Chapter 9 - THE SECOND POLICY
Police searched Veronica's apartment.
They found no weapon.
No poison.
No murder plan.
What they found was colder.
Schedules.
Sofia's school times.
Maria's grocery route.
Alexander's travel calendar.
Copies of pediatric forms.
And photographs of Sofia taken from across the street.
Brooks laid them on the table.
"This is surveillance."
Alexander looked at a picture of Sofia holding a red umbrella.
"Who took these?"
"Private security company."
The firm was owned by a former Ashford employee.
Veronica claimed she was investigating whether Sofia was part of a fraud.
Brooks did not arrest her.
Not yet.
Alexander hated that.
"You have an insurance application on my daughter."
"Rejected application."
"You have surveillance."
"Legal gray area."
"She hit Sofia."
"Sofia can give a statement. Maria saw bruising. But we need the bigger case clean."
Alexander wanted speed.
Brooks wanted something that survived court.
Sofia surprised them both.
"I can tell you what she said."
Brooks crouched.
"Only if you want to."
"She said after the wedding, Aunt Maria and me were going away."
"Where?"
"She didn't say."
"Did she threaten you?"
Sofia thought.
"She said nobody keeps things that don't belong in the house."
Brooks asked, "What did she mean?"
Sofia whispered, "Me."
That was enough to break him again.
Later, Sofia found him alone in the kitchen.
"Are you going to send me away?"
"Never."
"You don't know me."
"I want to."
She studied him.
"Do you like pancakes?"
"Yes."
"Chocolate chips?"
"Too many."
Then the security alarm went off.
Maria shouted from upstairs.
Sofia's wooden box was missing.
Again.
A rear window stood open.
Security checked the cameras.
The intruder wore black and moved quickly.
But one frame caught a face.
Not Veronica.
Martin Vale.
Alexander stared at his suspended CFO crawling out of his house with Lucia's letters.
Then Hannah's phone rang.
Martin's attorney.
"He wants immunity."
"For what?"
May you like
The attorney answered.
"For telling you who actually ordered Lucia's death."
