Chapter 4 - The Audit of Betrayal
By 9:00 the next morning, I was sitting in a gray interrogation room at the Portland Police Bureau. Investigator Reyes sat across from me, a paper cup of coffee between his hands, while a detective named Miller reviewed the printouts from the Calder Environmental warehouse log.
"Your mother didn't just copy the key, Claire," Detective Miller said, turning a page. "She used her old corporate access code to override the hazardous material tracking system. The warehouse manager confirmed that a woman matching your mother's description picked up the kerosene drums personally in a silver Mercedes."
"That's her car," I said, my hands flat on the metal table. "She didn't even try to hide it. She thought because I was 'just a drama queen' to her, nobody would take my claims seriously."
"Arrogance is the best asset a criminal investigator has," Reyes said, leaning forward. "The lab finished analyzing the timer mechanism we pulled from your bedroom wall. It was a standard digital smart-plug configured to spark an old space heater left near the kerosene-soaked bins. The command came from an IP address registered to a cellular hotspot located in Cannon Beach."
"She sat in her beach house and watched the sunset while she pressed 'turn on' on her phone," I said, a wave of nausea hitting my stomach. "She could have killed Mrs. Alvarez. She could have killed anyone in that building."
"We've already secured an arrest warrant from a Multnomah County judge," Miller said, standing up. "Arson in the first degree, reckless endangerment, and insurance fraud, considering she also filed an emergency claim against your renter’s policy using a forged power of attorney signature this morning."
"She did what?"
"She tried to claim the payout, Claire," Reyes explained, his face hardening. "She listed herself as the primary beneficiary under a modified declaration page she submitted to your insurance provider last month. She wanted the house, she wanted your memories gone, and she wanted the cash from the ashes."
"Let me go with you," I said, looking Miller in the eye. "When you arrest her. I want her to see me standing there when the cuffs go on."
May you like
Miller hesitated, looking at Reyes.
"She’s the primary victim and the corporate officer who provided the tracking data," Reyes said softly. "Let her sit in the secondary vehicle. She deserves to see the end of the match."
