Michael glanced at the briefcase.
"You found it."
Daniel studied him.
"How did you know we were here?"
Michael did not answer.
Instead, he looked at Richard.
"Are you Richard Hayes?"
Richard nodded cautiously.
"Yes."
Michael's expression hardened.
"You signed the report that convinced my wife and me to invest."
Richard looked stunned.
"I never approved the report you received."
"Your name was on it."
"I know."
"My wife trusted it."
Richard had no immediate response.
Michael took another step forward.
"She worked for thirty-five years. She saved money every month. We were planning to help our daughter buy a house."
His voice trembled.
"Now we don't know whether we'll be able to keep our own."
Richard lowered his head.
"I am sorry."
Michael laughed bitterly.
"Sorry doesn't pay the bills."
"No," Richard replied. "It doesn't."
Michael looked surprised by the answer.
He had expected excuses.
He had expected Richard to explain that the matter was complicated, that the documents had been misunderstood, or that the investors should have known the risks.
Instead, Richard stood silently and accepted the accusation.
Michael's anger did not disappear.
But for the first time, he believed that Richard might actually understand the damage that had been done.
Daniel stepped between them.
"Michael, we need to get these documents to the investigators. Whatever happened, we cannot resolve it here."
Michael looked at the briefcase.
"That case contains more than the financial records."
Daniel turned toward him.
"What do you mean?"
Michael reached into his coat and removed a small envelope.
"I found this in the office of the former warehouse manager."
He handed it to Daniel.
Inside was a printed email from Victor Kane.
The message had been sent two days earlier.
It contained a single instruction:
Make sure the original records never reach the investigators.
Below the message was a second line.
If Hayes refuses to cooperate, use the alternative arrangement.
Daniel read the email twice.
Then he looked toward the entrance.
Michael followed his gaze.
The figure outside had disappeared.
Chapter 8: The Briefcase Was Never the Whole Story
Daniel opened the remaining folder.
Inside were several documents he had not examined before.
One was a list of payments made to individuals who had never appeared in the company's public records. Another was a schedule showing when several financial reports had been revised.
The dates were important.
The reports had been altered shortly before meetings with investors.
The original versions contained warnings about the project's financial condition.
The revised versions described the same projects as stable and profitable.
Richard examined the pages.
"This one is mine," he said.
Daniel looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
Richard pointed to the bottom corner.
"I use a specific reference code for every report. This is the original version."
He compared it with another document.
"And this is the revised version. Someone removed the section about the project's outstanding liabilities."
Daniel leaned closer.
"Can you prove when the change was made?"
Richard nodded slowly.
"My company retains the original electronic files. The document history should show which version was submitted and when."
"Would it also show who altered the revised copy?"
"If the file was edited electronically, possibly. But we would need the original systems and proper technical examination."
Daniel considered the answer.
That was the evidence they needed.
Not a confession obtained in a warehouse.
Not a threatening message.
A verifiable record showing how the documents had changed and who had handled them.
He photographed the pages and carefully recorded the document references.
Then he looked at Michael.
"Why did you bring that email here instead of giving it to the investigators?"
Michael's face tightened.
"Because I didn't trust anyone anymore."
Daniel waited.
Michael explained that he had contacted a former employee who promised to help him obtain internal records. The employee told him that Victor's office had retained copies of emails that contradicted the company's public statements.
Michael agreed to meet the employee.
But when he arrived, the person was gone.
Instead, Michael found the envelope.
He had taken it home, uncertain whether it was genuine or whether someone was trying to use him.
Then he received an anonymous message telling him that the original records would be transferred that night.
The message included the warehouse address.
Michael had come to see whether the information was real.
Daniel looked at him carefully.
"Who sent the message?"
"I don't know."
"Did you reply?"
"No."
"Did you tell anyone you were coming?"
Michael shook his head.
Daniel closed the briefcase.
"Then someone wanted all three of us in the same place."
Richard looked toward the entrance.
"Victor."
"Possibly," Daniel replied. "But we need to know who else is involved."
Michael rubbed his forehead.
"I just wanted my money back."
Daniel's expression softened.
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Michael's voice rose.
"You get to go home after the investigation. You get to write reports and tell people that the evidence is being reviewed. My wife has to sit at our kitchen table and figure out which bills we can pay."
Daniel did not interrupt.
Michael continued.
"I spent my entire life believing that if I worked hard, saved money, and followed the rules, I would have something to show for it. Then a man in an expensive suit told me that my money was safe, and I believed him."