Chapter 6 - The Tape Speaks
I drove my unmarked rental car straight to the mountain estate, my clothes soaked in mud and rain, my knee bruised from the leap.
Grace met me at the door with a towel and a mug of hot coffee. "Did you get it?"
In the study of the mountain house, we placed the old cassette tape into a vintage deck I had brought along. I pressed play.
A static hiss filled the room, followed by two familiar voices.
"Is it done?" Arthur’s voice came clearly through the speakers.
"The car went over the ravine, Mr. Vance," a second voice replied—the voice of a younger Knox. "It exploded on impact. Nobody could have survived that fall."
"What about the mechanic who was nearby?" Arthur asked cold-bloodedly.
"He pulled Oseni out before the tank blew. Oseni is in a coma at Grady Memorial. But the mechanic saw the tracking rig."
"Eliminate him," Arthur’s voice commanded without a trace of hesitation. "Make it look like an accident. And ensure his family gets nothing."
Grace buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with quiet, heartbreaking sobs.
May you like
I stood over the desk, rage burning through my veins like fire. The tape proved everything: the attempted murder on my life, the premeditated assassination of David Miller, and the twenty-year cover-up that had destroyed Grace's family.
"This is enough to put him away for life," I said, putting my hand on Grace’s shoulder. "We take this to the State Attorney General tomorrow morning."
