"Thomas witnessed the accident?"
"He arrived shortly after Daniel was brought out. He saw the condition of the chamber. He knew the official explanation couldn't be right."
"Then what happened?"
"Thomas collected copies of the original work logs. He told me he was going to take them to the county. A week later, the company dismissed him."
"Was he threatened?"
Martin's expression hardened.
"He was offered money. When he refused, they reminded him that his signature was already on the report."
The waitress approached with a coffee pot.
"Can I get either of you something?"
"Coffee," Martin said.
I shook my head.
When she left, I leaned closer.
"Where are those logs now?"
Martin looked down at his briefcase.
"That's the question."
"Do you know?"
"I know Thomas kept a second copy. He told me he had hidden it somewhere no one would think to look."
"Where?"
"He never said."
"Did Denise know?"
"I believe she did."
The diner suddenly seemed much quieter.
I thought about Peter's story. Denise removing a metal case from the chamber ten years earlier. The photograph left on my truck. The warning about something beneath the house.
"Martin, what was in the metal case?"
He stared at me.
"How do you know about the case?"
"Peter saw Denise carrying it away from the chamber years ago."
Martin closed his eyes.
"Then she found it."
"Found what?"
"The original inspection records."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"You're saying the case contained evidence?"
"Not just evidence. The original maintenance logs, the ventilation readings, and the correspondence between Harrow and the county. If those documents still exist, they could prove that the company knowingly left a dangerous system beneath the development."
"Why would Denise take them?"
"Because her father asked her to protect them."
"Protect them from whom?"
Martin looked toward the window.
A dark sedan had pulled into the parking lot.
He watched it for several seconds before turning back to me.
"From the people who paid to make the problem disappear."
I followed his gaze.
The driver remained inside the car.
"Do you recognize it?" I asked.
"No."
"Then why are you worried?"
"Because I've seen that car before."
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out, wearing a dark coat.
Martin's face went pale.
"Listen to me," he whispered. "If you find the case, don't open it until you have someone with you. And don't let Denise know you have it."
"Why?"
"Because she isn't the only person looking for it."
The man from the sedan began walking toward the diner.
Martin slid out of the booth.
"I have to leave."
"Wait. You haven't told me where to look."
"I don't know where it is."
"You said Thomas hid a second copy."
"He did."
"Where?"
Martin hesitated.
Then he leaned close enough that I could smell the bitter coffee on his breath.
"Look at the old property survey. Not the one the county gave you. The original one, from before Harrow built the development."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas marked something on it that was never included in the final plans."
He stood, placed a folded piece of paper beside my coffee, and walked toward the rear exit.
I remained in the booth, watching the man in the dark coat enter through the front door.
He glanced toward the counter, then toward the back of the diner.
For one brief moment, his eyes met mine.
He didn't look angry.
He looked disappointed.
As if he had expected me to be there.
The folded paper Martin had left contained a handwritten address and a set of coordinates.
The address belonged to an old county records building that had been closed for nearly twenty years. Beneath it, Martin had written:
ASK FOR THE ORIGINAL BRIAR GLEN SURVEY — FILE 04-118.
I drove straight to the county administration building.
The records clerk looked unimpressed when I gave her the file number.
"That's an archived development file," she said. "Some of those records were transferred to storage."
"Can I request it?"
"You can submit a formal request."
"How long will that take?"
"Several weeks."
"I need it today."
She gave me a tired smile.
"Then you should have requested it several weeks ago."
I placed the photograph from my truck on the counter.
"I think someone is trying to prevent me from accessing this file."
Her expression changed slightly.
"Why?"
"Because it concerns an underground water chamber on my property. A chamber that may have been improperly sealed."