Chapter 3 - The Red Book
Mara didn't sleep.
At 2:11 a.m., she found Daniel in the kitchen.
Chicago's feared crime boss was standing barefoot in expensive trousers, eating peanut butter from a jar.
Mara stopped.
Daniel stopped.
She pointed.
“I will never be intimidated by you again.”
“Why?”
“You're eating peanut butter with a spoon.”
“Go back to bed.”
“Absolutely not.”
Biscuit appeared.
Mara crouched.
“At least someone here has dignity.”
Biscuit immediately tried to climb into the dishwasher.
Daniel caught him.
“Clearly.”
Mara laughed.
Daniel watched her.
“What?”
“You laugh easily.”
“Most people do.”
“I don't.”
“I noticed.”
She leaned against the counter.
“Why nine years?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“My wife died the same night my father did.”
Mara's smile disappeared.
“I didn't know.”
“Most people don't.”
“What happened?”
“They were driving together. Their car was hit leaving one of my father's restaurants.”
“Martin?”
“I've spent nine years trying to prove it.”
Mara looked toward Biscuit.
“Is that why everyone acted like your laugh was a supernatural event?”
Daniel almost smiled.
“Probably.”
Mara thought about her father.
Then suddenly froze.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The photograph.”
Daniel watched her.
“My dad hated keeping important things at the bakery.”
“Where did he keep them?”
“He used to say the safest hiding place was somewhere nobody wanted to look.”
Daniel waited.
Mara whispered:
“My mother’s recipe books.”
Twenty minutes later they were driving toward her aunt's house.
Lucas came with them.
Mara's mother, Kathleen, opened the door wearing a robe.
“Mara?”
“Mom, where are Dad’s recipe books?”
Kathleen stared at Daniel behind her daughter.
“And who is that?”
“Mara—”
“Daniel Carter.”
Kathleen's eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Daniel nodded politely.
“Mrs. O’Leary.”
Kathleen looked at Mara.
“You brought Daniel Carter to my house at three in the morning?”
“Technically he brought me.”
“That is somehow worse.”
They searched boxes in the basement.
Eventually Mara found a battered cookbook.
Her father's handwriting covered the margins.
She flipped through it.
Nothing.
Then Daniel noticed something.
“The spine.”
A narrow seam ran through the binding.
Mara pulled.
The leather separated.
Inside was a tiny brass key.
Lucas stared.
“A key to what?”
Kathleen spoke from the stairs.
“Patrick’s safe-deposit box.”
Everyone turned.
“You knew?” Mara asked.
“I knew there was a box. I didn't know where the key was.”
“Which bank?”
Kathleen answered.
“Lakeview Community.”
The same bank that had destroyed the bakery.
By morning, Daniel's lawyers had secured access.
Inside the box sat a red leather ledger.
And a sealed envelope.
Mara opened it.
The letter was addressed to her.
If you're reading this, Martin came back.
Mara's hands trembled.
Daniel stood beside her.
She continued.
Her father had discovered that Martin was laundering money through neighborhood businesses, including the bakery.
When Patrick confronted him, Martin threatened the family.
Patrick secretly copied records.
Then came the final sentence.
Martin didn't work alone.
Beneath it was a name.
Mara read it aloud.
“Lucas Reed.”
Silence.
Daniel slowly turned.
Lucas was standing behind them.
His pistol was already in his hand.
“Put the ledger down.”
Mara froze.
Daniel's voice became frighteningly calm.
“Lucas.”
“Don't.”
“Nine years.”
Lucas's jaw tightened.
“Your father was going to destroy everything.”
“You killed him?”
“Voss ordered it.”
“My wife?”
Lucas looked away.
“She wasn't supposed to be in the car.”
Daniel moved.
Lucas aimed.
Mara grabbed the red ledger and threw it directly into his face.
“Run!”
Daniel struck Lucas's wrist.
The weapon skidded beneath a table.
Security rushed through the door.
Within seconds, Lucas was on the floor.
Daniel stood above the man he had trusted for fourteen years.
Lucas laughed bitterly.
“You really think this ends with me?”
Daniel stared down.
“No.”
Lucas smiled.
“Voss knows she found the ledger.”
Daniel looked at Mara.
Lucas continued.
May you like
“And now he's coming for her.”
---
