Chapter 6 - The Dead Man's Brakes
The caller's name was Jason Sloan.
His father had died five years earlier, but before he died, he confessed what happened in 1991.
Jason agreed to meet us at a police station.
"My dad was a drunk and a gambler," he said, staring at the table. "He owed dangerous people money. Diane Bennett offered him eighteen grand to make Andrew's car fail on the highway."
Jason continued. "My dad said Diane wasn't alone. A man waited in a black sedan. He never saw his face. After the crash, Victor Hale paid my dad another seventy-five grand and told him to leave the state."
"Did Robert know?" I asked.
"My dad thought he did."
Michael laughed bitterly. "Great. A family project."
Detective Martinez asked Jason whether his father kept proof.
Jason reached into his jacket and pulled out a cassette tape.
"My dad recorded people when he was scared. He thought it gave him insurance."
The tape was damaged, but the department still had equipment to play it.
Static filled the interview room.
Then a younger Diane's voice came through.
"You do the brakes. Nothing more. I don't want him hurt before the road."
A man answered, "And after?"
Diane was silent for a moment.
Then she said, "After, he can't come back."
Michael closed his eyes.
The tape clicked.
Another voice entered the recording, faint but recognizable.
Victor Hale.
"If Andrew survives, we all go to prison."
Diane replied, "He won't survive."
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Martinez's phone buzzed.
She read a message and stood.
"We found Mara Reed."
"Alive?" I asked.
"Yes."
Relief hit me so hard I had to sit down.
But Martinez's expression stayed tight.
"She escaped whoever took her. She refuses to come inside a police building."
"Why?" Michael asked.
Martinez looked directly at me.
May you like
"Because she says someone inside the investigation is working for Victor Hale."
And she'll only meet Emma alone.
