Chapter 3 - The Woman With the Camera
Nora met me at eight with coffee, a legal pad, and the expression of a woman who had already decided somebody was going to regret lying to her.
She photographed the bruising on my cheek, then asked me to describe the glove.
“Don't embellish.”
“I don't need to.”
She examined the footage circulating online.
Whoever edited it had cut away the countdown clock and added a sound effect at the moment Derek swung.
In the comments, strangers called me unstable.
One demanded that my employer fire me.
Another claimed I'd threatened Claire for years.
The account posting that allegation used a photograph taken inside my own living room.
Nora stared at the screen.
“Your wife is supplying this.”
“Maybe.”
“Cole.”
“Facts first.”
For once, she smiled.
“Fine. Facts first.”
She sent preservation notices to the gym, the platform hosting the video, and Price's firm.
Then she asked about the woman I'd seen filming.
“Maya,” I said.
“Find her, but don't pressure her.”
At noon, an unfamiliar number called.
The voice was small and rushed.
“My name is Maya Torres.”
I sat up.
“I work at Apex.”
“I remember.”
“You shouldn't have signed that clipboard.”
“I figured that out.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Derek told me to delete the security feed after you left.”
“Did you?”
“I deleted the copies on the front-desk computer.”
I closed my eyes.
“But the original footage goes to a separate backup.”
Her words came faster.
“I know because I used to manage the cameras.”
“Can you preserve it?”
“I already did.”
I started to thank her.
She interrupted.
“There's more, Mr. Mercer.”
She said Price had visited the gym three times before Friday.
Derek had called him the investor.
There had been meetings behind a locked office door and discussions about a property sale, an insurance payout, and a file bearing my name.
Then Maya said something that made my mouth go dry.
“They weren't just talking about your house.”
I heard a door close on her end.
A man's voice asked who she was speaking to.
She whispered, “I have to go.”
The line disconnected.
I called her back.
No answer.
Ten minutes later, she sent a photograph.
It showed an invoice from a private investigations company called Sentinel Trace.
The account holder was Gavin Price.
The subject line read MERCER, COLE—SERVICE RECORD VERIFICATION.
The date was seven months before Claire announced she wanted a divorce.
The image arrived with three words.
May you like
Ask about Ramadi.
