Chapter 7 - The Man in the Nursery
The alarm at Khloe's house triggered at 2:43 a.m.
Police arrived within seven minutes.
The intruder was already gone.
Harrison reached the property twenty minutes later.
The nursery looked as if a storm had passed through it.
Drawers had been dumped onto the floor.
Baby clothes covered the carpet.
The mattress had been lifted.
Books lay torn apart near the rocking chair.
Lena crouched beside the window.
"No forced entry."
Harrison looked toward the hall.
"Richard still has a key."
"Protection order doesn't prohibit him from entering jointly owned property."
"Not yet."
A detective approached.
"We pulled the doorbell camera."
"And?"
"It went offline twelve minutes before entry."
"Convenient."
"Very."
The detective handed Harrison a tablet.
"Neighbor across the street has a security camera."
The video showed a dark SUV stopping two houses away.
A man wearing a baseball cap walked toward Khloe's home.
His face was hidden.
Lena zoomed in on his right hand.
A large silver ring caught the light.
Harrison knew that ring.
"Richard's driver."
Lena nodded.
"Caleb Morrison."
Caleb had worked for Richard for six years.
By sunrise, police located him at his apartment.
He denied entering the house.
Then investigators found a piece of silver paper in his jacket pocket.
It matched the decorative foil from the blue nursery book.
Caleb stopped talking.
At the hospital, Khloe listened as Harrison explained what happened.
"They were looking for the drive."
"Yes."
"Which means Richard knows I copied something."
"Probably."
Khloe looked at her brother.
"I made another copy."
Harrison stared at her.
"Where?"
"Safe deposit box."
He almost laughed.
"What?"
"You sound surprised."
"I am."
"You taught me."
"When?"
"I was sixteen."
Khloe smiled weakly.
"You told me never to keep the only copy of anything important in one place."
Harrison shook his head.
"I created a monster."
"You created your sister."
The smile faded.
"There's something else in that box."
"What?"
"A letter."
"From who?"
"Richard's former accountant."
Harrison straightened.
Khloe explained that six months earlier, Harrington Development's longtime accountant, Samuel Grant, abruptly resigned.
Richard told everyone Samuel had been stealing.
Khloe did not believe it.
Samuel contacted her privately.
He said Richard had ordered him to move money through shell companies.
Samuel refused.
Then someone threatened his family.
"He gave me a letter."
"Where is Samuel now?"
"I don't know."
Harrison called Lena immediately.
"Find Samuel Grant."
"Already tried."
"And?"
"His house is empty."
"Bank activity?"
"Nothing in four months."
Harrison's expression changed.
Khloe saw it.
"Do you think he's dead?"
"I don't know."
"But?"
"But people who disappear after threatening wealthy men usually don't disappear for fun."
Later that afternoon, Harrison received a call from an unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke at first.
Then a male voice whispered.
"Stop digging."
Harrison leaned back.
"Who is this?"
"If you care about your sister, stop digging."
Harrison's expression became almost bored.
"You're threatening the wrong family."
The caller laughed.
"You think this is about Richard?"
Harrison said nothing.
The voice continued.
"Richard Harrington is not smart enough to build what you're looking at."
The line disconnected.
Harrison immediately sent the number to Lena.
Then he looked through the hospital window toward Khloe.
For the first time, he considered something worse than Richard.
May you like
Maybe his brother-in-law was not the architect.
Maybe Richard was only a piece.
