Chapter 4 - THE CALL FROM A DEAD MAN
Nora Kim called Claire the next morning.
“I heard about the funeral.”
Claire sat on the edge of Ethan's side of the bed.
“You worked with him.”
“For nine years.”
Nora was Ethan's operations manager at Carter Architectural Works.
Not Robert's company exactly.
A smaller design-and-restoration business Ethan had spun out six years earlier.
Claire knew Nora.
Liked her.
Had not thought to call.
“I need to ask you something strange.”
“The call?”
Claire went still.
“You know about it.”
“I built the schedule.”
That was the first clean answer Claire had received in a week.
Nora explained.
Ethan's office used a cloud phone system.
Sales reminders.
Appointment calls.
Recorded outbound messages for vendors.
Nothing exotic.
Three days before his death, Ethan asked Nora how to schedule a recorded call.
“To Margaret?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He didn't tell me.”
“What was in it?”
Nora hesitated.
“I never listened.”
“Can you?”
“Partly.”
Ethan recorded the message himself through the office app.
Scheduled it for Thanksgiving Day at 10:30 a.m.
Claire frowned.
“The funeral wasn't supposed to be Thanksgiving.”
“No.”
The funeral had been moved one day because Robert wanted family in town.
So the call had not been theatrically scheduled for his own funeral.
That mattered.
It had been intended for today regardless.
“Why Thanksgiving?”
“I assumed he expected his parents would be together.”
That sounded like Ethan.
If he wanted to force a family conversation, holiday timing was exactly rude enough.
Nora continued.
“The system tried Margaret three times because she didn't answer.”
“Then at the funeral.”
“Yes.”
“Can you send me the recording?”
“I can send it to the estate attorney once authority is confirmed.”
Good.
No casual dumping of business records because Claire sounded upset.
“What about the rest?”
Nora went quiet.
“What?”
“Robert stopped the call after Ethan said, ‘I didn't cancel the call.’”
“I know.”
“You've heard it.”
“After he died.”
Claire stood.
“What does it say?”
Nora took a breath.
“Not everything is there anymore.”
Claire's skin prickled.
“What does that mean?”
“The recording file was edited.”
“When?”
“Saturday.”
The day after Ethan died.
“By who?”
“I don't know yet.”
Office admin logs showed someone accessed the cloud phone account using Ethan's administrator credentials.
Saturday at 6:13 a.m.
A segment of the recording had been deleted.
Not the whole message.
Only the middle.
Nora had preserved the server after noticing unusual access.
“What remains?”
A beginning.
An ending.
Nora read the transcript.
Mom, if you're hearing this, I didn't cancel the call. I need you to stop letting Dad pretend Northfield is just property.
Then a missing segment.
Then:
Claire gets the blue file. If he sells before she sees it, call Sofia Alvarez. She already knows enough.
Claire sat down again.
“Sofia Alvarez.”
“You know her?”
“No.”
“I didn't either.”
Nora had searched.
Thirty-five.
Springfield.
Civil engineer.
Daughter of Thomas Alvarez.
The name meant nothing to Claire.
Then Nora said:
“Ethan had another folder on the server.”
“What?”
“Northfield.”
“Can I see it?”
“Not without legal authorization.”
“Nora.”
“I know.”
Claire heard the firmness.
She appreciated it, even while hating it.
Then Nora added:
“Robert came to the office Monday.”
“What for?”
“He asked me to wipe Ethan's personal project folders once probate was opened.”
Claire went cold.
“What did you say?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan died at a property tied to one of those folders.”
Supporting character acting.
Good.
Claire whispered:
“Did Robert know about the scheduled call?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he know Ethan's admin password?”
Nora took too long.
“Possibly.”
“How?”
“Robert originally helped set up the system years ago.”
Claire looked toward the doorway of her bedroom.
Margaret stood there.
Claire had not heard her come in.
She was holding Ethan's funeral portrait under one arm because the funeral home had sent family items back.
Margaret had heard enough.
Claire lowered the phone.
“Did Robert delete the recording?”
Margaret's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
Claire stood.
“Stop saying that when what you mean is you don't want to answer.”
Margaret stared at the floor.
May you like
Then:
“I know who Sofia Alvarez is.”
