Chapter 8 - The Deal Behind the Deal

The sheriff’s office opened a formal criminal investigation the next morning.

David’s attorney issued a statement denying any involvement in tampering with the dock and accusing “interested parties” of exploiting a family tragedy.

Simone read the statement once.

Then deleted it.

Marcus called.

“Do not respond publicly.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Good.”

“Is David being arrested?”

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because suspicion is not enough. The police are building a case.”

“What more do they need?”

“Proof that he ordered or carried out the sabotage.”

Lena found the next piece in an audio file on Rebecca’s drive.

The recording began with restaurant noise.

Then David’s voice.

“You said no blood.”

Victor Calder answered, “I said no unnecessary blood.”

Simone sat absolutely still.

David said, “She’s pregnant.”

Calder replied, “Then pay me.”

A glass clinked.

David lowered his voice. “I can get eight hundred from the trust.”

“That leaves three-seven.”

“I’ll give you the clinic route.”

“And if your wife blocks it?”

A pause.

Then David said, “She won’t.”

The recording ended.

Marcus turned to Rebecca, who had agreed to meet in Lena’s office under security.

“When was this?”

“Four days before the lake.”

“How did you record it?”

“I left my phone on the table when I went to the restroom.”

“Why?”

“Because I was scared David would blame me if things went wrong.”

Simone looked at her.

“So you protected yourself.”

“Yes.”

“Always yourself.”

Rebecca lowered her eyes.

The police took a copy of the audio.

Still, the detective handling the case, Camille Brooks, warned them not to jump to conclusions.

“Calder’s words are threatening,” she said. “David’s are ambiguous.”

Simone stared at her. “He said I wouldn’t block the route.”

“That can mean persuasion, divorce, coercion, fraud, or violence. In court, we must prove which.”

“Someone cut the dock.”

“Yes.”

“Someone changed my insurance.”

“Yes.”

“David asked how fast the policy paid after an accidental death.”

“Yes.”

Detective Brooks held Simone’s gaze.

“And I want the person responsible convicted, not merely arrested and released because we rushed.”

Simone looked away.

The detective’s calm irritated her because it made sense.

That afternoon, Lena identified the prepaid phone.

Not by registration.

By surveillance footage.

A convenience store camera showed a man buying minutes for the phone with cash.

His name was Grant Mercer.

Simone knew him.

He had worked security for David’s company for five years.

“He was at our Christmas party,” she said.

Lena nodded. “Former Marine. Two assault arrests, both dismissed.”

“Where is he?”

“Missing.”

His apartment had been emptied.

His company phone was found in a dumpster near the interstate.

His personal bank account contained a cash deposit of fifty thousand dollars.

Same amount Calder Maritime had transferred into Carter Holdings.

Marcus leaned back in his chair.

“That looks like a pass-through payment.”

Simone said, “David paid Grant to weaken the dock.”

“Maybe.”

Rebecca suddenly spoke.

“Grant hated me.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Why?” Detective Brooks asked.

“He thought I was ruining David’s life.”

Simone almost laughed at the irony.

Rebecca continued, “A week before the lake, I heard him tell David, ‘You want the wife problem handled, you say the word.’”

The detective’s pen stopped.

“Exact words?”

“Yes.”

“And David?”

“He told Grant to shut up.”

Simone asked, “Was he angry?”

Rebecca thought.

“No.”

“Afraid?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Rebecca’s face tightened.

“Annoyed that I was standing there.”

That distinction mattered.

Detective Brooks closed her notebook.

“I’m seeking a warrant for Grant Mercer’s financial records and communications.”

“Can you arrest David now?” Simone asked.

“Not yet.”

Marcus touched Simone’s arm before she could argue.

The detective stood.

“There is another issue. Someone tried to access Mrs. Carter’s clinic network this morning using an administrator password tied to Mr. Carter.”

Simone’s anger snapped into focus.

“What did they access?”

“Shipping schedules.”

“The pharmaceutical deliveries.”

“Yes.”

“Did they get them?”

“Your IT team blocked the login.”

Simone looked at Marcus.

David was not merely trying to survive the investigation.

Someone was still pursuing the route he had promised Calder.

The deal was not dead.

And whoever wanted it had just reached into Simone’s business.

That evening, Simone asked Evelyn whether she had ever suspected David’s business was dangerous.

“I suspected he liked men who made ordinary rules feel optional,” Evelyn said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I did. You called me old-fashioned.”

Simone winced. “I remember.”

“I wasn’t always right about him. That matters too.”

“What do you mean?”

“He loved you in some ways. People are harder to understand when the good and the bad are both real.”

Simone stared into her tea.

“I wish he had been simple.”

“So do most betrayed people.”

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The next morning, Simone added another line to her notebook: complexity is not innocence.

It became one of the rules she returned to whenever new evidence seemed to soften an old betrayal.