Chapter 5: The Evidence in the Repair Shop
At 9:42 the following morning, I sat in Naomi's car outside the abandoned repair shop on Westbridge Avenue.
The building had once belonged to a mechanic who specialized in vintage sports cars. Its windows were covered with dust, and the faded sign above the entrance hung crookedly.
Naomi checked her watch.
“Daniel isn't here.””
“He said ten.””
“He also disappeared last night.””
I looked through the windshield.
A delivery truck passed.
A woman walked her dog along the pavement.
Everything seemed ordinary.
That was what frightened me.
For six months, ordinary things had happened around me while extraordinary things were being done in my name.
“Let's go,” I said.
Naomi turned toward me.
“Are you sure?””
“He risked his life to contact me. I'm not leaving without knowing why.””
She nodded and got out.
A security consultant she had hired waited near the entrance. His name was Peter Lawson, a former police investigator with a broad frame and a quiet manner.
He opened the passenger door and carefully helped me transfer into my wheelchair.
“You ready, Mr. Hale?””
“No.””
Peter gave a faint smile.
“Fair enough.””
The repair shop smelled of old oil, dust, and damp concrete.
Naomi pushed my wheelchair through the doorway while Peter checked the rooms.
“Daniel?”” I called.
A metallic sound came from the far side of the building.
Peter immediately moved toward it.
Then a familiar voice spoke from behind a stack of old tires.
“Ethan?””
Daniel stepped into view.
He looked terrible.
His beard had grown unevenly, his shirt was stained, and a bandage covered his left hand.
But he was alive.
“Daniel,” I breathed.
He hurried toward us.
“I wasn't sure you'd come.””
“You told me not to.””
“I also told you I had the video.””
Naomi stepped between us.
“Before we discuss anything, I need to know whether you've preserved the original files.””
Daniel nodded.
“Two copies. One on the encrypted drive, another stored with a private records service.””
“Good. Where's the drive?””
He reached inside his jacket.
Then he stopped.
“First, I need Ethan to understand something.””
I looked up.
“Go ahead.””
“Marcus didn't just pay Northstar to follow you. He paid someone to access your vehicle.””
“Who?””
“An employee at the corporate garage. A mechanic named Leonard Briggs.””
Naomi immediately took out her notebook.
“Do you have proof?””
Daniel nodded.
“Leonard was paid through a shell company. I traced the account to Northstar. Then I found a second transfer.””
“How much?””
“Fifty thousand.””
“Paid to whom?””
Daniel looked at me.
“To Sophia Reed.””
The room became silent.
My jaw tightened.
“Are you certain?””
“I checked the bank records. She received the transfer three days before the accident.””
Naomi stepped closer.
“Do you have the account statements?””
Daniel handed her a printed transaction record.
She studied it carefully.
“It's not enough by itself,” she said.
“But it gives us a trail.””
Daniel reached into his jacket again and pulled out a small black drive.
“This contains the garage footage.””
Peter took it and examined the casing.
“Anything else?””
“There's a video from the day before the accident. It shows Marcus meeting Leonard.””
Naomi stared at him.
“Are you telling us the chief operating officer met privately with the mechanic who later worked on Ethan's car?””
Daniel nodded.
“Not just once. Three times.””
He took a breath.
“On the final visit, Marcus handed him an envelope.””
My chest tightened.
“What did Marcus say?””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“I enhanced the audio. He said, 'Make sure the car doesn't make it back to the office.''”
I felt as if the floor had shifted beneath my chair.
Naomi put the drive into a protected case.
“Where is Leonard now?””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“He's dead.””
“Do you know what happened?””
“A car explosion outside his home. The police called it an electrical fault.””
Peter shook his head.
“That's convenient.””
Daniel looked frightened.
“There's something else. Leonard contacted me the night before he died. He said he wanted to confess.””
“Did he?””
“He left a message.””
Daniel took out his phone and played the recording.
At first, there was only static.
Then a man's voice came through.
“This is Leonard Briggs. If anything happens to me, you need to know Marcus Vale ordered the work on Ethan Hale's car.””
A short pause.
“I didn't know what he was planning. He told me it was supposed to be a warning. He said the brakes would fail long enough to scare Ethan, but the emergency system would catch it.””
My hands went cold.
A warning?
“You're saying Marcus didn't intend to kill me?”” I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“That's what Leonard claimed.””
Naomi looked skeptical.
“Do you believe him?””
“I believe he was afraid.””
The recording continued.
Then Leonard said something that made my stomach twist.
“The emergency system was disabled manually. I didn't do that. Someone changed the configuration after I left.””
Naomi stopped the recording.
“Who had access to the vehicle after the mechanic finished?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Sophia.””
I stared at him.
“Why would she touch my car?””
“I don't know.””
“Then find out.””
Daniel rubbed his face.
“I tried. But every time I got close to the answer, Marcus moved the evidence. He had access to the corporate security system, the garage records, and the insurance reports.””
Naomi looked at the video timestamps.
“Wait.””
She turned the screen toward Peter.
“This footage shows someone entering the garage after the mechanic leaves.””
A figure appeared.
A woman wearing a long coat.
Her face was partially hidden by a scarf, but the person walked directly toward my car.
Peter enlarged the image.
I leaned forward.
The woman wore a silver bracelet.
A bracelet with a small diamond star.
I knew it.
I had given it to Sophia on our first anniversary.
My throat tightened.
“That's her.””
Daniel looked at the screen.
“I'm sorry, Ethan.””
Naomi paused the footage.
“Can you improve the image?””
Peter nodded.
“Possibly, but we need the original file.””
Daniel pointed to the drive.
“It's there.””
Then I noticed something in the woman's hand.
She wasn't holding a tool.
She was holding a small envelope.
A white envelope with a red seal.
I recognized the handwriting on the front.
It was mine.
Or someone had copied it.
The envelope was addressed to Marcus Vale.
“What was in it?”” I whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
“I couldn't tell.””
Naomi looked at me.
“Did you ever give Marcus a sealed document before the accident?””
I searched my memory.
Then something surfaced.
Three days before the crash, I had discovered an unexplained financial discrepancy in Hale Meridian's acquisition accounts. I'd intended to confront Marcus about it privately.
I remembered writing a short note and sealing it inside an envelope.
But I had never given it to him.
I had left it in my study.
Someone had taken it.
Before I could explain, Peter's phone vibrated.
He stepped outside to answer.
A moment later, he returned.
“We have a problem.””
Naomi frowned.
“What?””
“Two vehicles have been parked outside for several minutes. One of the drivers just took a photograph of this building.””
Daniel went pale.
“He found us.””
Naomi immediately closed her laptop.
“Peter, get Ethan to the car.””
But before anyone moved, the front door slammed open.
A man stepped inside.
It was Marcus Vale.
He wore a tailored navy suit and carried a leather briefcase.
His expression was calm.
Almost amused.
“Ethan,” he said.
“You should be resting.””
I stared at the man who had once been my closest friend.
“Were you following me?””
Marcus glanced at Daniel.
“I was following a dishonest former employee.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“You killed Leonard.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Watch your mouth.””
Naomi moved toward me.
“Mr. Vale, this meeting is over.””
Marcus ignored her.
He placed his briefcase on a workbench and slowly opened it.
Inside was a thick folder.
“Ethan,” he said, “I came here to offer you something.””
“What?””
“An explanation.””
“About my accident?””
Marcus nodded.
Then he pulled out a photograph.
It showed my hospital room.
Sophia was sitting beside my bed.
And standing behind her was someone I never expected to see.
My mother.
May you like
Marcus slid the photograph across the workbench.
“Your mother knows exactly what happened,” he said.
