Chapter 13
What Burned In The Warehouse
The warehouse smelled of old rope, cold diesel, and burned cardboard. Ortiz had obtained a warrant; Alessandro waited outside the loading bay with Grace and Rosalie while technicians searched.
“I could send men in,” he muttered.
“You could ruin every case we're building,” Grace answered.
“I'm getting used to hearing that.”
“Good.”
A detective emerged holding a sealed evidence bag. Inside was a partially scorched ledger. Most pages had turned black, but a handful retained printed transaction numbers. Those matched the North Harbor invoices.
They also found a storage-unit receipt in Sofia's handwriting. Rosalie recognized the loop she made on the letter S. Alessandro recognized something else: the receipt was dated the day before the accident.
“Maybe she knew she'd need a backup,” he said.
Ortiz insisted police open the unit. It contained a box of infant blankets, Harbor House photographs, and a portable recorder wrapped in one of Livia's old sweaters. A tag read: FOR ALESSANDRO, IF I'M WRONG ABOUT ENZO.
In the recording, Sofia sounded tired but clear. She explained that Enzo had been diverting trust funds with help from North Harbor and that she planned to take the evidence to Teresa. She did not accuse anyone of hurting her. She said she was frightened because Enzo knew she'd found the ledger.
At the end, her voice softened.
“Tell Livia that the blue ribbon was my mother's. If she wants to wear it, let her. If she doesn't, let her choose something else.”
Alessandro closed his eyes. Then came a click, a second recording, and a male voice he knew very well.
“Take the car keys, Sofia. You're not leaving this building.”
May you like
It was Enzo.
