Chapter 2 - THE NAME THAT CHANGED HIS FACE
Cora did not move.
Voss heard the hesitation.
"Miss Hayes."
"Yes?"
"Close the door."
She crossed the room and turned the lock.
When she returned, he was sitting perfectly still.
"How old was your brother?"
"Twenty-nine."
"Where did he work?"
Cora swallowed.
"Harbor maintenance. Sometimes private contracts."
Voss's jaw tightened.
"Which harbor?"
"Red Hook."
His fingers stopped drumming.
Cora watched his expression.
"You knew him."
Voss said nothing.
She took a step closer.
"Mr. Voss."
His voice came quietly.
"Your brother saved my life."
Cora stared.
"What?"
"Three years ago. Warehouse fire. Pier Seventeen."
Her stomach dropped.
Daniel had died after a warehouse explosion.
The official report called it an industrial accident.
A gas leak.
A structural collapse.
No criminal wrongdoing.
Cora had never believed it.
"Daniel was there?" she whispered.
Voss nodded.
"He pulled me out."
She looked at the scar on his face.
"The fire blinded you."
"Yes."
Her throat tightened.
"Then why didn't anyone tell me?"
Voss turned his face toward the window.
"Because I was told your brother died before I regained consciousness."
Cora felt cold.
"Who told you?"
A pause.
Then:
"Rourke."
The name hung between them.
Cora looked toward the locked door.
Rourke had been the first person she met that morning.
The man who told her not to touch anything.
Not to ask questions.
Not to move the photograph.
She looked back at Voss.
"What's in the picture?"
His expression hardened.
"Something I don't want to remember."
May you like
Cora took a breath.
"Then maybe it's time you did."
