Chapter 14 - The Other Witness
The photograph led us to Sophie Lang, a twenty-two-year-old event assistant who had been decorating the dining room for a charity dinner scheduled that weekend.
Ryan had forgotten she was upstairs arranging place cards when he ordered the staff to leave.
Sophie had heard arguing.
Then a scream.
She had been too scared to come down.
"I saw Mr. Mercer at the front door," she told Ortiz. "He was watching Mrs. Mercer on the steps."
"Did you see the push?"
"No. The balcony wall blocked the top stairs."
"What did you see afterward?"
Sophie swallowed.
"He took the memory card from the camera. Then he went to the fire pit. But before he burned it, he copied something onto his laptop."
My heart kicked.
"You're sure?"
"He used a little card reader. I saw the video on his screen."
Ryan hadn't destroyed the only recording.
He had made a copy first.
"Why?" Maya asked.
Dana answered.
"Insurance."
If Vanessa ever turned on him, Ryan could use the video to control her.
Police searched his devices again.
No copy.
Then Sophie remembered him putting a silver flash drive into the inside pocket of his coat.
That coat wasn't at the house when police served the warrant.
Ryan had taken it.
Ortiz issued an alert to seize the drive if he was arrested.
But Ryan wasn't home.
He wasn't at his lawyer's office.
And his phone had gone dark.
At 11:20 p.m., the company controller called Dana.
"Someone just attempted to log into the corporate vault from the private airfield terminal."
Dana stood so fast her chair hit the wall.
"Which account?"
"Ryan's."
Maya looked at me.
"He's running."
Ortiz was already calling state police.
Then my phone rang.
Ryan.
I answered.
Wind roared behind his voice.
"Emily, tell Dana to unlock the transfer."
May you like
"No."
"Then the only video showing what happened on those stairs disappears with me."
