Chapter 4 - The Camera That Went Dark
Glasswater suspended Sofia.
Ben told her personally.
They stood in the empty restaurant before opening.
“I don’t believe Natalie,” he said.
“Then why am I suspended?”
“Because Hayes Meridian’s insurer threatened to freeze our coverage while the police investigation is active.”
“So I save a baby and lose my job.”
“I’m still paying you.”
“With what?”
“My discretionary payroll account.”
Sofia stared at him.
“You’ll get fired.”
“Probably.”
The wooden terrace beyond the glass looked ordinary again.
That made Sofia angry.
A maintenance worker had replaced the broken glasses.
The stroller was gone.
The river moved beneath gray morning light as though nothing had happened.
Sofia walked to table twelve.
“Where’s the terrace security camera?”
Ben pointed upward.
A black dome sat above the glass doors.
“Police asked the same question.”
“And?”
“It stopped recording six minutes before Emma went into the water.”
Sofia turned.
“Stopped?”
“Someone disabled the camera through the management system.”
“Who has access?”
“Me. Assistant manager. Corporate security.”
“Hayes Meridian?”
“Yes.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Can you see who logged in?”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“The audit log was deleted.”
Sofia stared at him.
“Deleted by who?”
“Corporate administrator credentials.”
“Grant?”
“Could be twenty people.”
Ben went behind the bar and removed a small digital recorder.
“What is that?”
“Our old ambient sound recorder.”
“Why do you have an ambient sound recorder?”
“Glasswater measures noise levels for private events. Customers complain when the terrace gets too loud.”
He connected it to a tablet.
“I remembered it last night.”
They played the period before Emma’s fall.
Silverware.
Music.
River horns.
Natalie’s voice.
“…not here.”
A male voice came faintly through her phone.
Too weak to identify.
Then another sound.
Three electronic chimes.
Sofia frowned.
“Play that again.”
Ben did.
Three descending notes.
She had heard them somewhere recently.
The hospital.
No.
Grant.
His phone?
Sofia closed her eyes.
Then she remembered his arrival at the hospital.
When his phone vibrated, there had been no chime.
“Could be anything,” Ben said.
“Yes.”
The doors opened.
Michael entered.
He looked exhausted.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Ben told him.
“Neither should she.”
Sofia folded her arms.
“Good morning to you too.”
Michael placed a folder on the table.
“My attorneys found out why Natalie’s lawyer is targeting you.”
Sofia opened it.
It contained photographs.
Her leaving work.
Her entering a grocery store.
Her walking past Hayes Meridian Tower three weeks earlier.
“What is this?”
“Someone photographed you repeatedly.”
“I walk past that tower on my way to the train.”
“I know.”
“Who took them?”
“A private investigator named Carl DeWitt.”
Ben swore.
Michael continued.
“DeWitt was hired six weeks ago.”
“By Natalie?”
“No.”
Sofia looked up.
“By Hayes Meridian corporate security.”
Silence.
“Who authorized it?” Ben asked.
Michael’s mouth tightened.
“My brother’s office.”
Sofia pushed the file away.
“So Grant was investigating me before I ever met you.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“Why?”
Michael had no answer.
Sofia walked toward the terrace.
Then stopped.
The night of the incident came back in fragments.
Natalie.
The stroller.
The phone.
The restaurant guests.
And one detail she had dismissed.
“Ben.”
“What?”
“Table six.”
He checked the reservation system.
“Private booking.”
“Who?”
He frowned.
“It says Lakefront Development Partners.”
Michael looked up sharply.
“What?”
Sofia turned.
“You know them?”
Michael stared at the reservation.
“We’re negotiating to sell them three hundred million dollars of riverfront property.”
Ben scrolled.
“The table was booked by G. Hayes.”
Michael looked at Sofia.
“Grant was here.”
“He said he came from home.”
Ben checked the timestamps.
“He left fourteen minutes before Emma went into the river.”
Sofia felt the room tilt.
Then Michael’s phone rang.
His estate attorney was calling.
Michael answered.
He listened.
And slowly sat down.
When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.
“My father’s will has a survival clause.”
Sofia waited.
May you like
Michael looked at the black river.
“If Emma dies before her first birthday, sixteen percent of Hayes Meridian transfers to Grant.”
