Chapter 24 - THE PERSON RENATA PROTECTED
Renata was angry when she learned June had testified.
Not because June talked.
Because I knew.
The tablet said, I told you her name because I trusted you not to turn her into evidence before she was ready.
"I gave it to Park."
Exactly.
"There was an active kidnapping and assault investigation."
That doesn't erase what I asked.
I sat beside the window.
"You're right."
She blinked.
"I should've told you I was giving her name to Park before I did it."
The tablet stayed silent.
"I would've still done it."
Her eye narrowed.
"But I should've said it."
She typed.
Better.
"I am improving very slowly."
Painfully slowly.
"Your bedside manner is terrible."
So is yours.
That was the closest thing we had to normal conversation.
Park came in carrying copies of Celia's unsent reply.
She showed Renata first.
That mattered.
The letter described Marcus collecting compromising information on everyone involved in the corruption network.
Politicians.
Contractors.
Lawyers.
Police.
Donors.
He had turned cleanup into leverage.
Celia wrote that she wanted out.
She also wrote that she feared prosecution, public disgrace, and losing custody of Maurice, who was then a toddler.
I read that line twice.
A mother had used fear for her child to justify helping threaten mine.
Human beings are very good at turning love into permission.
Renata typed.
Did she help kill Mom?
Park answered.
"We don't have evidence she ordered or intended the crash."
Did she know afterward?
"Yes."
Did she hide it?
"We believe so."
Renata looked toward the wall.
The tablet spoke.
That's enough for me.
Park said, "It may not be enough for a particular criminal charge."
Renata looked back.
I know.
That surprised Park.
My daughter had learned too much about evidence in one week.
Federal investigators interviewed Senator Beltran under proffer conditions.
She arrived with three lawyers.
She admitted receiving Elena's documents.
She denied threatening Renata.
She claimed the unsent letter reflected "emotional speculation."
She denied ordering Kessler paid after the assault.
Her chief of staff disagreed.
Faced with bank records, he admitted arranging the transfer.
He said Celia told him to "make sure the security problem stayed contained."
Celia's lawyers argued that meant legal support.
Nobody believed them.
Believing and proving remained different things.
Maurice asked to see Renata.
She said no.
He wrote a letter.
She refused to read it.
I asked if she wanted me to destroy it.
She typed.
No. Put it in the drawer.
"Which drawer?"
The one where I put things I may care about later.
I opened her bedside drawer.
Inside were old cards.
A hospital menu.
A folded note from a classmate.
And the untouched letter from Elena that Sofia had found at the church archive.
The one addressed to Renata.
"You still haven't opened this?"
Not yet.
"Okay."
She watched me place Maurice's letter beside it.
Then typed.
Dad.
"Yeah?"
If Mom wrote something bad about you, I don't know if I want to know yet.
I sat down.
"You don't owe the truth a deadline."
She stared at me.
I had surprised both of us.
Later, Park called from the courthouse.
Marcus Vale had been indicted on conspiracy, obstruction, witness tampering, and financial crimes.
Agents went to his apartment.
Empty.
Office.
Empty.
Car found at LaGuardia.
No flight record under his name.
Passport gone.
"He ran," I said.
"Yes."
"International?"
"Maybe."
"You hate that word too, don't you?"
"Deeply."
I called Mateo.
No answer.
That bothered me.
He had been angry since the account freeze, but he answered when Renata was involved.
I drove to his house with Grace protesting by phone the entire way.
Mateo's front door was unlocked.
Kitchen empty.
Coffee still warm.
On the table was a handwritten note.
DANIEL - DON'T FOLLOW ME.
I checked his garage.
Car gone.
Gun safe open.
One pistol missing.
I called Park.
"Mateo is gone."
"With a weapon?"
"Yes."
"Any idea where?"
I stared at the note.
Then at a photograph on the refrigerator.
Mateo and I standing beside a boat at the old Queens marina in 2005.
Behind us, barely visible, was a storage building we once used for emergency cash.
Marcus knew about it.
So did Mateo.
"Yes," I said.
"I think I know exactly where both of them went."
---
(To be continued)
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