Richard was still outside.
He called my phone.
I answered on speaker, with Vesna and her attorney present.
“Claire,” he said, his voice unnaturally calm, “I want you to open the door.”
“No.”
“You are making a serious mistake.”
“Then explain what you want.”
He exhaled sharply.
“I need the documents in the home office. The original records. Give them to me, and this will all be over.”
Vesna went pale.
I looked at her.
Then I looked at the phone.
“What documents, Richard?”
He said nothing.
“Are they the documents that prove where the money went?”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“Are they the documents that connect you to Adrian Vale?”
A long silence followed.
Then Richard said, very softly, “Who told you that name?”
I felt my pulse in my throat.
“You just did.”
He ended the call.
Outside, the two men returned to the SUV.
Richard remained on the front step, staring at the door.
