Chapter 6 - THE VOICE ON THE TAPE
The cassette was transferred at the police laboratory the next morning.
Detective Shaw invited Adrian and Emma to listen in a secure interview room. The audio specialist warned them that the recording was old and damaged. Some sections might be difficult to understand.
The tape began with the sound of machinery.
Then Thomas Reed spoke.
“My name is Thomas Reed. I am recording this because the company has refused to document my reports. The suppression system in Bay Four is disconnected. The ventilation is not operating properly. I have been ordered to sign off on an inspection I did not perform.”
A second voice entered.
Adrian recognized it.
His father.
“Thomas, I want you to give me copies of everything.”
“I will. But someone has already removed the original maintenance logs.”
“Who?”
A pause.
“Mr. Julian Blackwood's office requested them.”
Adrian looked at Emma.
The tape continued.
“I don't believe your son knows what's happening,” Thomas said. “But I think someone is using his name to approve the work.”
His father answered, “I'll investigate.”
The recording ended with a chair scraping and the sound of the tape being stopped.
Adrian sat very still.
His father had known. He had tried to investigate. Then the warehouse burned, Thomas died, and the records disappeared.
The official report had closed the matter.
“What happened to your father?” Emma asked quietly.
Adrian shook his head. “He died two years later. Heart attack.”
Detective Shaw looked at the file. “We need his medical records too. But this recording gives us a clear reason to reopen the warehouse case.”
***
The second part of the tape contained a conversation between Thomas and an unidentified man. The audio specialist enhanced it enough to identify the speaker.
Julian.
“You signed the report,” Julian said.
“I signed the page confirming the equipment was inspected. I did not say it was safe.”
“You're making this difficult.”
“People work in that building.”
“People work where they're told.”
Thomas's voice became firmer. “I'm not signing another report.”
Julian replied, “Then you should think about your daughter's future.”
Emma's face went white.
Adrian reached for her hand. She let him take it, but her fingers were cold.
The recording continued for several seconds. Thomas said something about contacting the authorities. Julian told him that nobody would believe a maintenance supervisor over the Blackwood family.
Then the tape stopped.
Detective Shaw paused the playback.
“This is evidence of intimidation. It does not prove Julian caused the fire, but it gives us a motive to investigate.”
Emma stared at the machine.
“He threatened my father with me.”
Adrian squeezed her hand.
“I won't let him near you.”
She turned toward him. “You can't promise that.”
He knew she was right.
“I can promise I'll tell you what I know. No more secrets.”
She looked at him for a long moment.
“That's a start.”
***
That afternoon, Vanessa requested a meeting.
Her attorney said she wanted to cooperate. Detective Shaw agreed to a formal interview at the station.
Vanessa arrived in a pale suit, with no jewelry except her engagement ring from Adrian. She placed it on the table before sitting down.
“I don't want it anymore,” she said.
Adrian did not touch it.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Julian is going to blame me.”
“Did you help him?”
She stared at the ring.
“I knew he was trying to take control of the company. I knew he had arranged for the board to question your capacity. I didn't know he had damaged your car.”
“Did you know about the brake line?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the warehouse fire?”
Vanessa's face changed.
“My father handled the legal settlement.”
“Your father?”
“He was the company's outside counsel at the time. He told me it was an unfortunate accident.”
“Did he know Thomas had reported the faulty system?”
She said nothing.
Adrian leaned forward.
“Vanessa, a man died. His daughter grew up believing it was an accident. If you know anything, now is the time.”
Vanessa began to cry.
“My father said Thomas was becoming a problem. He said the company had to protect itself. He told me the fire was already under investigation and there was nothing we could do.”
“Did he know what caused it?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he help Julian with the accident?”
Vanessa looked up.
“He told Julian that if you stayed in control, the old records would come out. He said the only way to protect the company was to make sure you couldn't run it.”
Adrian felt the room grow cold.
“Did your father tell him to kill me?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you help them?”
Vanessa's tears continued.
“I gave Julian your rehabilitation schedule. I told him when you would be alone. I thought he wanted to arrange a legal assessment.”
“You helped him watch me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was vulnerable.”
“Yes.”
Adrian stood.
Detective Shaw asked him to sit, but he needed a moment.
He had loved Vanessa. He had planned a future with her. Now he understood that she had traded his safety for a place beside his brother.
He looked at her one last time.
“Your ring is not the only thing I no longer want.”
He walked out.
***
Outside the interview room, Emma was waiting.
She had heard enough through the door to understand.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“No.”
She nodded.
“Neither am I.”
He looked at her. “I wish I could make this easier.”
“You don't have to make it easy. Just don't make me face it alone.”
He reached for her hand.
This time, she held on.
Before leaving the station, Vanessa asked to speak with Emma.
Emma refused at first. Then she agreed to a short conversation in the presence of Detective Shaw.
Vanessa looked at her across the table.
“I knew your father had complained,” she said. “My father told me the company had handled it.”
“You knew he was dead.”
“I knew there had been a fire. I didn't know the full details.”
“You never asked?”
Vanessa's eyes filled. “I was young. I believed my father.”
Emma's voice remained quiet. “I was young too. I lost my father. I believed the company when it said it was an accident.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I am sorry.”
Emma stood.
“Then tell the police everything. An apology doesn't change what happened.”
She left the room without waiting for a reply.
Adrian was in the corridor. He did not ask what she had said. He simply walked beside her.
Emma appreciated that more than another promise.
After Vanessa's interview, Detective Shaw explained that her cooperation did not guarantee immunity. The evidence showed that she had knowingly shared Adrian's movements with Julian and had helped secure the false medical statement.
“She may argue that she believed the plan was legal,” Shaw said. “The messages will be important.”
Adrian asked whether Vanessa had mentioned the night of the accident.
“She said Julian told her the car would be disabled in a way that caused a minor incident. She claims she believed you would be frightened into stepping away from the company.”
“And Peter?”
“She says she didn't know he would be in the car.”
Adrian looked away.
It was possible that Vanessa had not intended Peter's death. It did not make her innocent. She had known that a vehicle was being tampered with and had helped arrange the circumstances.
Emma asked, “Did she say why she kept visiting Adrian in the hospital?”
Shaw checked her notes.
“She said she wanted to maintain the appearance of loyalty in case the board asked questions.”
Emma's expression hardened.
“She wasn't visiting him. She was checking whether he was still helpless.”
Nobody contradicted her.
Before leaving, Vanessa asked Detective Shaw whether she could contact Adrian again. The detective refused.
“You can communicate through counsel,” she said. “Do not approach him or Emma.”
Vanessa nodded, but as she was escorted out, she looked toward the corridor where Adrian stood.
“I didn't think it would go this far,” she said.
Adrian heard her.
“That was the problem,” he replied. “You kept making choices without thinking about where they would lead.”
Vanessa's attorney guided her away.
Emma stood beside Adrian. She did not ask whether he still loved Vanessa. She already knew the answer was more complicated than a simple yes or no.
Instead, she asked, “Are you ready to go?”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
They left the station together.
Outside, the air was cold, and rain had begun to fall. Adrian opened the car door for Emma. She paused before getting in.
“Thank you for telling me everything today.”
“I should have done it months ago.”
“Yes,” she said. “You should have.”
Then she got into the car.
The truth had not repaired their relationship. But it had given them something real to work with.
On the drive home, Adrian asked Emma whether she wanted to talk about Vanessa.
“Not tonight,” she said.
“Then we won't.”
May you like
She looked out at the passing lights. “I don't want her to take up any more space in my life than she already has.”
Adrian understood. He had spent months letting the past dictate the present. He would not ask Emma to do the same.
