Another involved a discussion of acquisition strategy for a manufacturing property.
The entries occurred within days of my private conversation with Daniel.
The prosecutor cautioned that calendars could contain abbreviations and shorthand that required explanation.
A meeting label was not proof that any particular recording had been played.
But the overlap justified further investigation.
I thought about Pike standing at our shop offering to protect employees while apparently knowing our doubts in advance.
His polished manners had seemed designed to keep us uncertain whether he was clever or dishonest.
Now the question was narrower.
What information had he received, and how had he received it?
Leah said those were questions a witness could answer under oath if the case reached trial.
I asked whether Pike would testify voluntarily.
She said she had no way to know.
I realized that wanting an answer did not make one available on demand.
Chapter 46: The Email Elena Saved
Elena had preserved a message from Patricia that I had never seen.
It arrived shortly after our argument and began with an offer of support.
Patricia wrote that relationships were difficult when one person refused to commit.
She suggested Elena consider whether a man who prioritized business over people could be trusted.
The message quoted a phrase Elena had spoken in our living room.
Elena had not recognized the intrusion at the time.
She thought Patricia was repeating something I had said during an ordinary neighborhood conversation.
Now she understood why the wording was so precise.
She gave the message to Sato and asked whether it might be relevant to the investigation.
Sato said it could help establish how information from inside the house was used.
Elena was angry, but her anger had a clear direction.
She said Patricia had tried to make a private disagreement look like a public judgment on our relationship.
I apologized again for doubting her.
Elena took my hand and told me the apology mattered less than what we did next.
We agreed not to let outside messages define private conversations between us.
The agreement sounded simple.
After everything that happened, it felt radical.
Chapter 47: The Hearing About Evidence
The civil court scheduled a hearing on the handling of certain evidence while the criminal investigation continued.
I sat beside Leah and listened to arguments that sounded technical but carried enormous consequences.
Patricia’s lawyer wanted restrictions on the use of some messages and recordings.
Leah argued that relevant evidence should be preserved and examined through proper procedures.
