Chapter 16 - The Door That Wouldn't Open
"Don't go there," I told Daniel when Avery called about the alarm.
He was already pulling on his coat. "Those files could prove what they stole."
"And Sofia needs a father more than the orchard needs a hero. Call the police."
He stopped. Then he sat beside me and made the call.
Twenty minutes later, Detective Ortiz reported that two patrol officers had reached the packing house. A pickup truck was parked behind the building. Someone had forced the side door with a crowbar, but the records-room door was still locked.
"Who was inside?" Daniel asked.
"Victor Hale. He claims he came to secure sensitive business information. We're investigating the attempted removal of records."
The records clerk, Cora Mitchell, had heard the alarm on her phone. She drove over, saw the truck, and waited for officers instead of confronting him. From her office she had already uploaded the payroll reports and trust invoices to an accountant who kept independent backups.
"She saved us," Daniel said.
"She saved herself and the other workers," I replied. "That's what people do when they're allowed to know the truth."
We called Cora. She was still shaking.
"Mr. Mercer, we've worked here fifteen years. Nobody told us the building was being sold. Ruth said the new loan would pay our health benefits."
"And I sent the deed photo to Mariana," Cora added. "I found it in our outgoing files. I was scared to use my work number."
"That wasn't the plan," Daniel said. "I'm sorry you had to learn it this way."
"Don't apologize for telling us. Just don't hide anything else."
He promised to meet the employees with Avery as soon as possible. I watched him write down every question Cora asked instead of promising answers he didn't have.
That evening Ortiz brought one last piece of news. The officers had found a box of shredded files in Victor's truck. A digital copy of one of them had survived on the office server.
It was a schedule of payments to Victor's company, with handwritten notes about the forged closing.
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Beside the date of my emergency delivery, Ruth had written six words:
KEEP MARIANA UNAVAILABLE UNTIL MONEY CLEARS.
