Chapter 4 - What Mason Heard.
Lena didn’t sleep that night. Between the incision pain, the NICU calls, and the document with her forged-looking signature, sleep wasn’t even a realistic goal.
At six in the morning Mason showed up with diner coffee and a paper bag that smelled like burned toast. He looked almost embarrassed standing there.
“I didn’t know what people bring after attempted murder,” he said. “So. Coffee.”
Against all reason, Lena almost smiled.
She took the cup. “Thanks.”
He stayed near the door until she asked, “Why were you there?”
That seemed to catch him off guard.
“At the warehouse?”
She nodded.
Mason looked down at his hands. Big hands. Scarred knuckles. Work hands. “Because somebody tripped the back service alarm in Cold Room Four. That old panel still kicks a maintenance alert to my phone sometimes. They were supposed to remove me from the system after Victor fired me. Guess they forgot.”
“Why did he fire you?”
A dry laugh left him. “Because I wouldn’t sign off on a safety inspection that wasn’t real.”
Lena said nothing.
He continued. “Victor wanted the warehouse audit clean before renewal. I told him the interior release in several cold rooms needed replacing. He told me I worried too much. I told him that was kind of the point of safety equipment. He told me to clear out my locker.”
Lena stared at him now.
“When I got the alert, I was ten minutes away. I figured some kid from loading had tripped something. Then I heard banging when I came around the corridor. Heard you yelling.”
He rubbed his jaw. “That door wasn’t stuck. It was locked.”
Detective Alvarez arrived a little later with a uniformed evidence tech. She asked Mason to repeat everything on record. Then she put a photocopy on Lena’s tray table.
Warehouse maintenance log. Cold Room Four.
Line item: interior emergency release removal and replacement pending.
Date: the day before Lena was trapped.
Requested by: D. Barlow, Operations.
Approved by: V. Hale.
Lena felt the room narrow around her.
“Who’s Barlow?” she asked.
Mason answered first. “Dean Barlow. Victor’s operations director. Does the ugly work without wanting his name on it.”
Alvarez tapped the paper. “This is useful. But useful isn’t enough yet.”
“Why not?” Lena asked.
“Because Victor will say it was scheduled maintenance.” Alvarez looked at the page again. “What matters is who knew the release was missing when you went in.”
The detective started packing up her notes. Then she paused.
“One more thing,” she said. “A witness placed Victor in the warehouse that night.”
Lena’s head snapped up.
May you like
Alvarez met her eyes.
“But the witness is afraid to give a statement unless we can guarantee her job.”
