did Richard give you?""
Frank's expression changed.
"Don't pretend you understand what's happening.""
"You're not here for the ownership documents.""
Frank tightened his grip.
"Shut up.""
"You're here because Matthew recorded something else.""
Frank's jaw flexed.
Daniel looked at the compartment.
"Something you don't want the police to hear.""
Detective Miller caught on immediately.
"Officer, secure the evidence.""
One officer moved toward the compartment.
Frank suddenly shoved me forward.
I fell against the bathroom door.
The gun fired.
The sound was deafening.
Daniel tackled Frank before he could fire again.
Both men crashed into the bedroom furniture.
Detective Miller rushed forward.
"Drop the weapon!""
Frank struck Daniel across the face with the pistol.
Daniel stumbled.
The gun slid beneath the bed.
Frank tried to reach it, but an officer grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
Within seconds, he was on the floor in handcuffs.
I crawled away from the doorway.
Daniel sat against the wall, blood running from a cut above his eyebrow.
"Emily!""
He reached toward me.
"I'm okay," I whispered.
Detective Miller checked the room.
"Everyone all right?""
Daniel nodded.
Then he looked at Frank.
"Tell me what that recording means.""
Frank laughed.
"Ask Richard.""
"Where is he?""
Frank looked at the detective.
"You're already too late.""
Miller crouched beside him.
"What did Richard do?""
Frank smiled.
"He has the original recording. The one that proves Daniel was at the hotel the night Matthew died.""
Daniel stood slowly.
"You're lying.""
"Am I?""
Frank looked directly at him.
"You were there, Daniel. You just don't remember why.""
Detective Miller ordered the officers to take Frank downstairs.
Then he turned toward the evidence compartment.
The portable recorder was still inside.
"Let's hear what Matthew left behind.""
The investigator connected it to a laptop.
At first, there was static.
Then Matthew's voice appeared.
"Daniel, if you're listening to this, Richard has probably shown you a recording of our argument.""
A pause.
"Don't believe it.""
Daniel moved closer.
Matthew continued.
"They edited it. They removed what happened before and after. You weren't threatening me. You were trying to stop me from leaving because you knew I was being followed.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
"Richard told you that our mother was dead. He told you Vanessa was innocent. He told you I was stealing from the company.""
A faint sound came from the background.
Then Matthew spoke again.
"But none of that was true.""
The recording ended abruptly.
The investigator checked the device.
"There's another file.""
Miller nodded.
"Play it.""
A woman's voice came through the speakers.
Margaret.
"Matthew, you have to tell Daniel the truth.""
Matthew answered.
"I will. But first, I need to find Elena.""
Then another voice interrupted.
A man.
Richard.
"You're making a terrible mistake.""
The audio became distorted.
Then Matthew shouted.
"Get away from me!""
A crash followed.
And the final sound was a door slamming.
Detective Miller stopped playback.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"Richard was there.""
"Yes," Miller said.
"That means he knows what happened to Matthew.""
Miller nodded.
"And he knows we have this recording.""
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Where is he now?""
The detective's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
"Repeat that.""
He listened.
Then he looked at Daniel.
"Richard Hayes has just entered the Whitmore Grand Hotel.""
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Why?""
Miller ended the call.
"He's scheduled to give a press conference in twenty minutes.""
I frowned.
"About what?""
The detective looked at the laptop.
"About you, Mr. Whitmore.""
Daniel's phone buzzed.
A news alert appeared.
*WHITMORE HOTEL OWNER UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER ALLEGED THREAT AGAINST DECEASED BROTHER.*
Below the headline was a photograph of Daniel.
And underneath it was a quote from Richard Hayes.
The Whitmore family has concealed a disturbing truth for years. Tonight, the public deserves to know what Daniel did to his brother.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Then he looked at me.
"He's going to destroy my reputation before we can prove anything.""
I shook my head.
"Not if we get there first.""
Detective Miller picked up his jacket.
"Then let's go.""
But just as we reached the door, the investigator called after us.
"Detective! There's one more file!""
He turned the laptop around.
A document had been recovered from the recorder's internal memory.
It contained a single handwritten sentence.
*THE PERSON WHO ORDERED MATTHEW'S DEATH WAS NOT VANESSA.*
May you like
And beneath it was a name.
Margaret Whitmore.
