Chapter 13 - Forty-Eight Hours
The bank refused to open the box without Derek.
That was the first problem.
The second arrived twenty minutes later.
Ashford Maritime’s board meeting had been moved forward.
Not three days.
Forty-eight hours.
Caleb had called an emergency session.
Official reason.
Recent criminal instability affecting executive leadership.
Unofficial reason.
He knew they were getting closer.
Sofia placed three documents across the table.
“If Gabriel is indicted before the meeting, Caleb can invoke the continuity clause.”
Gabriel stood near the window.
“And if I’m not?”
“He cannot take voting control.”
Harper looked at the forged witness strategy.
“So Derek needs the indictment within forty-eight hours.”
“Yes.”
Mercer rubbed his jaw.
“He’ll push through a warrant first.”
“For Gabriel?”
“Search warrant first.”
He looked toward Harper.
“Your apartment already gave them the body.”
Sofia nodded.
“If police find evidence connecting Martin Vale’s murder to Gabriel, prosecutors can move quickly.”
Harper frowned.
“What evidence?”
Gabriel answered.
“Whatever Derek puts there.”
The clock had started.
Every action now had a deadline.
Harper looked at the safe-deposit key.
“What if we make Derek open the box?”
Gabriel turned.
“How?”
“He thinks I’m afraid.”
“You are afraid.”
“Yes.”
Harper looked at him.
“He just doesn’t know fear stopped controlling my decisions.”
She called Derek.
He answered immediately.
“Harper.”
The way he said her name made her skin crawl.
“I found Mom’s storage unit.”
Silence.
Then his voice softened.
“You shouldn’t be digging.”
“You spent four years digging through my life.”
“I was protecting you.”
Harper almost smiled.
Derek always chose the lie that insulted her intelligence most.
“I found Frank’s name.”
That changed his breathing.
“What did you find?”
“A key.”
Silence.
“Meet me.”
“No.”
“Harper.”
“I want Noah’s guardianship withdrawal fixed.”
“That’s already in court.”
“I want Mercer’s statement.”
“What statement?”
“The one saying I signed it.”
Derek paused.
Harper knew she had guessed correctly.
Somewhere inside the precinct system, a report probably existed claiming Mercer witnessed her signature.
“Destroy it.”
Derek laughed.
“You sound different.”
“I’m tired.”
“You were always tired.”
“No.”
Harper looked at Gabriel across the room.
“I was always scared.”
The line went quiet.
She continued.
“I have Frank’s bank key.”
Derek’s voice changed.
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“What do you want?”
“Meet me at the bank tomorrow.”
“No Ashford.”
“Fine.”
“No lawyer.”
“Fine.”
“No Mercer.”
“Fine.”
Derek knew she was lying.
Harper knew he knew.
That was part of it.
They were no longer pretending.
“Ten a.m.”
He ended the call.
Gabriel crossed his arms.
“You agreed too quickly.”
“So did he.”
“What’s the plan?”
Harper looked at Sofia.
“Can we get a court order forcing joint access?”
“Not by tomorrow.”
“Can Derek open it alone?”
“No.”
“Can I replace my mother as signer?”
“Potentially through estate administration, but not within forty-eight hours.”
Harper nodded.
“Then he needs me too.”
Sofia frowned.
“Technically, he needs a successor for Marisol.”
“Who is that?”
“You’re her adult daughter and estate beneficiary.”
“So eventually me.”
“Yes.”
Harper looked at the key.
“Then he won’t kill me.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Do not build a plan around that sentence.”
Harper met his eyes.
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t hurt me.”
That quieted the room.
The next morning, Harper wore a wire provided by Mercer.
Not police equipment.
Old equipment Victor had kept.
Sofia hated it.
Gabriel hated it more.
Harper went anyway.
The bank occupied a marble tower downtown.
Derek arrived in civilian clothes.
He smiled as if meeting his ex-wife for coffee.
“You look better.”
Harper said nothing.
“Where’s the key?”
“Show me the corrected guardianship statement.”
Derek took out his phone.
A scanned letter from Mercer appeared.
Harper recognized the signature.
Another forgery.
“You’re still doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“Writing other people’s names.”
Derek slipped the phone away.
“You never cared about paperwork until Ashford taught you to.”
“No.”
Harper’s voice remained calm.
“You taught me.”
A muscle moved in Derek’s cheek.
She held up the brass key.
His eyes fixed on it.
“What’s in the box?”
“You tell me.”
“My father’s insurance.”
“Against who?”
“Everyone.”
That was more truth than Harper expected.
“Caleb?”
Derek smiled faintly.
“Especially Caleb.”
Harper’s pulse changed.
Derek did not trust his partner.
Good.
“What did Frank know?”
“Enough.”
“Did he kill Richard Voss?”
Derek’s smile disappeared.
That was an answer.
“Did he?”
“My father made mistakes.”
“Is attempted murder one?”
Derek leaned closer.
“Careful.”
Harper did not step back.
“Thomas Ashford’s brake line.”
Derek’s eyes changed.
He had not known she possessed that detail.
For the first time, Harper watched him adjust.
“Victor talks too much.”
“Victor didn’t tell me.”
Derek’s thumb rubbed his index finger.
Once.
Twice.
Calculating.
“What did Marisol record?”
Harper’s chest tightened.
There.
Confirmation.
He knew about the recordings.
“What did Frank tell you?”
“Enough to know your mother destroyed lives.”
Harper almost laughed.
“My mother kept records.”
“Same thing sometimes.”
“Did you marry me for them?”
Derek looked at her for a long moment.
The bank lobby moved around them.
People crossed marble floors.
A security guard greeted customers.
Ordinary life existed ten feet away.
Derek spoke quietly.
“At first.”
Harper had expected the answer.
It still hurt.
“At first?”
“I liked you.”
“No.”
“I did.”
“You studied me.”
“I can do both.”
The words were so Derek that Harper almost felt relief.
Nothing romantic had been hiding beneath the cruelty.
Only entitlement.
“What changed?”
“You wouldn’t let go of dead things.”
“My mother?”
“Her boxes.”
“Her photographs.”
“Her questions.”
Derek looked toward the elevator.
“Give me the key.”
Harper closed her fist.
“What’s in the box?”
“Something Caleb can’t know exists.”
That was the partial payoff.
Derek and Caleb were partners.
But not equals.
Frank had created leverage against the Voss family.
Derek intended to keep it.
“What?”
Derek leaned closer.
“A confession.”
“Richard?”
“No.”
Harper’s pulse jumped.
“Frank?”
Derek smiled.
“No.”
He reached for the key.
Harper stepped back.
“Whose?”
Derek’s eyes moved toward the bank entrance.
Then his face changed.
Two uniformed officers walked in.
Harper recognized neither.
Derek did.
He cursed softly.
“What?”
He grabbed Harper’s wrist.
Pain shot up her arm.
Her body reacted before her mind.
She tore free.
Derek stared at her.
Not because she resisted.
Because she had resisted successfully.
One officer approached.
“Derek Lawson?”
Derek stepped away from Harper.
“What is this?”
The officer held up a warrant.
Not for Derek.
For Harper.
“Harper Queen?”
She stared.
“You’re under arrest for obstruction and evidence tampering in the Martin Vale homicide.”
Derek looked genuinely surprised.
That was the detail Harper trusted most.
He had not arranged this.
Somebody else had moved first.
As the officer reached for her, Derek looked toward the second-floor balcony.
Harper followed his gaze.
May you like
Caleb Voss stood above them.
Watching.
