Chapter 5 - The Woman Everyone Blamed
By Wednesday morning, Vanessa Mercer was the most hated woman inside the Lakeshore Grand.
Employees blamed her for stolen wages.
Corporate investigators blamed her for falsified records.
Police wanted to question her about the sedan.
Adrian wanted answers.
Nia wasn't convinced they had the right story.
That bothered her.
Vanessa had fired her.
Humiliated her.
Threatened coworkers.
If anyone had earned Nia's anger, it was Vanessa.
But something didn't fit.
Nia realized what it was while sitting with Evelyn in the employee cafeteria.
“If Vanessa was stealing everything,” she said, “why keep your pay stubs?”
Evelyn frowned.
“What?”
“Management can see payroll records. She knew employees would eventually compare them.”
“Maybe she thought we'd stay scared.”
“Maybe.”
Nia looked at the deductions.
“But why steal thirty dollars from hundreds of people when Northline was moving millions?”
Evelyn became quiet.
Nia continued.
“One scam is tiny and obvious. The other is huge and hidden.”
“You think they're different?”
“I think someone wanted us looking at Vanessa.”
A voice behind them answered.
“So do I.”
Adrian stood in the doorway.
His temple was bandaged, and his suit couldn't completely hide the stiffness in his ribs.
Nia pointed at him.
“You're supposed to be resting.”
“You're becoming repetitive.”
“You're becoming annoying.”
Evelyn looked between them and suddenly found her coffee fascinating.
Adrian sat across from Nia.
“Vanessa contacted me.”
Nia straightened.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Where is she?”
“She wouldn't say.”
“What did she want?”
Adrian placed his phone on the table.
A text message appeared.
ASK RICHARD WHY HE NEEDED YOUR HOTEL SECURITY SCHEDULE.
Nia read it twice.
Adrian's expression was grim.
“My uncle knew I planned an unannounced visit. He claimed he wanted security informed.”
“Was it unusual?”
“No.”
“Then why is Vanessa pointing at him?”
“That's what I intend to discover.”
Nia shook her head.
“You're going to confront him?”
“Yes.”
“With what? A mysterious text from the woman everyone thinks stole hundreds of thousands of dollars?”
Adrian paused.
Nia leaned forward.
“Don't let being angry make you stupid.”
Evelyn nearly inhaled her coffee.
Adrian stared at Nia.
Nobody in his company spoke to him that way.
Apparently Nia hadn't received the memo.
Finally he said, “What do you suggest?”
“Make him think you believe Vanessa did everything.”
Adrian's eyebrows rose.
“Why?”
“Because guilty people make mistakes when they think they've won.”
That afternoon, Adrian called Richard Cole.
Richard arrived at the hotel at four.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, elegant, and possessed the easy confidence of a man who had spent decades being welcomed into every room.
He embraced Adrian carefully.
“I heard about the accident. Are you all right?”
“Bruised.”
“You should be home.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
Richard looked toward Nia, who stood near Margaret.
“And this must be the employee who saved you.”
“Nia Carter.”
Richard offered his hand.
“You have my gratitude.”
Nia shook it.
His smile was warm.
His eyes weren't.
Adrian explained the audit.
Richard listened.
Then sighed.
“I warned you about Vanessa.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
“You said she was aggressive.”
“I was trying to be diplomatic.”
He shook his head.
“Nearly seven hundred thousand dollars. Disgusting.”
Nia watched him.
He never asked how they had calculated the number.
Never asked whether it was final.
Never asked what accounts were involved.
He already seemed to know exactly what they were investigating.
Then Adrian mentioned Northline.
Only for a second.
Richard's thumb stopped moving against his wedding ring.
Nia saw it.
So did Adrian.
Richard recovered.
“Temporary staffing?”
“Apparently.”
“Vanessa must have created it.”
Adrian held his gaze.
“Possibly.”
Richard smiled.
“Then this should be straightforward.”
Twenty minutes later, he left.
Margaret closed the door.
“He lied.”
“Yes,” Adrian said.
Nia nodded.
“He knew.”
Adrian looked toward her.
“How can you be certain?”
“Because you told him we found missing payroll deductions. You never told him we'd linked them to Northline.”
Margaret's eyes widened.
“He mentioned temporary staffing before Adrian explained what Northline supposedly did.”
Exactly.
Adrian's face hardened.
His phone buzzed.
Another message from Vanessa.
This one contained an address.
An abandoned restaurant near the Chicago River.
Beneath it were six words.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT PROOF.
Adrian reached for his coat.
Nia blocked the door.
“No.”
He stared at her.
“Move.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Nia.”
“You got hit by one car yesterday. Let's not make this a hobby.”
Despite everything, Margaret laughed.
Adrian did not.
“Vanessa specifically said alone.”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn't go alone.”
He studied Nia.
“You're not coming.”
“Who said I was asking?”
Forty minutes later, Adrian's SUV stopped across from the abandoned restaurant.
Margaret had alerted police without Vanessa's knowledge.
Adrian entered through the front.
Nia stayed half a block away with the driver.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then the restaurant windows suddenly went dark.
Nia's phone rang.
Adrian.
She answered.
Instead of his voice, she heard Vanessa whispering.
“He knows I'm alive.”
Then a crash.
The call disconnected.
Nia looked toward the restaurant.
May you like
A second later, flames appeared behind the windows.
And Adrian was still inside.
