Chapter 7: The Storage Unit
The police station smelled like burnt coffee, wet coats, and disinfectant.
I sat beneath fluorescent lights with Marcus on one side and Julian on the other while Caleb paced near the vending machines.
Daniel stood across from me, speaking quietly with a detective.
I couldn't hear every word.
I heard enough.
“Storage unit.””
“Photographs.””
“Financial records.””
“Eight years.””
The detective eventually approached.
“Ms. Cole?””
I stood.
“Yes?””
“My name is Detective Sarah Bennett. I know this is a lot to process.””
I almost laughed.
“That's one way to describe it.””
She gave me a sympathetic look.
“We recovered several boxes from the investigator's storage unit.””
“What was inside?””
“Surveillance photographs. Copies of financial documents. Audio recordings.””
My stomach tightened.
“Of me?””
“Some.””
“Of my father?””
She nodded.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Was there anything showing Adrian directly?””
Detective Bennett looked at him.
“Yes.””
She opened a folder.
The first photograph showed Adrian standing outside a restaurant.
The second showed him speaking to a man I didn't recognize.
The third showed my father.
He was standing beside his car.
The photograph had been taken two days before his death.
I stared at it.
“Who is that man?””
Bennett pointed to the stranger beside Adrian.
“That's the investigator's former partner.””
“What was he doing with Adrian?””
“We're still determining that.””
Julian leaned over the photograph.
“That's not all.””
He pointed to the corner.
A license plate was visible.
Daniel took out his phone.
“I'll run it.””
Bennett nodded.
Then she placed an audio recorder on the table.
“This was recovered from the unit.””
She pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Adrian's voice.
Clear.
Cold.
“Her father won't stop.””
My entire body went still.
Another man's voice answered.
“Then make sure he does.””
Marcus grabbed the edge of the table.
“Who said that?””
Bennett stopped the recording.
“We're trying to identify the second voice.””
I looked at her.
“Play it.””
She hesitated.
“Claire—”
“Play it.””
The recording continued.
Adrian's voice returned.
“I don't want him dead.””
The other man laughed.
“You don't have to.””
A pause.
“An accident is still an accident.””
My chair scraped backward.
I couldn't breathe.
Marcus caught my shoulders.
“Claire.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
The recording continued.
Adrian whispered, “And Claire?””
The other man answered.
“She'll believe whatever you tell her.””
The audio ended.
Silence.
I stared at the recorder.
For eight years, I'd believed my father's death was a terrible accident.
I'd cried at his funeral believing he'd died without knowing whether I was safe.
But he had known.
He had been fighting for me.
And someone had wanted him silent.
Detective Bennett closed the folder.
“We need to be careful. This recording doesn't prove murder by itself.””
“I know.””
“But it gives us a direction.””
I looked at her.
“Where is Adrian?””
“In an interview room.””
“Is he under arrest?””
“Not yet.””
Marcus stood.
“Then arrest him.””
Bennett shook her head.
“We need more.””
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
A moment later, his expression changed.
“Detective?””
Bennett took the phone.
She listened.
Then looked at me.
“There's been another development.””
“What?””
“The man whose voice appears on the recording has been identified.””
My heart began pounding.
“Who is he?””
Bennett looked at Daniel.
May you like
Then at me.
“Adrian's father.””
