Chapter 3 - THE GARAGE ON MERCER STREET
The garage stood between a closed bakery and a tire shop on Mercer Street. It was a narrow brick building with a rusted sign and a single security light above the entrance.
Julian insisted on going with Elena.
“You're supposed to be hiding,” she reminded him as Daniel unlocked the outer gate.
“I'm hiding less successfully than I'd like.”
“You're not funny.”
“I wasn't trying to be.”
Inside, rows of metal lockers lined the back wall. The brass key opened number 117.
Elena pulled the door toward her.
A smell of oil, old paper, and dust drifted out. Inside sat a small toolbox, a bundle of receipts, and a brown leather notebook. She recognized her father's handwriting immediately.
Her hands began to shake.
Julian stood beside her, silent.
The first pages were ordinary maintenance notes. Dates, mileage, tire changes, replacement parts. Then, six weeks before the crash, the entries changed.
Brake line inspected. No defect found.
Vehicle returned with pressure inconsistent with recorded service.
Rear brake assembly replaced without authorization.
A page later, her father had written:
Someone is accessing the garage after hours. Security logs altered. Do not confront until I know who.
Elena turned another page.
There was a list of names: Julian Cross, Margaret Cross, Victor Shaw — Chief Financial Officer, Daniel Price — Security Operations, and one name circled twice.
Elliot Cross.
Julian's younger brother.
Elena looked up. “Your brother?”
Julian's face became unreadable. “Elliot was in the car that night.”
“You told me you were alone.”
“I was.”
“Then why is his name here?”
Julian took the notebook and read the entry. “Elliot arranged the vehicle transfer. He said the SUV had been inspected by the company garage.”
Elena found a folded sheet tucked into the back cover. It was a copy of the original inspection report. The brake line had been marked as safe. A second report, dated two days later, recorded an unauthorized replacement.
At the bottom was a signature.
Victor Shaw.
Julian stared at it. “Victor was my father's closest financial adviser. He still controls half the company.”
“Could he have arranged the crash?”
“He had access.”
A metallic clank sounded behind them.
Daniel spun toward the entrance.
The garage door began sliding down.
“Move!” he shouted.
Julian grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her behind a concrete pillar. Daniel reached the control panel, but the door slammed shut before he could stop it.
A figure appeared in the dim light between the lockers. He wore a dark cap and gloves. A pistol hung low in his right hand.
“Give me the notebook,” he said.
Julian stepped forward. “You came all this way for a book?”
“For the report.”
Elena clutched the leather notebook to her chest.
The man raised his weapon.
Daniel moved first. He knocked the gun aside, and the shot struck a locker. Julian tackled the attacker. They crashed against the concrete floor.
Elena ran toward the control panel and pulled the emergency release. The garage door lifted several inches.
A second figure rushed in from outside.
Daniel shouted a warning.
Elena saw the man reach inside his coat. She grabbed a heavy metal wrench from the floor and swung it at his wrist. The weapon clattered away.
Julian looked up from the first attacker.
“Elena!”
“I'm fine!”
The second man fled through the half-open door. Daniel chased him, but Julian stopped him.
“Don't leave us exposed. Get the police.”
The first attacker lay groaning on the concrete.
Julian pulled off his cap.
Elena recognized him.
May you like
He was one of the estate's former maintenance workers.
And he had been at the mansion that evening.
