Chapter 4 - THE LETTER IN THE LOCKED DRAWER
I discovered the letter by accident.
Massimo had asked me to retrieve his therapy notebook from the study.
The notebook wasn't on the desk.
I checked the side table.
Then the drawer.
Inside was a sealed envelope addressed to Luca Pascale.
It had never been mailed.
I wasn't going to read it.
Then I saw the date.
Three days before the crash.
And beneath Luca's name, a handwritten note:
If anything happens to me, give this to the attorney.
I froze.
The door opened behind me.
Massimo stood in his wheelchair.
His expression changed when he saw the envelope.
“Put that down.”
I did.
Immediately.
“I'm sorry.”
He rolled closer.
“Did you read it?”
“No.”
He studied me.
Then looked at the envelope.
For a moment, he seemed older than thirty-eight.
“That letter was supposed to protect my brother.”
I waited.
Massimo continued.
“Luca was involved in something dangerous.”
“What?”
He looked toward the window.
“Money laundering through a shipping company.”
I said nothing.
“I found out. Told him to stop.”
Massimo swallowed.
“He promised he would.”
I looked at the envelope.
“And then the accident happened.”
He nodded.
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Massimo, have investigators reviewed the crash?”
“Yes.”
“What did they conclude?”
“Mechanical failure.”
“Do you believe that?”
He stared at me.
May you like
Then said:
“I don't know anymore.”
