Chapter 6 - What Eric Left BehindThe police search of Graham’s secret room lasted two days.
Naomi barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Eric standing beside his car in that grainy footage.
She had spent three years believing his death was random.
Bad weather.
Bad luck.
A terrible curve in the road.
Now every detail felt poisoned.
On Wednesday morning, Detective Torres called.
“We found something that belonged to Eric.”
Naomi’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“You should come in.”
The object sat inside an evidence bag.
Eric’s old silver keychain.
Naomi recognized it instantly.
A tiny metal compass hung from the ring.
She had given it to him during their first anniversary.
“Where?”
“In Graham’s hidden room.”
Naomi sat down.
“Why would he have that?”
Torres didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
Eric’s keys had never been recovered after the crash.
Police assumed they were thrown from the vehicle.
Now at least part of them had been sitting inside Graham’s house.
Naomi pressed both hands against her face.
“How long?”
“We don’t know.”
Claire sat beside her.
Torres placed another item on the table.
A small flash drive.
“This was attached.”
Naomi looked up.
“To Eric’s keychain?”
“Yes.”
“What’s on it?”
“We made a forensic copy.”
Torres opened a laptop.
“There are several documents and one audio file.”
Naomi stopped breathing.
“Audio?”
“It appears Eric recorded it.”
Torres pressed play.
Static.
Then Eric’s voice.
Naomi’s entire body reacted.
Three years.
Three years since she had heard him speak.
“You moved money through Cynthia’s company.”
Graham’s younger voice answered.
“Lower your voice.”
“I have every invoice.”
“You don’t know what you’re looking at.”
“I know exactly what I’m looking at.”
Then another voice.
Marcus.
“Eric, walk away.”
“No.”
“Think about your family.”
Naomi gripped the edge of the table.
Eric replied:
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
There was movement.
Then Graham.
“You think Naomi will thank you when you destroy everything?”
“My wife would rather have a broke husband than a criminal.”
Naomi closed her eyes.
Claire touched her arm.
The recording continued.
Graham’s voice became quieter.
“Give me the drive.”
“No.”
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
Then Eric said the words Naomi would hear in her dreams for years.
“If something happens to me, copies already exist.”
The recording ended.
No crash.
No confession.
But enough to prove Eric had been threatened.
Enough to prove Graham had lied about their relationship.
Enough to prove Marcus had been involved.
Naomi wiped her face.
“Can you arrest them?”
“We’re closer.”
“Closer isn’t enough.”
“I know.”
Torres leaned forward.
“But there’s another file.”
She clicked open a document.
It was written by Eric.
A list of account numbers.
Dates.
Names.
At the bottom was one sentence.
If Graham discovers I have this, contact Daniel Price. He knows where the original records are.
Naomi frowned.
“Daniel Price?”
Claire looked surprised.
“He was Larkin’s CFO.”
“Where is he?”
Torres searched.
“Retired. Lives in South Carolina.”
“Call him.”
“We already did.”
“And?”
“He said he doesn’t know what we’re talking about.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“He’s scared.”
Naomi looked at Torres.
“Can I talk to him?”
“I can’t stop you.”
Naomi called Daniel that afternoon.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Price, my name is Naomi Carter.”
Silence.
Then:
“I have nothing to say.”
“You knew my husband.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Eric left your name on a file.”
Daniel inhaled sharply.
“I can’t help you.”
“Someone threatened my four-year-old daughter yesterday.”
Silence.
Naomi continued.
“Whatever you were afraid of three years ago is already at my door.”
Daniel’s voice softened.
“You have a daughter?”
“Yes.”
Another long silence.
Then:
“Eric talked about her.”
Naomi’s eyes filled.
“Maisie?”
“She was a baby.”
Naomi remembered.
Maisie had been fourteen months old when Eric died.
Daniel sighed.
“I told him to stop digging.”
“Why?”
“Because the money went higher than Graham.”
“To Cynthia?”
“Higher.”
Naomi’s stomach tightened.
“Who?”
Daniel whispered, “Larkin himself.”
Naomi sat back.
The company’s founder, Charles Larkin, was one of the most respected businessmen in the state.
He had attended Eric’s funeral.
He had hugged Naomi.
He had paid for the reception.
“He knew?”
“He approved parts of it.”
“Why?”
“Tax schemes. Hidden distributions. Graham was useful because he could move money without asking questions.”
“And Eric found out.”
“Yes.”
“Did Charles have him killed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Graham?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
Daniel breathed heavily.
“I know Marcus followed Eric that night.”
Naomi stopped.
“How?”
“Because I saw him leave.”
“Why didn’t you tell police?”
“I had two children in college.”
Naomi closed her eyes.
Fear again.
It protected criminals better than locks.
“Do you have evidence?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
Naomi sat upright.
“What?”
“A dashcam recording.”
Her heart pounded.
“Of what?”
“My car was parked facing the garage exit.”
Naomi could barely breathe.
“It recorded Eric leaving?”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“And Graham?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“I kept the memory card.”
“Why?”
“Because Eric was my friend.”
Anger broke through Naomi’s grief.
“Then why have you hidden it for three years?”
Daniel said nothing.
Naomi’s voice shook.
“My daughter was four when Graham put his hands on her. If I had known what kind of man he was, he never would have entered our lives.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t protect her.”
“I know.”
“Then help me.”
Daniel remained silent for several seconds.
Finally:
“I’ll give it to police.”
That evening, Detective Torres received the memory card.
The footage was dark but clear enough.
Eric’s sedan left the company garage at 10:42 p.m.
Graham’s SUV followed thirty-seven seconds later.
Marcus drove another vehicle behind him.
The camera captured all three turning onto the same road.
Twelve minutes later, Daniel’s dashcam showed Graham’s SUV returning.
Alone.
Its front right bumper was damaged.
Naomi stared at the paused image.
“Front bumper.”
Torres nodded.
Eric’s car had damage to the rear.
It wasn’t proof Graham had forced him off the road.
But it was enough for detectives to reopen the crash investigation as suspicious.
That night, Graham was arrested.
Not for Eric’s death.
Not yet.
He was arrested for witness intimidation related to Claire and obstruction tied to the hidden financial evidence.
Naomi expected relief.
Instead she felt dread.
Because Cynthia was still free.
Marcus was still free.
And Charles Larkin had not even been questioned.
At 11:06 p.m., someone slipped an envelope beneath Naomi’s mother’s front door.
Inside was one photograph.
Maisie asleep in Naomi’s car.
Taken three months earlier.
On the back, someone had written:
Eric should have stopped when he had the chance.
May you like
Underneath:
You still can.
