Chapter 2 - THE DRIVE THEY WANTED BACKThe paramedics took me to Queen of the Valley Medical Center.
I received eight stitches near my hairline.
The doctor diagnosed a concussion and ordered me to remain under observation for several hours.
Sergeant Ruiz arrived shortly after midnight.
She carried statements from the people at the dinner.
“They all told the same story,” she said.
“The plate slipped.”
“Every one of them?”
“Nineteen.”
“What did Maya say?”
Ruiz pulled a chair closer.
“She said Adrian struck you deliberately.”
Relief mixed with fear.
“Where is she now?”
“Her husband claims she left the estate.”
“With whom?”
“He says he doesn’t know.”
Maya had no car at the dinner.
She had arrived with Lucas.
She would not have left without contacting me unless someone prevented her.
I showed Ruiz the flash drive.
“Maya gave me this before the officers came in.”
“Did she tell you what was on it?”
“Only that the family had covered up something before.”
“Something involving Claire?”
I nodded.
Ruiz placed the drive inside an evidence bag.
“We’ll examine it on an isolated system.”
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
DO NOT GIVE THE DRIVE TO LOCAL POLICE.
THE CALDWELLS OWN MORE THAN THE VINEYARD.
I showed Ruiz.
She did not appear offended.
She appeared concerned.
“Very few people know you have this.”
“Maya.”
“The Caldwell family.”
“And now you.”
Ruiz looked toward the hospital door.
“I’m going to contact the state digital crimes unit.”
“Nobody connected to Napa County will touch the evidence.”
The message vanished from my screen.
Someone had remotely deleted it.
Ruiz turned off my phone and placed it inside another evidence bag.
At two in the morning, a technician named Daniel Cho arrived with a secure laptop.
He connected the flash drive.
A password request appeared.
Beneath the password box was a single clue.
THE HOUSE SHE REFUSED TO SURRENDER.
I thought about the name Maya had spoken.
Claire.
Years earlier, I had seen a photograph of Lucas with another woman.
Adrian told me she was a college girlfriend who died in an accident.
Her full name had been Claire Monroe.
“Try MONROE,” I said.
The password failed.
“Try CLAIRESHOUSE.”
The screen unlocked.
Dozens of folders appeared.
DEEDS.
LOANS.
MEDICAL REPORTS.
WITNESS STATEMENTS.
One folder carried my name.
Another carried Maya’s.
At the bottom was a folder labeled CLAIRE MONROE - FINAL NIGHT.
Daniel moved the cursor toward it.
May you like
Before he could click, every light in the hospital room went out.
Someone tried the handle from the other side of the locked door.
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