I understand you've been looking for me." A pause.
"I'd like to talk before the detective does.
There are things you don't know yet.
Things about your father's letter that weren't in the envelope."
Chapter 7: What Gerald Pruitt Carried
Nathan told Grace to stay in Daniel's office.
She argued for thirty seconds, then looked at Lily and stopped arguing.
Gerald Pruitt was waiting at a coffee shop two blocks away.
He was a compact man in his early forties with the kind of careful stillness that comes from years of watching other people without being watched back.
He had a paper cup in front of him that he hadn't touched.
Nathan sat down across from him.
"You called me," Nathan said.
"Talk."
Pruitt looked at his hands.
"I delivered that letter to Grace Calloway five years ago.
I want to be clear that I knew what it was.
I knew it was fabricated.
I was paid by Edward Hartwell directly, in cash, and I was told that if I ever disclosed the arrangement, he would ensure I faced criminal charges for a separate matter involving a former client." He paused.
"That separate matter was also fabricated.
He had documentation prepared.
He keeps documentation prepared for everyone who works for him."
"He blackmailed you into silence."
"Yes."
"And now?"
Pruitt reached into his jacket and produced a small USB drive.
He set it on the table between them.
"I've been recording my interactions with Edward Hartwell for the past two years," he said.
"Audio.
Some video.
I didn't know when I'd need it.
I knew I would eventually."
Nathan looked at the drive.
He didn't touch it.
"Why are you doing this now?" he said.
"Why today?"
Pruitt was quiet for a moment.
"Yesterday morning, Hartwell called me into his office.
He told me that the situation with Grace Calloway had become unmanageable and that it needed to be resolved permanently." He looked up.
"He didn't use those exact words.
He never does.
But I've worked for him long enough to understand what he means."
Nathan kept his face still.
"He wanted you to—"
"He wanted the problem to disappear," Pruitt said.
"I told him I would handle it.
Then I called you."
"You could be lying," Nathan said.
"This could be a move to get inside our case."
"Yes," Pruitt said.
"It could be.
You'll have to decide." He pushed the USB drive an inch closer.
"But I'll tell you what's on that drive.
There are eleven recordings.
Three of them are conversations between Hartwell and your father from the year before your father died.
Your father was trying to get out of the agreement.
He told Hartwell he'd made a mistake.
He said he wanted to find Grace and tell you the truth." Pruitt paused.
"Hartwell told him that if he did, he would release information that would destroy the Cole Group's stock value within forty-eight hours.
He had fabricated financial records.
Your father believed him."
Nathan stared at the drive.
"My father tried to undo it," he said.
"He tried for eight months.
Hartwell blocked every move." Pruitt's voice was flat, factual.
"The letter your father left you — the one in the envelope — he wrote it because he knew he was running out of time.
He was ill.
He didn't think he had another year." He paused.
"He was right."
Nathan picked up the drive.
"I'm taking this to Detective Reyes," he said.
"If it's what you say it is, you'll be treated as a cooperating witness.
If it's not—"
"I know," Pruitt said.
"I'm prepared for either."
Nathan stood.
Then he stopped.