Chapter 5 - THE LEDGER BENEATH SAINT JOSEPH
St. Joseph’s Church had closed two years earlier.
The parish merged with another congregation after the roof became too expensive to repair.
Emily had not been inside since her mother’s funeral.
Walking through the side entrance felt like stepping into a life that belonged to someone else.
Dust covered the pews.
Plastic sheeting hung beneath cracked plaster.
Adrian walked behind her.
Nico stayed near the door with two federal investigators.
Emily approached the statue of Saint Joseph near the rear alcove.
“Mom kept Christmas money here?”
Adrian asked.
“Not literally.”
She knelt.
“There was a donation box.”
He looked toward the rusted metal slot.
“You stole church money?”
“I was nine.”
“That is not a denial.”
Emily almost smiled.
“My mother volunteered here. Father Brennan let her use an old lockbox in the sacristy because my dad had a gambling problem.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Danny knew?”
“We both did.”
She entered the sacristy.
Old vestments.
Cabinets.
A wooden desk.
On the wall hung a faded painting of the Virgin Mary.
Emily moved it.
Behind it was a small recessed safe.
Adrian looked impressed.
“Your mother was more interesting than you implied.”
“She raised two kids with no money and one terrible husband. She was terrifying.”
Emily entered the combination.
2146.
Danny’s birthday.
Her own month.
The lock opened.
Inside sat an envelope.
A black ledger.
And an old flip phone.
Emily covered her mouth.
Adrian did not touch anything.
Federal agents photographed everything.
The ledger contained years of payments.
Names.
Dates.
Shipping routes.
Leo Vance.
Paul Harris.
Victor Saye.
Three Mercer employees.
Two Calder lieutenants.
A customs officer.
And one name Adrian did not expect.
Richard Mercer.
His uncle.
Adrian stared.
Emily saw his face.
“Who is that?”
“My father’s brother.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Close to you?”
Adrian laughed without humor.
“Unfortunately.”
Richard Mercer had helped raise Adrian after his father was killed.
He had taught him business.
Weapons.
Negotiation.
How to identify a tail.
How to never sit with his back to a door.
He had also been the loudest voice telling Adrian not to investigate Michael’s murder too deeply.
Street war. Random retaliation. Move on.
Adrian had believed him.
The ledger showed Richard received $2.4 million from Calder-connected companies over five years.
Payment notes referenced:
MERCER ROUTES.
PORT ACCESS.
SUCCESSION.
Adrian stared at the last word.
Emily asked, “Succession?”
Nico looked sick.
“If Adrian dies without children, Richard controls a huge piece of the family trust.”
Emily looked between them.
“So the ambush last night…”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“May have been about more than old records.”
They powered on Danny’s flip phone.
One saved audio file.
No contacts.
No messages.
Only a recording.
Danny’s voice.
Emily stopped breathing.
She had not heard him in three years.
“Okay.”
His voice crackled.
“If this is the one that survives, I need whoever finds it to understand.”
Emily sat on the floor.
Adrian remained beside her.
Danny continued.
“Leo Vance is selling Mercer shipping schedules to Calder.”
A pause.
“Richard Mercer is running it.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Detective Harris cleans up police problems.”
Emily began crying.
“Michael Serra found the same thing from Adrian’s side.”
Then:
“We were supposed to meet.”
Danny breathed shakily.
“I think they know.”
Emily whispered, “Danny.”
The recording continued.
“I’m sending Emily away if I can.”
She covered her mouth.
“She doesn’t know any of this. Leave her out of it.”
Adrian looked at her.
Danny’s voice softened.
“Em, if somehow you hear this, I’m sorry.”
She bent forward.
“I told you I could fix everything.”
A broken laugh.
“I could never fix the toaster, so I don’t know why I thought organized crime would be easier.”
Emily laughed through tears.
Adrian looked away, giving her privacy.
Danny continued.
“I love you.”
Then the final part changed everything.
“If I don’t make it, Michael said Adrian Mercer isn’t like Richard.”
Adrian froze.
“He said Adrian will be furious, but he’ll want the truth.”
A pause.
“So if you ever have no other choice…”
Danny breathed.
“Find Mercer.”
The recording ended.
Emily stared at the dead phone.
Three years.
She had spent three years hiding from Adrian Mercer’s world.
And Danny’s last plan had been to send her directly into it.
Adrian sat beside her.
For several minutes, he said nothing.
Finally Emily whispered:
“You were supposed to help him.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
She hated how true that was.
Adrian’s voice became rough.
“Michael died before he could tell me.”
“And Danny died before he could reach you.”
“Yes.”
They sat in the dust of an abandoned church with the dead between them.
Nico eventually approached.
“We have enough to arrest Harris.”
Adrian stood.
“And Leo.”
“Yes.”
“Richard?”
“Enough for federal charges if the financial records verify.”
Adrian looked at the ledger.
“No arrest yet.”
Emily stared.
“Again?”
He turned.
“If Richard knows we found this, he disappears.”
“Then what?”
Adrian’s eyes became cold.
“We make him think Danny’s ledger is still missing.”
Nico understood.
“Use Leo.”
Emily frowned.
“Use him how?”
Adrian looked toward the church doors.
“We let Leo know Saye found the wrong garage.”
“And?”
“We tell him Emily remembers Danny hiding something somewhere else.”
Emily stood.
“No.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Absolutely not.”
“You would not be exposed.”
“You just described using me as bait.”
“No. I described using information about you as bait.”
“That distinction is doing a lot of work.”
Nico looked down.
Adrian almost smiled.
Then his expression softened.
“You’re right.”
Emily blinked.
“I am?”
“You do not participate unless you choose.”
That surprised her.
He continued.
“Your brother died because men around me believed other people could be moved like pieces.”
Adrian looked at Danny’s phone.
“I’m not doing that to you.”
Silence.
Emily stared at him.
“What if I choose?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“I would prefer you didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Saye already knows your face.”
“That didn’t stop you bringing me into your house.”
“That was protection.”
“Maybe I’m done hiding.”
The words surprised even her.
Adrian studied her.
Emily looked around the abandoned church.
Her mother’s safe.
Danny’s voice.
Three years of false names.
Three years of jumping when strangers stared too long.
“They took my brother.”
Her voice steadied.
“Then they took my name.”
Adrian said nothing.
“They got three years.”
She looked directly at him.
“That’s enough.”
Adrian held her gaze.
Then nodded once.
“Fine.”
But before they could leave, Nico’s phone buzzed.
He read the message.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Adrian asked.
Nico showed him.
Leo Vance had vanished.
And so had Richard Mercer.
Twenty minutes later, another message arrived.
This one to Emily.
A photograph.
Marcus Reed.
The cook from the Blue Anchor.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
Underneath:
BRING THE LEDGER OR THE DINER COOK DIES FOR HER.
Emily went white.
Adrian’s face became deadly still.
The game had changed again.
Now innocent people were being pulled into it.
And this time Emily knew exactly what Danny would have done.
He would have tried to save everyone.
She looked at Adrian.
“We’re going.”
He answered:
“Yes.”
But his eyes said something worse.
May you like
This time, nobody would be walking into the trap unprepared.
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