Chapter 16 - The Uniform
Owen swore he had not entered the nursery.
"Check my schedule. I was at the south gate."
Brooks did.
He was telling the truth.
Someone had stolen an old uniform from the security locker.
Maya enlarged the footage.
The person moved differently from Owen. Smaller shoulders. Slight limp.
Thomas the butler recognized it first.
"Mr. Vale."
Marcus Vale had injured his left knee skiing years earlier.
When confronted, Vale finally admitted he had installed the remote release.
"Evelyn told me it was for a demonstration," he said.
Brooks nearly laughed. "A demonstration of what? Gravity?"
Vale cracked.
The original plan was to release the stroller remotely during a crowded garden walk, let it roll several feet, then have Celeste "save" Caleb. Evelyn wanted to make Celeste look heroic and push Adrian toward marriage.
But after Adrian changed his will, Evelyn changed the plan.
She told Celeste to push the stroller into the pool and frame Maya.
Then she separately ordered Vale to sabotage Adrian's SUV.
Two plans running at once.
One to isolate Adrian.
One to kill him if the first failed.
"Why keep Caleb alive?" Maya asked.
Vale looked at Adrian.
"Because a living heir was useful. A dead heir was profitable. Evelyn was willing to accept either outcome."
The room went silent.
Brooks closed her file.
"That's enough for conspiracy, attempted murder, kidnapping, evidence tampering, and more."
But Adrian was looking at the stroller receiver.
"There were two remote activations," he said.
The technician checked again.
He was right.
One three days earlier.
And one at 11:43 a.m. during the luncheon.
May you like
Seconds before Celeste touched the stroller.
Someone else had already released the brake.
