Chapter 3 - Margaret Vale’s Last Secret
His name was Elias Mercer.
Roman remembered him immediately.
Mercer had managed accounting for Anthony Vale during the final years of Roman’s father’s life.
He had been quiet, meticulous, and almost invisible.
Then, five years after Anthony’s death, Mercer’s car had gone through a guardrail during a storm.
No body was recovered.
The authorities presumed him dead.
Roman stared at the photograph.
“You’re sure?”
Sadie nodded.
Megan knelt beside her.
“Honey, think carefully.”
“I did.”
“You saw this man today?”
“Yes.”
“Upstairs?”
“Yes.”
Roman handed the photograph to Daniel.
“Run everything.”
Daniel left.
Roman closed Margaret’s bedroom to everyone except himself.
Downstairs, Graham was waiting.
“So?”
Roman entered the dining room alone.
The other businessmen had been moved to the library.
Only Graham remained.
“Where’s Victor?” Roman asked.
“I have no idea.”
“He left at nine twenty-two.”
“So?”
“The east camera failed at nine seventeen.”
Graham’s face remained calm.
Roman placed the old photograph on the table.
“Recognize him?”
Graham barely glanced at it.
“Elias Mercer.”
“Sadie says she saw him upstairs.”
That got a reaction.
Small.
But Roman saw it.
“Mercer is dead.”
“His body was never found.”
“Roman, she’s four.”
“She described his watch.”
Graham leaned back.
“This is absurd.”
Roman placed both palms on the table.
“My mother left me a note.”
Graham’s eyes shifted.
“She mentioned you.”
Silence.
“What did she say?”
Roman smiled without warmth.
“That’s interesting.”
“What?”
“You didn’t ask what else she said.”
Graham stood.
“I loved your mother.”
“So did I.”
“She trusted me.”
Roman took the note from his pocket.
“Did she?”
He did not hand it over.
Graham stared at the folded paper.
Roman could almost see calculations moving behind his eyes.
“Go home,” Roman said.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“We have the Harbor East contract.”
“I’m not signing anything today.”
Graham’s jaw tightened.
“You’re allowing a child’s imagination to interfere with business.”
“No. I’m allowing my mother’s handwriting to interfere with business.”
Roman walked away.
Behind him, Graham called his name.
Roman did not turn.
By noon, Daniel had information.
Elias Mercer’s death certificate had been issued without a recovered body.
His bank accounts had gone dormant.
His Social Security number had never been used again.
But facial-recognition software found something else.
Three months earlier, a security camera outside a Richmond storage facility had recorded a man who looked remarkably similar to an aged Elias Mercer.
Roman stared at the image.
Same narrow eyes.
Same scar above the left eyebrow.
Alive.
“Find him.”
“We’re trying.”
“And Victor?”
“His phone is off.”
Roman walked to the window.
“What about the blue box?”
“Nothing yet.”
There was a knock.
Megan stood outside the study.
“Can I speak with you?”
Roman nodded.
She entered alone.
“Where’s Sadie?”
“With Mrs. Alvarez in the kitchen.”
Megan twisted her fingers.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you.”
Roman waited.
“This morning, before breakfast, Sadie asked me why the old man upstairs was crying.”
Roman turned slowly.
“What?”
“I thought she was talking about one of the portraits.”
“What exactly did she say?”
“She said, ‘Mommy, the old man is sad because the grandma lady hid his book.’”
Roman felt something tighten in his chest.
“The ledger.”
“I don’t know.”
Roman immediately headed upstairs.
Sadie was brought to Margaret’s room again.
Roman knelt beside her.
“Sweetheart, do you remember telling your mom about a book?”
Sadie nodded.
“Where is it?”
“The grandma lady hid it.”
“Where?”
Sadie walked toward the fireplace.
She pointed to a carved wooden panel.
Roman examined it.
Nothing.
Then Sadie pressed a small flower in the carving.
A click.
Roman stared.
A narrow panel opened.
Inside was a leather-bound ledger.
For several seconds, Roman could not touch it.
His mother had built a hidden compartment into her bedroom.
And somehow Sadie had discovered it.
“How did you know?”
“She showed me.”
“Who?”
“The grandma lady.”
Roman glanced at Megan.
Megan’s eyes filled with uncertainty.
Sadie pointed toward Margaret’s portrait on the dresser.
Roman understood.
Perhaps Sadie had seen some clue in the portrait.
Perhaps Margaret had designed the carving to match something in the picture.
There had to be a rational explanation.
Roman took out the ledger.
Inside were dates, company names, bank transfers, initials, and handwritten notes.
He recognized Margaret’s writing.
Then he reached an entry dated two weeks before his father’s death.
G.P. transferred $600,000 through Mercer. Anthony discovered it. Confrontation at marina.
Roman’s hands became still.
G.P.
Graham Pierce.
He turned the page.
Another entry.
Anthony believes Graham and Victor are using Vale shipping accounts. Elias brought copies. Anthony plans to confront them Monday.
Anthony had died Sunday night.
Roman continued.
The final entry from that week was only one sentence.
If anything happens to Anthony, look at Pier 14.
Roman shut the ledger.
Megan whispered, “Mr. Vale?”
Roman did not answer.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Silence.
Then an elderly male voice said:
“Margaret told me you’d eventually open the desk.”
Roman’s grip tightened.
“Elias?”
A long pause.
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere Graham can’t reach me.”
Roman looked at the ledger.
“Were you in my house this morning?”
“Yes.”
“You frightened a four-year-old.”
“I didn’t know she was there.”
“You took the blue box.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because if Graham knew what was inside it, neither you nor that little girl would be safe.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“What’s inside?”
Elias exhaled.
“The reason your father died.”
May you like
Then the line went dead.
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