Chapter 17: The Folder That Disappeared
Daniel Price was supposed to be in police custody.
Yet there he was, standing beside the car that had taken Grandma away.
Claire immediately called the police station.
She spoke quickly, then turned toward us.
"Daniel was never arrested.""
"What?"" I asked.
"The warrant was issued, but he hasn't been located. The officers were sent to Grandma's house because they believed she would cooperate.""
Thomas took the phone from her.
"Who authorized the transport?""
Claire listened.
Then her face drained of color.
"An officer named Jameson.""
Thomas looked toward the door.
"Get his badge number.""
Claire did.
Within minutes, she had discovered that the officer had been suspended from duty six months earlier.
The police car was not an official vehicle.
It was a private transport car using a stolen department registration.
Grandma had been taken by people pretending to be police officers.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
"Oh, God.""
I grabbed my coat.
"We have to find her.""
Thomas stopped me.
"Running around without a plan is exactly what Daniel wants.""
"Then tell me the plan!""
He held my shoulders.
"We find the blue folder.""
I stared at him.
"What does that have to do with Grandma?""
"Everything.""
Thomas opened the old photograph and placed it beside the medical report.
"Your mother told you someone took the folder from her office. That folder contained the original financial records for the Blue Lantern.""
"Why would Daniel need it?""
"Because it proved who owned the restaurant and where the money had gone.""
Claire nodded.
"If Daniel destroyed those records, he could argue that the transfers were authorized.""
Vanessa looked at the notebook.
"Then where is it?""
Thomas turned to Richard.
My father had been silent for several minutes.
Now he looked as though he wanted to disappear.
"Richard," Thomas said.
"You know.""
Richard lowered his head.
"Yes.""
I stepped toward him.
"Where is the folder?""
He didn't answer.
"Tell me!""
Richard finally looked up.
"Your mother gave it to Margaret.""
I stared.
"Why?""
"Because she knew I had been working with Daniel. She didn't trust me anymore.""
Thomas's jaw tightened.
"And what did Margaret do with it?""
Richard looked toward the kitchen.
"She hid it in the restaurant.""
I felt my heart race.
"Where?""
"I don't know.""
Thomas grabbed his jacket.
"Then we're going to find it.""
We drove to the Blue Lantern.
The restaurant was dark.
A notice had been taped to the front door, informing customers that operations were temporarily suspended because of the ownership dispute.
I unlocked the door with my old key.
The smell of coffee and polished wood greeted us.
Everything looked familiar.
And yet it felt as though someone had taken our home and turned it into a crime scene.
Vanessa walked toward the dining room.
"I can't believe Daniel did this.""
I looked at her.
"You helped him.""
She stopped.
"I know.""
"I'm not trying to hurt you.""
"I deserve it.""
I sighed.
"Vanessa, I don't want to spend the rest of my life punishing you. But I need you to stop protecting people who lie to you.""
She nodded.
"I will.""
Thomas headed toward the office.
Richard followed.
I went to the kitchen.
My mother's blue recipe notebook had always been kept in the small cabinet beside the pantry.
I opened it.
There was a loose panel behind the shelves.
I pressed it.
Nothing happened.
Then I noticed a tiny metal latch.
I pulled it.
A narrow compartment opened.
Inside was a photograph, a key, and a folded piece of paper.
The photograph showed Grandma and Mom standing beside the restaurant's old delivery entrance.
On the back, my mother had written:
*Where the first promise was made.*
I knew the place.
The old loading dock.
The section of the building that had been closed after a small fire fifteen years earlier.
I called Thomas.
"Come here.""
He entered the kitchen.
I showed him the photograph.
His face changed.
"She hid it there.""
We went to the loading dock.
The old door was stiff, but the key opened it.
Inside, dust covered everything.
The walls were blackened from the old fire.
A row of metal shelves stood against the far wall.
I remembered playing there as a child.
My mother used to bring me after closing and tell me stories about how she and Thomas had built the restaurant from nothing.
Thomas walked toward the third shelf.
"Here.""
He pulled out a small metal box.
The key fit.
Inside was the blue folder.
I opened it.
There were bank statements, signed ownership agreements, and original copies of the trust documents.
But the most important item was a letter from my mother.
To whoever finds this:
The person who moved the money from the restaurant was not acting alone.
The original transfers were approved using my signature, but I never authorized them.
The person who created the false documents had access to my private records, my banking information, and the hospital account.
I believe the same person arranged the events that led to my death.
My hands went cold.
There was a final line.
If anything happens to me, do not trust the person who offers to protect the family.
I read it twice.
Then I turned the page.
A name was written in red ink.
*DANIEL PRICE.*
Below it was another name.
*MARGARET MERCER.*
Vanessa gasped.
"Grandma?""
Thomas took the letter.
"No.""
He examined the handwriting.
"Look at the second signature. It's not an accusation. It's a witness reference.""
He pointed to the margin.
The words were tiny.
Margaret knows where the original authorization is.
I stared.
"Then she has the proof.""
Richard sat down on an old crate.
"I think I know where she hid it.""
We turned toward him.
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Your mother kept a small safe beneath the floor in her old apartment.""
I frowned.
"Mom's apartment?""
"She used it before she moved into the house. I found it once, but she wouldn't tell me the combination.""
Thomas looked at the photograph.
"She told me about that safe.""
"What was inside?"" I asked.
"She said it contained the one document that could prove who had ordered the false transfers.""
I felt hope rise.
"Then let's go.""
Richard shook his head.
"The apartment was sold years ago.""
Vanessa's face fell.
"But the safe...""
"Was never removed," he said.
"The buyer renovated the kitchen but left the original floorboards.""
Thomas pulled out his phone.
"Do you remember the address?""
Richard nodded.
He wrote it on a scrap of paper.
Then my phone rang.
An unfamiliar voice answered before I could speak.
"Nora Mercer?""
"Who is this?""
"This is Helen Carter.""
I gripped the phone.
"Did you remember something?""
"Yes. I need you to listen carefully.""
"Go ahead.""
"I was wrong about the woman in the hospital room.""
I glanced at Claire.
"What do you mean?""
"Helen's voice trembled.""
"Margaret came to the hospital, but she wasn't the person who entered Evelyn's room.""
I felt the room tilt.
"Who was?""
Helen took a breath.
"Your mother asked me to keep a secret. She told me the person responsible would return after she died.""
"Who?""
Helen whispered:
"Her daughter.""
I stared at the phone.
"Which daughter?""
But the call ended.
Then a message arrived.
A photograph of the blue folder.
Someone had taken it from inside the loading dock.
Underneath was a sentence:
You found the wrong evidence. The real document is already with me.
I turned toward Vanessa.
She was staring at her own phone.
Her face had gone white.
"What's wrong?"" I asked.
She showed me the message on her screen.
May you like
It was from Daniel.
Come alone if you want to see your grandmother again.
