Chapter 6: The Number on the Page
Caleb read the threatening message three times.
*STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAREHOUSE FIRE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH.*
The coffee in front of him had gone cold.
Raymond stood beside the table, his phone pressed to his ear, speaking to someone Caleb couldn't hear.
“Yes, Dana, I need you to come to the flagship café,” Raymond said.
“Bring the warehouse file. The original file, not the summary the insurance company sent us.””
He listened.
“No, I'm not being dramatic. Someone has just threatened a witness to a fire that happened five years ago.””
Caleb lifted his head.
“I'm not a witness to anything official.””
Raymond covered the phone.
“You were there. You were injured. You rescued me. You may have seen something that wasn't included in the report.””
“I was a laborer, sir. I didn't know enough to understand what was happening.””
“Sometimes the person nobody listens to notices the things everyone else misses.””
Raymond returned to the call.
When he finished, he asked Caleb to forward the message to his attorney and preserve the original notification. He also told Priya to save the security footage from the entrance before the system automatically recorded over it.
Then he turned toward the office.
“Caleb, come with me.””
Caleb followed him into the small room behind the counter. Outside, customers continued ordering coffee, but the cheerful sounds of the café now seemed strangely distant.
Raymond opened a locked drawer.
Inside rested a thick brown folder, its edges worn from years of handling.
He placed it on the desk.
“The official investigation concluded that the warehouse fire started because of an electrical fault,” he said.
“The contractor accepted responsibility for inadequate maintenance. The insurance company settled my claim.””
“What wasn't included?””
Raymond opened the folder.
“A discrepancy in the contractor's final report.””
He pulled out several pages and spread them across the desk.
“The report said the electrical system had been inspected four days before the fire. It also said all temporary wiring had been approved.””
Caleb leaned closer.
“Who signed it?””
Raymond pointed to the bottom of the page.
Frank Miller.
Caleb felt his stomach tighten.
“Frank was the site supervisor.””
“You remember him?””
“Of course. He was the man who told everyone to get out.””
Raymond watched his face.
“What else do you remember?””
Caleb closed his eyes, trying to summon details from the chaos of that afternoon.
“The smoke started near the old inspection office. There was a temporary power cable running along the wall. I'd seen Frank arguing with an electrician about it earlier that week.””
“What were they arguing about?””
“I couldn't hear everything. The electrician said the breaker kept tripping. Frank told him to stop making trouble and get the equipment running.””
Raymond went still.
“Did you report it?””
“I asked Frank whether the area was safe. He told me the electrical crew had signed off on it.””
Caleb rubbed his scar.
“I didn't know there was a problem with the wiring. I just knew Frank was angry whenever anyone asked questions.””
Raymond retrieved another document.
“This report says the electrical inspection was completed by a company called Westbridge Compliance.””
Caleb shook his head.
“I've never heard of them.””
“I hadn't either. Not until after the fire. The investigator couldn't find a functioning office for the company, but the paperwork appeared legitimate.””
“Could someone have made up the company?””
“It's possible.””
Raymond's expression had become grim.
“And there's another problem. The company that employed you had been acquired by Bellstone Development Group shortly after it closed.””
Caleb looked at the project sheet on the desk.
Victoria Bell's name stared back at him.
“So Bellstone inherited the records?””
“Among other things.””
Raymond removed a faded envelope from the folder.
“Six months ago, I received this from an insurance recovery firm. They claimed the contractor's insurer had opened a case against a former employee who had allegedly caused the electrical incident.””
He handed the letter to Caleb.
Caleb recognized the reference number immediately.
It matched the number on the renovation paperwork.
He had seen the original letter in his apartment. It demanded payment for an insurance claim associated with an incident he supposedly caused. He had never filed such a claim, never worked on the warehouse's electrical system, and never received the money the letter described.
He had been too frightened of legal fees to do anything beyond mailing a brief response denying responsibility.
“I thought it was a mistake,” Caleb said.
“So did I, until I saw this.””
Raymond placed two pages beside each other.
Both carried the same case number.
One was a record of the warehouse fire. The other was a draft document associated with Bellstone's current construction project.
A phrase appeared on both.
*UNAUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE INTERVENTION.*
Caleb stared at it.
“They're trying to blame a worker for the fire.””
“Not just any worker,” Raymond replied.
“They're using your name.””
A knock sounded at the office door.
Priya stepped inside.
“Mr. Hale, there's someone asking for Caleb.””
Raymond looked up.
“Who?””
“He says his name is Frank Miller.””
Caleb stood so quickly that his chair scraped the floor.
Raymond's face hardened.
“Did you tell him we were here?””
“No. He saw Caleb through the window.””
Outside the office, Frank stood beside the counter in a dark coat. His hair had thinned, but his expression remained the same as Caleb remembered: impatience disguised as authority.
Frank approached the office doorway.
“Raymond,” he said.
“It's been a long time.””
Raymond didn't offer his hand.
“Five years, Frank.””
Frank's gaze flicked toward Caleb.
“Turner. Still working construction?””
“Sometimes.””
Frank laughed without humor.
“Good. A man should stick to what he knows.””
Caleb felt his face grow hot, but he said nothing.
Raymond closed the folder.
“What do you want?””
Frank slipped his hands into his pockets.
“I heard you're asking questions about the warehouse. Thought I'd save everyone some trouble.””
“That's considerate.””
“The fire was an accident. The report has been closed for years.””
“Then you won't mind explaining why Caleb's name appears on an insurance case he never filed.””
For the first time, Frank's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Raymond saw it.
Frank's eyes moved to the papers on the desk.
“Where did you get those?””
“From my own records.””
“You shouldn't be digging through them. You're reopening something that was already settled.””
“I have every right to investigate what happened to me.””
Frank leaned closer.
“You really want to drag an old construction accident into your business? Think about your employees. Think about your investors.””
Raymond stood.
“Are you threatening me?””
“I'm giving you advice.””
“Then let me return the favor. Get out of my café.””
Frank's jaw tightened.
“You haven't changed.””
“No,” Raymond replied.
“But I have a better memory than you seem to think.””
Frank turned toward Caleb.
“You should have stayed away from this.””
Caleb forced himself to meet his eyes.
“I didn't contact you. You came here.””
Frank's mouth tightened.
For a moment, Caleb thought the older man might strike him.
Instead, Frank stepped backward.
“This is going to get ugly,” he muttered.
Then he walked out.
Raymond immediately called his attorney again.
But Caleb remained frozen beside the desk.
He had spent five years believing that the burn on his wrist was the only thing the warehouse fire had left him.
Now he knew somebody had attached his name to a crime he hadn't committed.
And that somebody had just walked out of the café.
Raymond looked toward the window.
“Dana needs to see the original documents,” he said.
“And we need to visit the Bellstone construction site before they have time to remove anything.””
Caleb nodded slowly.
Then his phone vibrated again.
A new message appeared from the same unknown number.
This time, it contained a photograph.
It showed Caleb standing outside the café just minutes earlier.
Beneath it were six words.
*WE KNOW WHERE YOUR MOTHER IS BURIED.*
Caleb's legs nearly gave way.
Raymond caught his arm.
“Caleb? What's happened?””
Caleb turned the phone toward him.
Raymond read the message.
The color drained from his face.
Whoever had sent it wasn't merely trying to protect an old secret.
May you like
They had decided Caleb's life was worth threatening to keep it buried.
And Raymond Hale was no longer willing to let them get away with it.
