Chapter 9 - The Photograph Outside the OfficeNora spent Tuesday morning in Priya Shah's office.
Rain blurred the windows overlooking Boston Harbor.
On the conference table lay the photograph Elise had received outside Nora's architectural firm, together with screenshots of the threatening message sent at Ash Point.
Priya had asked a licensed investigator to preserve the original digital files.
Tessa sat beside Nora, reviewing dates.
"Five weeks before the wedding," Tessa said. "September eleventh."
Nora nodded.
"I remember that morning."
"What happened?"
"Julian appeared outside my office with coffee. He said he was nearby for a meeting."
"Was he expected?"
"No."
Tessa turned the photograph over.
Do not approach her.
"Someone wanted Elise frightened away."
Nora studied the image.
She was smiling in it.
Julian's hand rested gently on her lower back.
At the time she'd thought the gesture affectionate.
Now she remembered how he had positioned himself between her and the sidewalk.
She looked toward Priya.
"Was Elise there that morning?"
"Yes. She'd arranged to speak to you before your first appointment."
"Why didn't she?"
Priya hesitated.
"She saw two men waiting outside your office. They approached her before she could reach the building."
Nora felt her pulse quicken.
"What did they say?"
"They knew where Samuel Wade worked. They knew which bus his wife took home."
"Samuel has a wife?"
"Yes. Marisol."
Nora remembered the young man at Ash Point.
His careful anger.
The way he watched the street.
"Did Elise recognize the men?"
"Not personally. We have descriptions and some photographic evidence."
Priya pushed a folder toward her.
Inside was a still image from a street camera.
A tall man in a gray coat stood beside Elise.
Another waited near a black SUV.
Nora leaned closer.
"The man in the coat."
Tessa looked up.
"What about him?"
"I saw him yesterday."
"At Ash Point?"
Nora nodded.
"Taking pictures of my car."
Priya made a note.
"We'll send that to Detective Ortiz."
Tessa zoomed in.
"Wait."
She pointed toward the man's lapel.
A tiny enamel pin was visible.
Dark blue.
Silver border.
A stylized white anchor.
Nora recognized it immediately.
"Cross Harbor executive security."
Priya looked at her.
"You're certain?"
"Julian commissioned them for the corporate retreat last winter. Everyone on the protective-services team wore one."
Tessa turned the phone toward her.
"Do you know his name?"
Nora thought carefully.
"Grant something."
She remembered a Christmas dinner at the Cross estate.
A tall man had waited by the staircase while Celia entertained donors.
Julian had introduced him.
"Grant Mercer," Nora said.
"Head of corporate security."
Priya wrote the name down.
Nora felt her stomach tighten.
"Julian told me Grant was leaving the company in spring."
Tessa raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently not."
Before they could continue, Priya's assistant knocked.
"There's a visitor asking for Ms. Bellamy."
"Who?"
"Margot Cross."
Nora stiffened.
Julian's younger sister.
Margot was thirty-three, a financial executive who had spent most of the engagement appearing politely indifferent to Nora.
Unlike Celia, she rarely tried to dominate a room.
She seemed content to observe.
Priya considered the situation.
"Does she have counsel?"
"She says she wants to speak privately."
"That's not necessarily advisable."
Nora stood.
"I'll hear what she has to say."
Margot entered wearing a gray cashmere coat.
Her eyes were bloodshot.
She looked at Nora.
"I'm sorry about Saturday."
Nora folded her arms.
"Which part?"
Margot accepted the criticism.
"All of it."
She glanced toward Priya.
"I know my family is making legal threats."
"Then you should probably talk to your attorney," Priya replied.
Margot nodded.
"I have. She told me not to come."
Nora stared.
"Then why are you here?"
Margot opened her handbag.
"I found something in our mother's house."
She placed a small leather appointment book on the table.
Its pages were filled with neat handwriting.
Nora recognized Celia's script.
Margot turned to a marked date.
August 23, 2023.
Beside the date was a single appointment.
St. Agnes — J. authorization — 11:30 A.M.
Nora looked up.
"J?"
Margot nodded.
"Julian."
Priya leaned forward.
"What authorization?"
"I don't know. But my mother kept detailed records of everything connected to company expenses."
She turned several pages.
Another entry.
September 12 — Ellen Ward transfer — private arrangement approved.
Nora felt cold.
Ellen Ward.
The name on Elise's medical records.
"Why are you giving us this?"
Margot stared at her hands.
"Because my brother stood at that altar and pretended he didn't recognize his wife."
"Did you know she was alive?"
Margot's eyes filled.
"No."
Priya watched her carefully.
"You understand that these entries need independent authentication."
"Yes. My attorney can arrange for me to provide them formally."
Nora looked at the woman across from her.
Margot had always seemed intimidated by Celia.
Now she appeared terrified.
"What else do you know?"
Margot hesitated.
Then she whispered, "My mother has a storage unit in Providence."
Priya sat straighter.
"What is stored there?"
"I don't know everything. But three weeks after the fire, I helped her move a locked cabinet out of the house."
"What cabinet?"
"One from Elise's old study."
Margot's voice trembled.
"There was something written on the back."
Nora leaned closer.
"What?"
Margot swallowed.
May you like
A single sentence had been scratched into the wood.
IF I DISAPPEAR, CHECK THE SECOND LEDGER.
Related Stories
