Chapter 4 - THE FIRST FOLDER
The first folder was not a murder confession.
It was accounting.
Of course.
Mara had spent her final weeks building spreadsheets.
Vendor invoices.
Bank transfers.
Internal approvals.
A shell company called Bellbird Packaging.
Lark & Thread paid Bellbird approximately $1.46 million over twenty-two months.
For:
Boxes.
Freight coordination.
Seasonal storage.
Imported packaging.
Were the services fake?
Some existed.
The warehouse address existed.
Boxes had been delivered.
That was the problem with real fraud.
It often sits beside real business.
Bellbird’s registered owner was a man named Owen Trask.
I had never heard of him.
Celestine had.
Emails showed she recommended Bellbird.
Approved several emergency invoices.
Nothing inherently criminal.
Then Mara’s private notes.
Bellbird actual market estimate: 35–42% lower.
Who benefits?
C.R.?
Celestine Rowan.
Her surname.
My stomach tightened.
Detective Ellis stopped me.
“That is Mara’s question, not proof.”
“I know.”
I did know.
I hated knowing.
A second spreadsheet traced money from Bellbird to a consulting LLC.
Silver Row Advisory.
Owner hidden behind registered agent.
Mara suspected Celestine.
Still not confirmed.
Then voice files.
Twenty-three.
The forensic analyst would not play all.
Chain of custody.
Authentication.
Relevant warrants still pending.
One file had already been reviewed because its filename mentioned Celestine directly.
MARA_CEL_KITCHEN_08-14.
Three minutes eleven seconds.
Detective Ellis warned:
“This is a copy. We are still validating metadata and whether recording was lawful under the jurisdiction.”
“Play it.”
Mara’s voice filled the room.
Alive.
I nearly stopped breathing.
You approved Bellbird again.
Celestine:
Because they solved the shortage.
Mara:
At forty percent above market?
Celestine:
That’s not your department.
Mara laughed.
My company isn’t my department?
Then silence.
Celestine:
Lower your voice.
Mara:
Tell me who owns Silver Row.
Celestine:
I don’t know.
Mara:
You’re lying.
The recording ended there.
Not enough.
Nothing about the crash.
Nothing about murder.
But Celestine knew Mara was investigating her.
Weeks before Mara died.
Why had Celestine never told me?
Her lawyer answered later.
Because Mara’s suspicions were wrong and emotionally volatile during a stressful business period.
Maybe.
We did not know yet.
Another file showed a photograph of a service invoice for Mara’s car.
Three days before her death.
Brake inspection.
Fluid flush.
Rear caliper check.
I stared.
Celestine told me Mara never took the car in.
She had.
The shop record existed.
Detective Ellis reopened the old accident file for review.
Not homicide.
Review.
Important.
The original inspection had assumed neglected maintenance partly because no recent service documentation was found.
Now there was documentation.
Did that prove sabotage?
No.
Cars fail after service.
Service can be incompetent.
Records can be false.
But the old conclusion became weaker.
Then Daniel called me aside.
“Celestine filed for a restraining order.”
“Against me?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the slap?”
“And what she describes as escalating accusations.”
“I haven’t contacted her.”
“Good.”
The court issued a temporary no-contact arrangement pending hearing.
I complied.
Correct.
I had hit her.
Her own conduct did not erase her right not to be hit again.
The hearing would matter.
So would Poppy’s safety order.
Separate.
Then Detective Ellis found something in the USB directory.
Not opened yet.
A folder named:
CAR.
Inside:
Nine files.
One of them:
CEL GARAGE.
The analyst clicked only to confirm format.
Video.
Timestamp:
May you like
Two nights before Mara’s crash.
And the thumbnail showed Celestine standing in my garage.
