Chapter 15 - The Man Who Was Afraid of His Own MessagesMarcus Vale stopped answering his phone on a Thursday morning.
By noon, his attorney had contacted Detective Brooks.
Marcus wanted to discuss cooperation.
He also wanted to know whether prosecutors would consider a negotiated resolution if he supplied information.
Brooks agreed to arrange a formal meeting with the appropriate legal representatives.
She made no promises.
Marcus arrived looking twenty years older than he had at their first interview.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
He kept turning his phone face down on the table.
“My employer is trying to make me the scapegoat,” he said.
Brooks remained quiet.
Marcus glanced toward his attorney.
“I only did what I was told.”
“Who told you?” Brooks asked.
Marcus swallowed.
“Harrison.”
“What exactly did he instruct you to do?”
“Clear the balcony. Change the camera settings. Make sure nobody interrupted Vivienne.”
“Why?”
“He said there was a private family matter.”
Brooks leaned forward.
“What did you understand that meant?”
Marcus wiped his palms on his trousers.
“At first, I thought they wanted to stage something.”
“What kind of thing?”
“Something that would make Daniel look irresponsible. Maybe a child-safety incident they could use against him.”
Brooks watched him carefully.
“And later?”
Marcus said nothing.
“Mr. Vale, you knew a toddler would be taken to an unguarded upper balcony. You arranged to remove witnesses and disable the camera covering that area. Tell me what you believed was going to happen.”
Marcus looked at his attorney.
The attorney nodded for him to answer if he wished.
Marcus's voice dropped.
“I knew someone could get hurt.”
“Did you know Lucy Hale might be killed?”
He began shaking.
“I didn't want that.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Then he whispered, “Yes.”
The room fell silent.
Brooks waited.
Marcus looked at the floor.
“Harrison said the problem had to be permanent.”
“What problem?”
“The trust. The shares. Rebecca's little girl.”
Brooks kept her voice controlled.
“Did Harrison explicitly instruct anyone to kill Lucy?”
Marcus hesitated.
“I didn't hear him say those exact words at first.”
“At first?”
“There was a call.”
He pressed his hands together.
“A week before the wedding. He was furious because the trustee refused another proposal. He said they couldn't afford to wait twenty-three more years for that child to reach twenty-five.”
“What else?”
Marcus glanced at his attorney again.
“He said Vivienne knew what she had to do.”
Brooks wrote down the statement.
“Do you have evidence of that conversation?”
Marcus nodded.
“My phone.”
He finally turned it over.
“I kept the messages. And one voicemail.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew he'd blame me if anything went wrong.”
Brooks looked at him.
“And what about the anonymous messages Daniel Hale received?”
Marcus's shoulders sagged.
“I sent them.”
“Why?”
He wiped his face.
“I wanted someone to know enough to stop Harrison. And I wanted proof that I wasn't the only one involved.”
Brooks held his gaze.
“Yet you never warned anyone before the wedding.”
Marcus began to cry.
“I thought I could keep myself out of it.”
“You were involved.”
“I know.”
He stared at the table.
“When the child fell, I thought she was dead. Then her father caught her. I couldn't believe it.”
Brooks waited for him to continue.
“I saw Harrison afterward. He asked whether the child was alive.”
“What did you say?”
“Yes.”
“And what did he say?”
Marcus's mouth trembled.
“He said, 'Then we still have a problem.'”
Brooks wrote down every word.
Marcus's attorney shifted beside him.
The detective leaned back.
“Mr. Vale, your cooperation may be relevant to how prosecutors evaluate your case. But it does not erase what you did.”
Marcus nodded.
“I know.”
Brooks looked at the phone.
“We'll need to collect and examine the original communications through the proper procedures.”
Marcus pushed it forward.
“There are messages from Vivienne too.”
Brooks looked up.
“What do they say?”
Marcus took a shaky breath.
“She was supposed to wait until the toast. When everyone was looking toward the chandeliers.”
He swallowed.
“But she changed her mind at the last second.”
“About what?”
Marcus's eyes filled again.
“About whether she could actually do it.”
Brooks said nothing.
Marcus whispered, “Harrison called her right before she went upstairs.”
The detective leaned forward.
“And after that call?”
May you like
Marcus looked toward the evidence photographs on the desk.
“She took Lucy onto the balcony.”
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