Chapter 3 - The Dead Man's Warning
For three years, Maria Alvarez had tried to forget the sound of her mother's scream.
It had come at 6:12 on a rainy Tuesday morning.
A police officer stood outside their small apartment in Queens.
He held his cap against his chest.
And he told them Daniel was dead.
Twenty-nine years old.
No wife.
No children.
No history of depression.
No reason, as far as Maria knew, to climb onto the roof of a hospital parking structure and jump.
But the police said Daniel had been under pressure.
His employer said he had been struggling with personal problems.
The medical examiner found no evidence that conclusively established homicide.
The case was closed.
Maria's mother died eighteen months later, still insisting someone had killed her son.
Now, standing in Evelyn Whitmore's library, Maria heard his name spoken by a detective who had never met him.
“Tell me everything about Daniel,” Mercer said.
Maria wiped her face.
“He worked in medical records at Whitmore Medical Center.”
“What kind of records?”
“Patient files, insurance documents, billing corrections.”
“Did he have access to restricted information?”
“Some.”
“Do you know whether he was investigating anything?”
Maria nodded.
“He called me four days before he died.”
Jonathan moved closer.
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether I'd noticed anything strange at work.”
“At this house?”
“Yes.”
Maria hesitated.
“He was worried about paperwork connected to your mother.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“Three years ago?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Maria looked ashamed.
“Because Daniel made me promise not to.”
“Why?”
“He said someone was watching him.”
Detective Mercer lowered her pen.
“Did he identify anyone?”
“No.”
“But he said something I never forgot.”
Maria pressed her fingers together.
“He said, ‘If they can change what happened to one patient, they can change what happened to anybody.’”
Jonathan frowned.
“Change what happened?”
“Medical records.”
Maria met his eyes.
“He said someone at the hospital was altering records after patients died.”
The library went silent.
Evelyn Whitmore had funded the hospital wing bearing her family's name.
Her husband had spent the last decade of his life raising money for its trauma center.
Jonathan currently chaired its governing board.
The possibility that people inside that institution had hidden patient deaths seemed almost impossible.
Almost.
Mercer's phone vibrated.
She glanced at it.
Then she looked at Jonathan.
“I need the hospital's complete staff roster for the last four years.”
“You'll have it.”
“And access to the board's internal records.”
“Of course.”
“No filtering by your attorneys.”
Jonathan stiffened.
“Detective, if you think I'm hiding something—”
“I think somebody is.”
She stood.
“And I don't know which Whitmore employees I can trust.”
Before he could respond, Evelyn spoke.
“Detective Mercer.”
The detective turned.
“There is something you should know about Daniel.”
Maria looked at her.
Evelyn's voice was quiet.
“He came to see me once.”
“When?” Jonathan asked.
“Three years ago.”
“Before he died?”
“About a week before.”
Maria rose so abruptly that her chair scraped the floor.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
Evelyn nodded.
“He came to this house.”
“He told me he had discovered irregularities involving patients who had received experimental treatments.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“What treatments?”
“I don't know.”
“He said he wanted the board to initiate an independent investigation.”
Jonathan frowned.
“Why wasn't I told?”
Evelyn looked away.
“Because he asked me not to involve you until he had proof.”
Jonathan swallowed his irritation.
“What happened next?”
“I contacted our general counsel.”
“Who?”
“Richard Vale.”
Jonathan's stomach tightened.
Richard Vale had been the Whitmore family's attorney for twenty-six years.
He had also been among the guests at tonight's party.
Mercer noticed Jonathan's expression.
“Where is Mr. Vale now?”
Jonathan reached for his phone.
Before he could dial, a police officer appeared.
“Detective, we checked the guest list.”
“And?”
“Richard Vale left the mansion seventeen minutes before the ballroom incident.”
Mercer exchanged a look with Jonathan.
“Find him.”
The officer nodded.
Maria stared at Evelyn.
“Did Mr. Vale meet Daniel?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The following afternoon.”
Maria's voice became thin.
“Three days before my brother died?”
“Yes.”
For several seconds, Maria said nothing.
Then she asked the question she had carried inside her for three years.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Evelyn's face crumpled.
“Because Richard told me Daniel had become unstable.”
“He said Daniel was threatening the hospital for money.”
Maria took a step back.
“My brother would never do that.”
“I know that now.”
“You believed him?”
Evelyn began to cry.
“I believed a man I had trusted for decades.”
Maria turned away.
Jonathan spoke sharply.
“Mother, what exactly did Richard tell you after Daniel died?”
Evelyn struggled to answer.
“He said the matter had been investigated.”
“He said Daniel had copied confidential files.”
“And he said the hospital had agreed not to prosecute him out of respect for his family.”
Mercer's pen stopped moving.
“Did you ever see the investigation?”
“No.”
“Did you request it?”
Evelyn looked miserable.
“No.”
Maria approached the window.
Rain had begun to fall.
She could see her reflection against the dark glass.
For years, she had blamed herself for not protecting Daniel.
Now she understood something worse.
His death had helped silence an investigation that powerful people wanted buried.
Jonathan crossed the room.
“Maria.”
She didn't turn.
“I'm sorry.”
She laughed bitterly.
“People have been telling me that for three years.”
He accepted the blow.
“You have every right to be angry.”
“I don't want another apology.”
“What do you want?”
She faced him.
“The truth.”
Jonathan held her gaze.
“Then we'll find it.”
At that moment, Mercer's phone rang.
She answered.
“Mercer.”
She listened.
Her expression changed.
“Repeat that.”
Jonathan watched her carefully.
“What is it?”
Mercer ended the call.
“We found Richard Vale.”
“Where?”
“At a private airfield outside the city.”
“Trying to leave?”
“No.”
She looked toward Evelyn.
“He was found unconscious inside his car.”
Maria gripped the windowsill.
“Is he alive?”
“Barely.”
Mercer hesitated.
“The paramedics found a sealed envelope beneath his seat.”
“What's inside?”
“Copies of several hospital records.”
Jonathan felt cold.
“Whose records?”
Mercer looked directly at Maria.
“Daniel Alvarez's.”
May you like
She paused.
“And a medical report claiming Evelyn Whitmore died eleven days ago.”
