Chapter 5 - WHAT EMMA FOUND
Emma was in the greenhouse when Adrian found her. She was trimming dead
leaves from a row of white orchids, her hair tied back and her injured
knee covered by a small bandage.
He showed her the message.
She read it once, then looked at him. “I didn’t take anything.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know you saved my life. I also know someone wants me to doubt you.”
Emma set down the shears. “Then don’t let them.”
He told her about the hidden recorder in the wine cellar and asked
whether she had noticed anyone entering the east corridor during the
week before the incident.
She thought for a moment.
“Two nights ago, I heard the service door open around midnight. I
assumed it was Mr. Collins checking the heating system. But when I went
downstairs, the hallway smelled like cigarette smoke.”
“Who smokes in the house?”
“Graham Voss. He used to come here after your father died. He always
said he only smoked outside, but the smell stayed on his coat.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Did you see him?”
“No. I saw a shadow moving toward the wine cellar.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know it was important. And because I was told not to
bother you with things that weren’t urgent.”
Adrian looked at her. “That instruction ends today.”
Emma nodded, but she did not look reassured.
They went to the cellar with Detective Cole and two officers. The old
panel was hidden behind a rack of wine bottles. Adrian used a key from
his father’s desk to open it. Inside sat a small digital recorder
connected to a separate camera network.
The device was warm.
Someone had used it recently.
A technician removed the storage unit and connected it to a secure
laptop. The footage showed the east corridor on the night Vanessa had
tied Emma to the column. It also showed the hallway the previous
evening.
At 11:47 p.m., Graham Voss entered carrying a small tool case. He went
to the equipment room, opened it with a brass key, and remained inside
for six minutes. When he emerged, he looked directly toward the hidden
camera.
Then he smiled.
The next clip showed Vanessa entering the same room the following
afternoon.
She was carrying a folder.
Detective Cole leaned closer. “Can you enhance the image?”
The technician adjusted the brightness. Vanessa placed the folder inside
a cabinet, then removed a small object from her handbag. It looked like
a key card.
She held it to a reader.
The camera caught the screen behind her. A file opened, and a list of
names appeared. One of them was Emma Parker.
Emma’s face went pale.
“Why is my name there?”
Adrian looked at the screen. “I don’t know.”
The next image showed Vanessa taking a photograph of the file with her
phone. Then she turned toward the camera and spoke.
The audio was faint, but the technician isolated it.
“She’s the only one who still visits the old clinic,” Vanessa said. “If
she remembers what she heard, we have a problem.”
Emma stepped backward.
“What old clinic?” Adrian asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
But then the footage continued.
Vanessa closed the cabinet and left. Two minutes later, a second figure
entered the room.
It was Daniel Price.
Adrian turned slowly toward his security chief.
Daniel’s face was unreadable.
“I was checking the alarm,” he said.
“Why did you enter the equipment room?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You were there for nine minutes.”
Daniel glanced at the officers. “I can explain.”
Detective Cole stepped between them. “You’ll explain at the station.”
Daniel raised his hands. “I haven’t done anything.”
Adrian felt the room tilt. Daniel had worked for him for nine years. He
had been the one who arranged the security detail after the crash. He
had sat beside Adrian in the hospital and promised that no one would get
close enough to hurt him again.
Now his name was on the footage.
Emma reached for Adrian’s sleeve. “Don’t.”
He looked at her.
“Don’t make a decision because you’re angry,” she whispered.
The words steadied him.
He turned to Detective Cole. “Take the footage, and question him
properly. I want every access log preserved.”
Daniel was escorted out.
As the door closed, Emma stared at the frozen image of Vanessa on the
screen.
“She knew about the old clinic,” Emma whispered.
Adrian looked at her. “What happened there?”
Emma’s eyes filled.
“My father worked there before he died. He was a night nurse. The week
of your accident, he called me and said he had seen something in a
patient’s file. He told me to keep away from anyone connected to the
Blackwood family.”
Adrian felt the cold truth approaching.
“What did he see?”
May you like
Emma swallowed.
“He said someone had paid to change your medication.”
