Chapter 15 - The Face Behind the Glass
The visitation room at the Suffolk County Jail was small, sterile, and smelled of industrial bleach. A thick pane of scratched, yellowing bulletproof glass separated the two rows of metal stools.
Adeline sat on the cold steel seat, her hands resting flat on the stainless steel counter. She hadn't signed Ward’s agreement. She hadn't taken Eleanor’s two million dollars.
She had demanded twenty minutes with Marcus.
The heavy steel door on the opposite side clanged open. A correction officer escorted Marcus Vance to the stool.
He looked different without his gold badge and tailored Italian suits. He wore an orange department jumpsuit that hung loose on his broad shoulders. The cut on his lip from the harbor confrontation was stitched with crude black thread, and his right eye was swollen purple.
Yet, when he looked through the glass and saw Adeline, his lips curved into that familiar, arrogant sneer that had once terrified her.
He picked up the black plastic receiver. Adeline mirrored the movement, bringing the phone to her ear.
"You look tired, Addie," Marcus rasped, his voice rough from hours of interrogation. "You always were bad at handling the mornings."
"You have twenty minutes before Miller's bail clerk walks you out of here, Marcus," Adeline said, her tone utterly detached. "I'm not here for your commentary."
Marcus leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the glass until his breath fogged the plastic. "You think you won, don't you? You played the sad little bird in the cage, gathered your little flash drives, ran to Uncle Arthur. You think Rossi being in handcuffs makes you safe?"
"Rossi is an old man who’s going to die in a medical wing in Terre Haute," Adeline said. "I know about Eleanor."
Marcus’s smirk instantly vanished. The color drained from his face, leaving the purple bruise beneath his eye standing out like a brand.
"Where did you hear that name?" Marcus whispered, his voice suddenly taut.
"She sent me two million dollars this morning, Marcus. To the house. Right into your secret safe." Adeline watched him closely, dissecting every micro-expression on his face. "She thanked me for clearing the board. She said you were too clumsy to run this city."
Marcus gripped the receiver so hard his knuckles turned white. A strange, bitter laugh tore from his throat—a sound filled with genuine, unhinged despair.
"She played you, Addie. Just like she played me. Just like she played Julian."
"Julian was trying to save you," Adeline countered, leaning in closer. "I heard the radio recording from the Tobin Bridge. You told him to turn around. You told him the committee was coming for him."
Marcus closed his eyes for a long, shuddering second. When he opened them, the arrogance was gone, replaced by the hollow, haunted look of a man who had been running for his life for four years.
"Julian found the trust ledgers," Marcus said quietly. "Julian didn't know who Eleanor was. He thought it was just my father's old money. He came to me like a brother. He said, 'Marcus, we can fix this. We turn the books over to internal affairs, we take the hit together, and we clean up the district.' He was so damn naive, Addie. Just like you."
"Who killed him, Marcus?"
"Not me," Marcus whispered. "I swore on my father's grave I didn't touch the wheel of that truck. Miller set it up. But Miller didn't sign the contract. Eleanor did."
Marcus tapped the glass with his finger, his gaze boring into hers.
"Eleanor doesn't leave loose ends. She used me to keep you close because as long as I was married to Julian Miller’s sister, the department thought Julian’s family was handled. No lawsuits. No independent investigations. Just a quiet, grieving widow taken care of by a hero detective."
"And now?" Adeline asked. "Now that the marriage is over and your badge is gone?"
Marcus looked at the correction officer standing by the door, then leaned in as far as the wire on the receiver would allow.
"Eleanor didn't send you that two million to buy you off, Addie. She sent that check from a registered trust account so the money could be traced directly to you. The moment Miller walks me out of this jail, the State Police are going to execute a search warrant on Arthur's workshop. They’re going to find that check in your coat, and they’re going to arrest you for grand larceny and extortion."
Adeline’s pulse spiked, but she kept her face completely motionless.
"Why are you telling me this, Marcus?"
Marcus stared at her, his voice dropping to a harsh, gravelly whisper. "Because I want to see my mother burn more than I want to see you dead. Go to the crypt at St. Michael's Cemetery. Vault fourteen. The key is in Julian's old silver pocket watch. Don't let Miller get there first."
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The guard tapped Marcus on the shoulder. Marcus dropped the receiver with a clatter and was led away through the heavy iron door without looking back.
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