Chapter 10 - The Man Who Untied the RopeTomas Reed was twenty-nine years old and had worked at the Calder Grand for eighteen months.
Before that, he had waited tables at two restaurants and spent three years caring for his father after a stroke.
He had not planned to become a witness in a high-profile criminal investigation.
He had planned to keep his job.
That was becoming difficult.
On Friday afternoon, Tomas agreed to meet Nora and Leah in a quiet room at a community center near his apartment.
He arrived ten minutes early.
His first words were an apology.
“I shouldn't have touched that rope.”
Nora looked at him.
“Tell me what happened.”
Tomas sat with his hands clasped together.
“Martin Vale called me into the service corridor before the gala. He said Mr. Voss might need help with a demonstration.”
“What kind of demonstration?” Leah asked.
“He didn't explain.”
“And when it happened?”
“Mr. Voss was angry. He told security to stop Mrs. Voss from leaving. Martin told me to bring the decorative rigging rope from the event setup.”
Tomas looked at Nora.
“You said you wanted to go.”
Nora nodded.
“I remember.”
“I should've refused.”
“What did Adrian say?”
Tomas swallowed.
“He said you needed to learn that promises have consequences.”
Leah wrote the words down.
“Were you physically directed to restrain Nora?”
“Yes. Martin told me to secure the rope. Mr. Voss watched.”
“Was Nora willing?”
“No.”
Tomas stared at the floor.
“She pulled her arms away.”
Nora remembered that moment.
A stranger's hands.
The wine on her dress.
Adrian's expression as the rope tightened.
She had told herself not to scream because he wanted a spectacle.
For an instant, the memory made the room disappear.
Then Tomas continued.
“I tied it loosely at first. Martin told me to secure it properly. I knew it was wrong.”
Leah asked him to describe exactly how the knot was made, where the rope was attached, and who was standing nearby.
Tomas answered carefully.
He explained that the rope had been taken from a decorative staging supply and routed through a temporary overhead attachment used for lightweight ballroom displays.
He had never been trained to use it to restrain a person.
Nora felt sick.
The rope had not merely been humiliating.
It had been dangerous.
“After Mr. Voss said the lesson was over,” Tomas continued, “I untied you.”
“I know.”
“I wanted to get you out of there.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Martin was watching.”
Nora studied him.
“Were you afraid of losing your job?”
Tomas nodded.
“My father lives with me. His care costs more than I make some months.”
Nora thought of Harper.
Another frightened employee.
Another person Adrian could control through money.
Leah asked whether Tomas had spoken with investigators.
“Yes. A detective called me yesterday.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That Mrs. Voss didn't consent. That I tied the rope under instructions.”
Nora exhaled.
“Thank you.”
Tomas looked miserable.
“I don't deserve that.”
Nora considered him.
“You helped hurt me,” she said.
He flinched.
“I know.”
“But you can still tell the truth about it.”
Tomas wiped his palms against his trousers.
Then he looked at Leah.
“There's something else.”
Leah waited.
“The hotel keeps event security footage.”
“We know.”
“Martin told us the main ballroom cameras had been disabled for privacy during the gala.”
“Were they?”
“I don't know. But there's a service-corridor camera near the west entrance.”
Nora leaned forward.
“What would it show?”
“It faces the door where Harper was standing. It might show Martin giving instructions before everything happened.”
Leah made another note.
“Have you viewed the footage?”
“No.”
“Do you know whether it has been preserved?”
Tomas shook his head.
“Martin told the security staff there was a routine storage failure.”
Nora looked at Leah.
“A storage failure?”
Leah's expression became serious.
“We already sent a preservation notice identifying the recordings. If relevant footage existed when the company had a duty to preserve it, the circumstances of any loss may matter.”
Tomas nodded.
“I know someone who works on the hotel's security systems.”
Leah raised a hand.
“Don't ask him to access anything for us. If he has relevant information, he can speak with counsel or investigators. Nobody should retrieve records outside their authorization.”
Tomas looked relieved.
“I don't want anyone else getting fired because of me.”
As the meeting ended, Nora stood.
Tomas remained seated.
“Mrs. Voss?”
She turned.
“I saw your husband smile when you asked for your family.”
Nora felt her chest tighten.
“He thought they wouldn't come.”
“I thought so too,” Tomas admitted.
“Why?”
“Because that's what everyone at the hotel said. That you didn't have anyone except him.”
Nora stared at him.
Tomas continued.
“Then the doors opened.”
His voice changed.
“And I saw your father.”
Nora remembered Walter crossing the ballroom.
The way he had ignored Adrian.
The way he had held her as though nothing else in the room mattered.
“I've never seen Mr. Voss look frightened before,” Tomas said.
Nora almost smiled.
Neither had she.
That evening, Leah received confirmation that the police had taken additional witness statements and were seeking the relevant surveillance records.
The company had produced some recordings.
But a portion of the service-corridor footage was reported missing.
When Nora heard, she wasn't surprised.
Then a new message appeared on her phone.
It came from Harper.
Martin is telling everyone the cameras failed before the gala.
A second message followed.
But I saw the red recording light after you were tied up.
May you like
And a third:
Someone has the footage. I just don't know who.
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