Mason read the article again.
Then he opened the second page of Margaret's notes.
There was a line written near the bottom.
Samuel ordered the warehouse cleared before the fire. William argued with him. I heard them. William said there were records inside that could not be replaced. Samuel said records were only dangerous when people knew where to look.
Mason felt his pulse quicken.
The warehouse fire had not been an accident.
At least, Margaret had believed it was not.
"Arthur, look at this."
Arthur read the sentence.
"That explains why William was angry."
"Maybe the records were connected to the attack on my father."
"Or the original operation."
Mason opened a new document and typed the names.
Samuel Price.
Elliot Crane.
Northbridge Freight.
Meridian Protection.
Warehouse fire, November 1986.
He paused.
There was one more line on Margaret's page.
Samuel kept a second set of records. He said he never trusted William to remember what they had agreed.
Mason leaned back.
"A second set."
Arthur nodded.
"Which means he may have kept copies of everything."
"Payments. Names. Orders. Maybe the attack."
"Maybe."
Mason looked at the photograph again.
"Then we need to find Elliot Crane."
Elliot Crane lived in a retirement community outside Millbrook.
He was eighty-seven years old, a former accountant, and a widower. His public records showed no criminal convictions. He had worked for several small companies before retiring in 1998.
Mason and Arthur drove there two days later.
They did not go unannounced.
Mason had learned enough about the investigation to understand that approaching an elderly witness with half a story and a folder of accusations could close a door before it had opened.
He called the community director first and explained that they were trying to locate a former business associate of Samuel Price.
The director arranged a meeting.
Crane received them in a small apartment overlooking a courtyard.
He was thinner than the man in the photograph, but his eyes were sharp.
When Mason introduced himself, Crane's expression changed.
"William Cole's grandson."
"Yes."
"I wondered when someone would come."
Mason sat down.
"You knew my grandfather?"
"I worked with him."
"Did you know Samuel Price?"
Crane gave a small, humorless smile.
"I knew him better than I wanted to."
Arthur leaned forward.
"What was he like?"
"Patient. Polite. Extremely dangerous."
Mason exchanged a glance with Arthur.
"Why dangerous?"
"Because he rarely needed to threaten anyone. He made people believe they had already agreed to do what he wanted."
Mason placed the photograph on the table.
"Is this him?"
Crane examined it.
"Yes."
"Do you know whether he's alive?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know where he lived?"
"He never had one address for long. He owned properties through companies. Sometimes he stayed in hotels. Sometimes he used houses belonging to people who owed him favors."
"Did he have family?"
Crane shook his head.
"Not that I knew of."
"Was he involved in the attack on my father?"
The old man's fingers tightened around the armrest.
For a moment, he seemed to be deciding whether to stand.
Then he looked at Mason.
"Your father was not supposed to be attacked."
Mason's jaw tightened.
"Who arranged it?"
"Samuel."
"Why?"
"Because your grandfather asked him to stop your father from exposing the company."
"Did William know violence would be used?"
Crane looked down.
"I wasn't there when the instructions were given. I only know what happened afterward."
"Tell me."
"Samuel called me the morning after. He wanted me to prepare a payment record. The money was to be transferred through a security contractor. He said the work had become more complicated than expected."
"Did he say my father had been hurt?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Crane swallowed.
"He said the boy had been stubborn."
Mason felt his hands clench.
"My father was not a boy."
"Samuel used that word. He said your father had acted like a child who didn't understand the consequences of disobedience."
Arthur's voice was low.
"Did you help him?"
Crane nodded.
"I prepared the transfer."
Mason looked at him.
"You paid the men who attacked my father?"
"I prepared the paperwork. I did not meet them. But yes, I helped move the money."
"Why?"
Crane looked toward the window.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of Samuel?"
"Of losing everything. I had a wife, two children, a mortgage. I told myself I was only an accountant. I told myself that if I refused, someone else would do it."
Mason had heard that explanation before.
It did not make the consequences smaller.
"Do you still have the records?"
Crane's eyes returned to him.
"No."
"Do you know where they are?"
"I destroyed most of them."
"Most?"
The old man did not answer.
Mason waited.
Finally, Crane stood with visible effort and walked to a cabinet.
He opened a drawer and removed a small metal box.
Inside were several envelopes, a notebook, and a photograph.
He returned to the table.
"I kept these because I thought one day someone would need to know."
Mason looked at the notebook.
"What's in it?"
"Payments. Dates. Names. Not everything, but enough to prove that the attack was arranged through Samuel's company."
Mason opened the cover.
The first page contained a list of dates.
The second contained a series of numbers and initials.
On the third page, one name appeared in full.
Samuel Price.
Beneath it was another.
William Cole.
And beside the two names, in Crane's handwriting, were the words:
Authorization disputed.
Mason looked up.
"What does that mean?"
Crane sat down again.
"It means William tried to deny responsibility afterward."
Arthur stared at him.
"Did he?"
"Yes. He said he had authorized a warning, not an attack. Samuel told him that there was no meaningful difference once the money had been paid."
Mason looked back at the notebook.
"Was William telling the truth?"
Crane's answer came slowly.
"I don't know."
"Did he ever try to stop Samuel?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"After the attack. He came to Samuel's office and demanded that the arrangement be ended. Samuel refused. They argued. William threatened to report him."
"Why didn't he?"
Crane gave a tired smile.
"Because Samuel reminded him that his own signature was on the original agreements."
Mason felt the room grow smaller.
"William was trapped."
"By his own choices," Crane said. "Samuel had built the arrangement with him. They had both benefited. When William wanted out, Samuel made sure he could not leave without destroying himself."
Arthur looked at the old man.
"Did Samuel keep a second set of records?"
Crane's face changed.
"How do you know about that?"
Mason placed Margaret's letter on the table.
Crane read the sentence.
Then he nodded.
"Yes. He kept copies."
"Where?"