Chapter 6 - A Map of Blind SpotsThe man entered the diner without removing his overcoat.
He was in his late forties, with carefully trimmed hair and the composed expression of someone accustomed to making people uncomfortable.
He paused beside the counter.
Then he looked directly at Clara.
James quietly closed the folder.
"Don't move," Clara whispered.
"Why?"
"His name is Peter Lowe. Arthur uses him when employees become troublesome."
Peter approached their booth.
"Ms. Whitcomb. Mr. Calder."
James looked up.
"Can we help you?"
Peter produced a business card.
"Lowe Investigative Services. I'm acting on behalf of Bellwether Properties."
Clara said nothing.
Peter placed a sealed envelope on the table.
"My client requests that you preserve all relevant documents and refrain from distributing confidential company information."
James did not touch it.
"That's an unusual way to deliver a preservation request."
"Time is sensitive."
"Then have your attorney contact ours."
Peter's gaze shifted toward Clara.
"Ms. Whitcomb, I'm sure you understand the consequences of mishandling proprietary financial material."
Clara lifted her chin.
"I understand the consequences of falsifying accounting records too."
Peter's expression remained neutral.
"I'm not here to debate allegations."
"Then we're finished," James said.
Peter watched him for a moment.
"Yesterday was unfortunate."
James felt a cold sensation move through his chest.
"Which part?"
"The incident involving the Vale child."
"You weren't there."
"No."
"Then you don't know what happened."
Peter straightened.
"I know that emotions can interfere with judgment. I hope you'll consider that before making an already difficult situation worse."
He walked away.
Clara waited until the entrance closed behind him.
"That was a threat."
"It was carefully phrased to sound like advice."
"Does that make you feel better?"
"No."
James photographed the envelope and left it unopened for their lawyer.
Then he returned to the subject that had been troubling him since Wednesday afternoon.
"The parking cameras."
Clara frowned.
"What about them?"
"The system should have covered the pedestrian entrance. That camera was offline."
"Maybe it really was broken."
"Maybe. But I want the maintenance ticket."
Clara hesitated.
"I have a copy of the facilities work-order index through the week I resigned. Nothing more recent."
"Who's the facilities manager?"
"Hector Ruiz."
James knew the name.
Hector had worked at Bellwether for nearly twenty years. He understood the property's tunnels, utility rooms, drainage channels, and service roads better than most engineers who visited for scheduled inspections.
Clara called him from her phone.
He answered quickly.
After a brief exchange, his voice became tense enough for James to hear.
"No," Hector said. "I didn't authorize that shutdown."
Clara put the call on speaker.
"What shutdown?"
"The north entrance camera. Someone submitted an emergency work request Tuesday afternoon. It said the camera needed replacement."
"Was it damaged?"
"Not according to my technician."
"Then why was it offline yesterday?"
Hector was silent.
Finally, he said, "Because the order came from executive administration."
James leaned forward.
"Who signed it?"
"I can't tell you over the phone."
"Can we meet?"
Another pause.
"Tonight. Behind Saint Matthew's Community Hall. Seven-thirty."
The call ended.
Clara stared at James.
"Do you think Vanessa ordered it?"
"We don't know."
"But you're thinking it."
"I'm thinking someone created a blind spot the day before Ruby nearly got hurt."
James opened his notebook.
He drew the parking area.
The black SUV sat on the left side of the lane.
The curb lay to the right.
The silver sedan had reversed along the lane toward the space Ruby entered.
James marked the position from which Ethan appeared after the rescue.
The SUV had blocked his view.
He added the security camera above the pedestrian entrance.
Then he drew a line through it.
Clara studied the sketch.
"You think someone planned the whole thing."
"I think whoever wanted the accusation to succeed needed Ethan to see only the ending."
"But how could Vanessa know a car would reverse at that moment?"
"She may not have planned the car. She could have exploited it when she saw it moving."
Clara shivered.
"That would mean she endangered Ruby simply because an opportunity appeared."
James did not answer.
The accusation was too serious to make without evidence.
That evening, Hector arrived behind the community hall wearing a faded green work jacket.
He brought no dramatic revelations.
Only two ordinary documents.
The first was a printed camera maintenance request.
The second was a copy of the daily vehicle-access log.
James examined the maintenance request.
The north entrance camera had been taken offline Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.
The requesting department was listed as Executive Administration.
The employee authorizing the work was V. Vale.
Clara covered her mouth.
Hector said, "I complained. That entrance is supposed to have continuous coverage."
"What happened?" James asked.
"Arthur told me executive management had approved the shutdown."
"Was the camera actually damaged?"
"No. The technician disconnected it for a proposed replacement. We were waiting for new hardware that hadn't even been ordered."
James felt his pulse quicken.
One camera.
One blind spot.
One child.
He turned to the access log.
The black SUV was registered to a private security contractor called Bluecrest Protective Services.
It had entered the property at 4:11 p.m. Wednesday.
The listed purpose was an executive security review.
"Who requested it?" James asked.
Hector pointed to the final column.
V. Vale.
James studied both documents.
They did not prove Vanessa had intended to hurt Ruby.
But they placed her behind the removal of one camera and the positioning of one obstructing vehicle.
Both decisions had occurred immediately before the accusation against James.
Hector folded his arms.
"There's something you should know about that SUV."
James looked up.
"The driver was told to leave it in that space and wait inside the building."
"By whom?"
"Mrs. Vale's office."
"Did the driver see what happened?"
"No. That's the problem."
Hector glanced toward the darkness beyond the parking lot.
"The person who should have been sitting behind those tinted windows had been sent away."
James looked at Clara.
May you like
The possibility that Vanessa had merely taken advantage of an accident was becoming harder to believe.
And the people who could explain the vehicle's placement were already being contacted by Arthur Bell's investigator.
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