Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH BENEATH NORTH PIER
The old North Pier terminal had been abandoned for years.
Its warehouses stood empty.
Its cranes rusted against the skyline.
But the records June uncovered revealed that the property had been transferred through a chain of companies after Michael Kincaid's death.
Several transfers were suspicious.
Some signatures were disputed.
And Warren Crowe's name appeared repeatedly.
Investigators located a former accountant named Peter Walsh.
He had worked for Michael Kincaid.
After the fire, he'd disappeared from Chicago's business community.
Now he lived quietly in Wisconsin.
Peter agreed to speak.
Elias, Avery, and their attorneys attended the meeting.
Peter looked older than his photographs.
He sat beside a window holding a cup of tea.
“Michael was going to expose Warren,” he said.
Elias went still.
“For what?”
“Financial fraud.”
Peter looked down.
“Warren had been moving money through companies Michael didn't control.”
Elias swallowed.
“And my father found out?”
Peter nodded.
“He planned to confront him.”
Avery leaned forward.
“What happened?”
Peter closed his eyes.
“The fire.”
Silence.
Then Elias whispered, “Was it murder?”
Peter looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Elias's jaw tightened.
Peter continued.
“But Michael had arranged to meet an investigator the following morning.”
Avery looked at Elias.
His face had gone pale.
Peter reached into his bag.
“I kept something.”
He placed a small envelope on the table.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Michael Kincaid's handwriting.
Elias recognized it immediately.
His hands began shaking.
He unfolded the paper.
Elias,
If anything happens to me, remember that a man's name is only as good as the choices he makes.
Don't become someone people fear simply because you can.
Become someone they trust because you deserve it.
Elias stared.
Then covered his face.
For the first time in nineteen years, he cried for his father without trying to hide it.
Avery moved beside him.
May you like
She didn't speak.
She simply held his hand.
