Chapter 14: The Last Person Who Knew
Eleanor wanted me to forward the messages to the investigator and do nothing else.
I agreed.
Then I spent the next hour staring at the photograph of Vanessa.
The house was unfamiliar. The road was narrow, bordered by bare trees and a low stone wall. Vanessa looked smaller than I remembered, almost swallowed by the dark coat she was wearing.
She had left with a suitcase, but I hadn't known where she was going.
Now someone else seemed to know.
And they wanted me to believe she was in danger.
“Don't reply,” Eleanor warned when I showed her the messages.
“We don't know who sent them or whether the photograph is current.””
“What if Vanessa knows something about the accident?””
“Then the investigators can question her. We should not let an anonymous message dictate our actions.””
She was right.
But the reference to Graham Mercer's first partner troubled me.
I called Detective Brooks and provided the messages. He said his team would examine the phone number and investigate the location shown in the photograph.
“Do you know anyone who might be connected to Mercer professionally?”” he asked.
“Only the people we've already identified.””
“Then don't contact anyone independently. If this person is trying to manipulate you, an impulsive response could compromise the investigation.””
I promised I would wait.
For several hours, I did.
Then Detective Brooks called back.
“We've identified the property in the photograph. It's a cottage outside Ashford. The registered owner is a company linked to Graham Mercer.””
“Is Vanessa there?””
“We haven't confirmed that. We're making inquiries.””
“What about the first partner?””
A pause.
“Graham Mercer was previously involved in a property investment company with a man named Daniel Voss. Voss disappeared from public records about seven years ago after a dispute over company assets.””
“Disappeared?””
“Not in the sense that he's officially missing. He resigned from several directorships and moved abroad, according to the records we have. But there are unresolved questions about the circumstances of his departure.””
“Could he know about the scheme?””
“He could. We haven't established his current location.””
I thought about the anonymous message.
Ask Vanessa what happened to Graham Mercer's first partner.
“Detective, could this Daniel Voss have been involved in my mother's investment?””
“His name appears in one of the older company documents. We'll examine that connection.””
When the call ended, I felt the investigation expanding beyond the people I had expected.
Vanessa.
Adrian.
Graham Mercer.
Daniel Voss.
My mother.
Each name seemed to open another door.
That afternoon, Eleanor received confirmation that the corporate registry had located additional records relating to Northbridge Holdings. She arranged for certified copies to be obtained through the appropriate channels.
Meanwhile, Daniel traced a series of old transfers between companies associated with Mercer and a trust established shortly after my mother rejected the investment proposal.
The trust's records were incomplete.
But one surviving document listed a beneficiary.
Vanessa.
Another listed a person named Daniel Voss.
A third field had been redacted in the copy Daniel received.
“Someone deliberately removed the name,” he explained over the phone.
“I can't tell you who did it or why. We need the unredacted records.””
I sat at my desk, rubbing my forehead.
“Is there anything else?””
“Yes. I found a payment made from the trust to a legal practice shortly after your mother's death. The description says it was for a private settlement.””
“Whose settlement?””
“The reference number points to a file associated with Daniel Voss.””
I stared at the wall.
“Could Mercer have paid him to disappear?””
“Possibly. But that's speculation until we see the underlying agreement.””
I thanked Daniel and ended the call.
The word settlement stayed with me.
My mother had canceled the investment.
Mercer had lost access to the assets.
Then someone connected to the company had received a payment tied to a private settlement.
And Vanessa had continued moving toward my life.
What had happened between those events?
That evening, Detective Brooks called again.
“We've located Vanessa Bennett.””
My heart lurched.
“Where?””
“At the cottage shown in the photograph. She's safe. She has agreed to speak with us, but she has not yet provided a full statement.””
“Can I speak with her?””
“Not directly. We need to conduct the interview first. If she has information about the collision or the financial scheme, we don't want her account influenced by outside conversations.””
I understood.
Still, hearing that Vanessa was safe brought a complicated wave of relief.
I hated that I felt it.
The next morning, Eleanor received an urgent call from the investigator.
Vanessa had agreed to provide documents stored at the cottage. Among them was an old laptop that appeared to belong to Graham Mercer.
The device was being examined.
At noon, Detective Brooks asked Eleanor and me to attend a formal meeting.
He placed several photographs on the table.
The first showed a small office.
The second showed a filing cabinet with a damaged lock.
The third showed a framed picture of three men standing outside a commercial building.
One was Graham Mercer.
Another was Daniel Voss.
The third was a man I recognized from the anonymous recordings.
I leaned closer.
“Who is he?””
“We haven't conclusively identified him,” Detective Brooks said.
“But Vanessa has named him in her preliminary statement.””
“What's his name?””
“Richard Hale.””
I frowned.
“Does he have any connection to Victoria?””
“That's one of the questions we're investigating. He was a business associate of Mercer and Voss. He also had access to several companies connected to Northbridge.””
“Was he involved in the collision?””
“We don't know. We're examining the audio recordings, vehicle evidence, and financial records. Vanessa has provided information that may help us establish the context.””
Detective Brooks turned over another page.
It contained a transcript of part of Vanessa's interview.
She had admitted working for Mercer years earlier. She had admitted knowing about the proposed investment involving my mother's estate. She had also admitted that she and Mercer discussed obtaining control of my assets after my mother died.
But she denied arranging the collision.
“She says she believed the plan involved obtaining financial control if you became incapacitated,” Detective Brooks explained.
“She claims she didn't know a vehicle would be used to cause an accident.””
“Do you believe her?””
“That's not the question I can answer right now. We're checking her statement against independent evidence.””
I looked down at the transcript.
One passage had been underlined.
When asked about Richard Hale, Vanessa stated that he had been responsible for handling the contingency arrangements and that she had been instructed not to ask what those arrangements involved.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
“We're trying to establish that. Vanessa says Hale was the person who communicated with Mercer about the accident, but we need corroboration.””
I felt a cold pressure in my chest.
The recordings had captured a man discussing the collision.
Now Vanessa was naming someone who might fit that voice.
But she had every reason to redirect suspicion away from herself.
“Can she prove what she's saying?””
“She's provided a password to the old laptop. We haven't completed the examination.””
Detective Brooks closed the folder.
“There's one more thing. Vanessa says Richard Hale contacted her after the accident. He allegedly told her that if you recovered your sight, she should make sure no one believed your account of what happened.””
The words echoed in my mind.
Then we make sure nobody believes him.
The recording.
The unidentified man.
The statement from Vanessa.
The pieces were beginning to fit, but the picture remained incomplete.
“Where is Hale now?”” I asked.
“We're trying to locate him.””
“And Mercer?””
“Mercer has retained legal representation and has not agreed to a voluntary interview. We're proceeding through the appropriate legal channels.””
I nodded.
The meeting ended, but I couldn't stop thinking about Richard Hale.
Who was he?
Why had his name been hidden from me until now?
And why had Vanessa been so frightened of him?
Two hours later, Eleanor received a secure message from the forensic investigator examining Mercer's laptop.
The message contained a short report.
The device included a folder labeled *VOSS SETTLEMENT*.
Inside was a scanned agreement, dated seven years earlier.
The agreement stated that Daniel Voss would relinquish his shares in a property investment company and withdraw from its operations in exchange for a substantial payment.
The signature appeared to be his.
But the final page contained a handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, the original records are with the person who knows what Mercer did to the first family.
Beneath the note was a name.
*Evelyn Bennett.*
My mother.
I read the name in disbelief.
Evelyn Bennett had been more than an investor who rejected a suspicious proposal.
She might have held evidence about an earlier dispute involving Mercer and Voss.
Evidence someone had been trying to recover for years.
Then the investigator sent a second message.
It contained a photograph of the original agreement's reverse side.
There was another handwritten line.
The second family is already being watched.
My throat tightened.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Who was the second family?””
She studied the document.
“We don't know yet.””
Then Detective Brooks called.
His voice was unusually tense.
“We've just received a new development. Richard Hale has been located.””
“Where?””
“At a private airfield outside the city.””
“Is he being arrested?””
“Not at this stage. Officers are attempting to speak with him.””
I gripped the phone.
“What does he have to do with my mother?””
Detective Brooks paused.
“Mr. Bennett, we have reason to believe Hale may have been the person who approached your mother after she canceled the investment.””
My heart began to pound.
“What did he want?””
“We don't know yet. But the airfield staff reported that he was carrying a document case.””
“And?””
“The case was empty when officers approached him.””
I stared at Eleanor.
Detective Brooks continued.
“We believe he may have transferred its contents to another person shortly before our arrival.””
“Who?””
“We're checking surveillance footage.””
May you like
Then his voice lowered.
“There's one more detail. The person who received the case appears to be someone who has been dead for four years.””
