Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Could Reopen the FireDetective Asha Reed had spent seventeen years investigating crimes in Boston.
She had learned that people lied for three main reasons.
To get something.
To avoid losing something.
Or because telling the truth would force them to admit who they had become.
When Adrian Vale entered her office with Tanya Brooks and Mara Quinn, Asha suspected she would encounter all three.
She studied the young woman beneath the tangled hair.
"Do you understand why you're here?"
Mara nodded.
"You want to ask about the fire."
"Only what you're comfortable telling me today."
Tanya sat beside Mara.
Adrian remained near the door.
Asha noticed his expensive coat, the bruises on his face, and the careful distance he kept from the girl.
"Mr. Vale," she said, "I'll need to ask you some questions separately."
"Of course."
Asha's expression softened a fraction.
Mara placed both hands in her lap.
"I don't remember everything."
"That's all right."
"Sometimes I remember things in the wrong order."
"Then we'll work through what you're certain of and leave the rest open."
Mara looked relieved.
Asha started with simple facts.
Her mother's name.
Their address.
The date of the fire.
The person who had taken Mara away afterward.
When they reached Ruth Danner, Asha stopped writing.
"Did Ruth ever tell you she was your legal guardian?"
"She said she was responsible for me."
"Did she show you any papers?"
"No."
"Who took you to her?"
Mara closed her eyes.
A corridor.
Cold night air.
A woman wearing dark shoes.
A car door opening.
"I remember a woman," she said.
"What woman?"
"She smelled like flowers. Very strong perfume."
"Do you remember her face?"
Mara shook her head.
"She wore a blue scarf."
Asha wrote it down without comment.
"What do you remember about the fire itself?"
Mara's fingers tightened.
"My mother told me to stay by the stairs."
"Which stairs?"
"The back stairs, near her office."
"What happened next?"
"I heard men arguing."
"Could you hear what they were saying?"
Mara struggled.
"One man said they were taking the records."
"Anything else?"
"My mother said something about the money belonging to the families."
Asha paused.
Then Mara whispered, "Someone grabbed her."
"Did you see who?"
"I saw a coat. And a hand."
"What kind of coat?"
"Dark. Long."
"And the hand?"
"A gold ring."
Asha watched as Mara's breathing quickened.
"We can stop."
Mara shook her head.
"I remember it falling."
"The ring?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"On the floor. There was water. Then the fire came."
Asha waited.
Mara covered her face.
"I can't see anything after that."
Tanya moved closer.
"That's enough for today."
Asha closed her notebook.
"Thank you, Mara. You've helped us understand what to examine. You don't need to force yourself to remember more."
After Tanya escorted Mara outside, Adrian remained with the detective.
"Is it enough?" he asked.
"Enough for what?"
"To reopen the investigation."
Asha folded her arms.
"Your report is valuable. Her account is valuable. But memory alone won't establish who started a ten-year-old fire."
"What will?"
"Independent evidence."
"I have suspicious financial transfers. A photograph of my father and Marcus Pike at the property. A retired investigator who disputes the original findings."
"And I'll assess all of it. But I won't build a case around what you want to believe."
Adrian nodded.
Asha studied him.
"There's another issue."
"What?"
"Your assault."
Adrian stiffened.
"You told responding officers you didn't see who attacked you."
"I didn't."
"You also told them you were meeting someone about the Morrow House records."
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Ruben Ortega."
Asha's eyes narrowed.
"Did Mr. Ortega arrive?"
"No. The attack happened before he reached the meeting place."
"Did you see anyone following you?"
"A gray sedan."
"Plate?"
"No."
Asha looked down at her notes.
"You're willing to accuse your father of serious crimes, yet you seem strangely reluctant to discuss the attack."
Adrian considered his answer.
"Because I don't know whether the attack was connected."
"That's fair."
Her telephone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Then her expression changed.
"Excuse me."
She listened without speaking for almost thirty seconds.
When she ended the call, she looked at Adrian.
"An old evidence inventory from Morrow House has just been located."
Adrian stepped forward.
"What inventory?"
"Photographs, fire debris, and objects collected during the initial investigation."
"Is the ring there?"
"I don't know."
Asha rose.
"But something else is."
She showed him the inventory description.
ITEM 47 — PARTIALLY BURNED PAPER RECORDS, RECOVERED FROM REAR STAIRWELL.
Beneath that was a handwritten note.
TRANSFER TO SUPPLEMENTAL EVIDENCE STORAGE — NOT EXAMINED.
Adrian stared.
For ten years, everyone had believed Celia Quinn's records were destroyed.
May you like
But someone had recovered papers from beneath the stairs.
And then made sure nobody examined them.
Related Stories
