Rachel followed Miriam home after the gathering ended.
They walked on opposite sides of the sidewalk until they reached the corner.
“You should turn over the archive to the detective,” Rachel said.
“Dana took the originals.”
“Do you have copies?”
“Some.”
“Then give them to him.”
Miriam stopped beneath a streetlamp.
“You think I’m hiding something else.”
“I think you keep deciding what people deserve to know.”
Miriam flinched.
“That’s fair.”
“It isn’t about being fair to you.”
Rachel moved closer.
“I let strangers rehearse in my building because they showed me professional references. You trusted your niece because you loved the theater you built together.”
“I did.”
“Now we have to stop acting as if our good intentions protect anyone.”
Miriam stared at the cracked pavement.
“The copies are in a cabinet at my house.”
“Call Chen tonight.”
“I will.”
Rachel waited until Miriam took out her phone and dialed.
CHAPTER SEVEN — THE THIRD ADULT
The consultant was identified through interviews and a hotel registration.
His name was Grant Voss, and he had once operated an unsuccessful talent-marketing company in another state.
He had no current affiliation with any recognized acting agency.
Dana had presented him to the children as a man who could place them in national productions.
When police questioned him, he claimed the whole episode was a misunderstanding about rehearsal discipline.
He admitted leaving Iris at the bus terminal but insisted that she had asked to be dropped there.
Iris’s mother publicly disputed that claim.
Dana’s lawyer requested that the investigation remain confidential until formal charges could be considered.
Rachel received no notice of an arrest.
Instead, she received a letter threatening civil action if she repeated accusations against the company she had rented to.
Rachel sent the letter to an attorney and declined to respond directly.
Her greatest surprise arrived on a Thursday afternoon.
A man in a charcoal coat knocked on her front door and introduced himself as Martin Rusk.
He was Dana’s older brother.
“I’d like to speak about the rental agreement,” he said.
“My attorney handles that,” Rachel answered.
“I’m not here to argue about the contract.”
He held up an ordinary paper shopping bag.
“I’m here because I helped move the chairs into your building.”
Rachel kept the screen door locked.
“Did you know what was happening?”
“I knew Dana was trying to reopen the coaching business.”
“Did you know teenagers were being threatened?”
Martin looked at his shoes.
“I heard her speak harshly to an applicant once.”
“That’s a very careful answer.”
“I’m trying not to lie.”
Rachel considered closing the door.
“Then say what you came to say.”
Martin pulled a small metal object from the bag.
It was a spare hasp and a brass padlock.
“Dana asked me to install these on the front door,” he said.
Rachel stared at the hardware.
“When?”
“The morning before the police came.”
“Why would she want a padlock on a room full of children?”
“She told me the building had been entered by neighborhood teenagers.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I believed she wanted her equipment secure.”
“Was the room occupied when you installed it?”
“No.”
Rachel thought of the lock the fire crew had cut away.
“Did you provide the lock that was used that night?”
Martin nodded.
“I did.”
“Then tell the police.”
“I have an appointment with Detective Chen tomorrow.”
Rachel looked at the shopping bag again.
“Why come here first?”
Martin’s expression changed.
“My daughter auditioned for Dana two years ago.”
“What happened to her?”
“She quit theater afterward.”
He held the bag against his chest.
“I spent two years telling myself she was too sensitive for the business.”
“What does she say now?”
“She says I should have believed her.”
Rachel could not think of anything comforting to offer.
“You should listen to her,” she said.
Martin nodded.
He placed the bag beside the porch and left without asking to enter.
Rachel photographed the hardware in place and told Chen it was there.
