Chapter 5 - The Ledger of the DeadThey returned to the mansion at dusk.
The ledger sat on Carmine's desk.
Nobody touched it for an hour.
The book was old, but its pages had been wrapped in wax paper beneath the leather cover.
Carmine finally opened it.
The first pages contained names.
Judges.
Police officials.
Union leaders.
Dock supervisors.
Bankers.
Politicians.
Business owners.
And beneath each name were numbers.
Payments.
Dates.
Favors.
Threats.
Blackmail.
Nell stood behind him.
“I knew there was a ledger.”
“You didn't know it was this.”
“No.”
Carmine kept turning pages.
Then he stopped.
One name had been crossed out.
Silas Reed.
Beside it was written:
TRAITOR.
Benny read over his shoulder.
“Who crossed it out?”
Carmine shook his head.
“Not Emmett.”
“How do you know?”
“Different handwriting.”
Nell stepped closer.
She stared at one page.
Then suddenly grabbed the ledger.
“This name.”
Carmine looked.
Victor Marrow.
Nell's face drained.
“Who is he?”
“My father's business partner.”
“Was?”
“He disappeared after the fire.”
Benny looked at the records.
“According to this, Marrow handled payments for Calder Holdings.”
Nell whispered:
“He owned forty percent of the bakery.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought he was dead.”
Carmine turned the page.
There was a note.
MARROW KNOWS WHERE THE ORIGINAL LIST IS.
“What original list?”
Nell shook her head.
“I don't know.”
At that moment, Palmira entered.
The instant she saw the ledger, she stopped.
Carmine looked up.
“You knew.”
Palmira's face changed.
For the first time in years, Carmine saw genuine fear in his grandmother.
“Put that away.”
“No.”
“Carmine.”
“Tell me.”
Palmira closed the door.
Then she sat.
“I knew the ledger existed.”
“You knew?”
“Your father knew.”
“And Silas Reed?”
Palmira nodded.
“They worked together.”
“Against whom?”
Palmira looked at Nell.
“Against the men who built the system.”
Nell frowned.
“What system?”
Palmira spoke softly.
“Money laundering.”
Carmine leaned back.
“That's obvious.”
“Not ordinary laundering.”
Palmira's eyes were fixed on the ledger.
“They weren't moving money through businesses.”
“They were buying ownership of people.”
Judges.
Inspectors.
Police.
Bank executives.
Anyone who could close a case, open a door, erase a file, or make someone disappear.
Nell's voice shook.
“Who was behind it?”
Palmira hesitated.
“Your father's mistake was thinking there was one man.”
Carmine waited.
“There were five.”
“Names.”
“One was Silas Reed.”
“That makes four.”
Palmira looked at him.
“The fifth was your father.”
Carmine went still.
“My father?”
“He joined them to destroy them.”
Nell stared.
“That makes no sense.”
“It did to him.”
Palmira continued.
“He believed the only way to expose a network was to enter it.”
“What happened?”
“He discovered something worse.”
“What?”
Palmira looked at the ledger.
“They were using charitable foundations to buy judges and police departments. The money came from a network of companies operating along the Gulf.”
“Raven Shipping?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Palmira's voice dropped.
“The Bellweather Foundation.”
Carmine frowned.
“That's impossible. Bellweather is one of the city's biggest charities.”
“Yes.”
“They fund hospitals.”
“Yes.”
“Schools.”
“Yes.”
“Scholarships.”
Palmira nodded.
“And every year, they erase people.”
Silence.
Then the mansion lights went out.
Benny immediately drew his weapon.
A phone rang.
Nobody moved.
It rang again.
Carmine looked at Palmira.
“Whose phone?”
Palmira reached into her pocket.
The sound came from there.
She pulled out an old phone.
The screen displayed one word.
SILAS.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice came through.
“Palmira.”
She closed her eyes.
Carmine took the phone.
“Silas.”
A quiet laugh.
“You finally opened the book.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
“You burned the bakery tonight.”
“No.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I didn't burn it.”
“Then who did?”
A pause.
“Ask Eleanor what she saw that night.”
Carmine looked at Nell.
“Give me the phone.”
She took it.
“Who are you?”
The voice became softer.
“The man your father was trying to save you from.”
The call ended.
Nell dropped the phone.
Before anyone could speak, a shot came from outside.
The mansion window shattered.
Palmira collapsed.
Blood appeared on her blouse.
Carmine caught her.
“Grandmother!”
She looked at him.
She was still conscious.
“Don't trust…”
Her eyes moved toward the ledger.
“…the man with the silver cane.”
Then she passed out.
Carmine looked toward the window.
The grounds were empty.
But on the grass beneath it lay a silver coin.
Stamped with a black crown.
The same symbol on Nell's mother's note.
Carmine picked it up.
Then he noticed the date engraved on the edge.
May you like
THREE YEARS AGO.
The night the bakery burned.
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