Chapter 7 - The Camera That Nobody Remembered|
The name Eleanor Price changed the direction of our investigation.
Luca called the attorney who had prepared his parents' original trust documents.
The man was retired, but he remembered Teresa clearly.
More importantly, he remembered Eleanor.
She had been a Chicago legal-aid attorney and an old friend of Antonio Moretti.
When Antonio helped establish the Harbor House trust, he wanted someone outside the family to protect its charitable purpose.
Eleanor agreed to serve as an independent approving trustee for major property decisions.
"She retired several years ago," the attorney explained over the phone.
"But as far as I know, she's still alive."
Luca asked for her contact information.
Then he turned to me.
"Find out whether Daniel Price is related to her."
It took Rosa less than ten minutes.
Daniel was Eleanor's grandson.
He managed events for several luxury venues in Chicago, including the Moretti mansion.
But there was something unusual about his employment history.
Three months earlier, Vanessa had personally recommended him.
I stared at the information on Rosa's tablet.
"Do you think Vanessa knew about Eleanor?"
Luca nodded.
"She had access to the trust documents."
"Then why bring Eleanor's grandson into the house?"
"Maybe she hoped he could influence her."
"Or maybe she wanted access to something he knew."
Before we could discuss it further, Simon Reed entered the library carrying a portable drive.
"I found another recording."
Luca looked up.
"From the elevator?"
"No."
"From the engagement photographer."
My heart jumped.
Simon explained that the official ballroom cameras had been managed through Marco's security system.
Those recordings had been partially deleted.
But an independent photographer named Mia Chen had installed two small cameras to capture behind-the-scenes footage for the engagement video.
One faced the upper staircase.
The other faced the service corridor near the elevator.
Mia's equipment stored its footage separately.
Vanessa hadn't known that.
Simon connected the drive to Luca's laptop.
The first recording showed guests entering the mansion shortly after six.
Waiters carried silver trays, flowers arrived, and musicians unpacked their instruments.
Then Vanessa appeared.
She was speaking with Daniel Price.
Her sparkling silver gown looked as beautiful as it had the previous evening.
But now I noticed the impatience in her movements.
She pointed toward the elevator.
Daniel shook his head.
Vanessa leaned closer.
Although the camera hadn't captured every word, the directional microphone recorded enough.
"Mrs. Moretti isn't to come upstairs with the other guests," Vanessa said.
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"The elevator is her usual route."
"Then make it unavailable."
"She has mobility problems."
"That's why there's a private corridor."
Daniel glanced toward the corridor entrance.
"Should I send someone to escort her?"
Vanessa's answer made my blood run cold.
"No."
"She needs to understand that tonight isn't about her."
I looked at Luca.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
The recording continued.
Marco entered the frame and accepted a maintenance key from Daniel.
A few minutes later, the elevator's red service light appeared.
Then Vanessa spoke again.
"If anyone asks, it's a mechanical problem."
Daniel stepped back.
"Mrs. Bellini, I don't want to be involved in this."
"Then do your job and stay out of the photographs."
The camera captured him walking away.
I realized that Daniel might have been a witness rather than a willing participant.
Simon switched to the second recording.
It showed the upper staircase.
Guests passed through the ballroom entrance while Teresa remained out of sight below.
Then I appeared.
I was carrying her.
Seeing myself on the screen made my stomach twist.
My face was red with effort, my arms were shaking, and Teresa was clinging to my shoulder.
I hadn't realized how close I had come to losing my balance.
Luca moved closer to the laptop.
The footage showed my shoe slipping on the twenty-ninth step.
He inhaled sharply.
I remembered that moment.
Teresa had whispered that we could stop.
But I knew she was terrified of being left halfway up the staircase.
"Pause it," Luca said.
Simon stopped the video.
Luca stared at the frozen image.
"If you'd fallen, both of you could have been seriously injured."
I looked down.
"I was afraid of that."
"Why didn't you call for help?"
"I did."
"Before I lifted her, I asked two staff members to find someone."
"Nobody came."
Luca was silent.
Then he said, "That changes today."
I looked at him.
"What does?"
"The rule that staff stay silent when something is wrong."
He turned to Rosa.
"I want every employee told that reporting a safety concern will never cost them their job."
Rosa nodded, but her eyes filled with tears.
"Your mother would be proud to hear that, sir."
Simon saved additional copies of the footage.
Luca instructed him to provide the evidence to the investigators and preserve the original files.
But before Simon could leave, his phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
Then his face changed.
"What's wrong?" Luca asked.
Simon lowered the phone.
"Daniel Price has been found."
"Where?"
"At the emergency department of a hospital outside Chicago."
I felt a chill.
"Was he injured?"
Simon hesitated.
"He's conscious."
"But he says someone followed him after the engagement party."
Luca reached for his coat.
"We're going to speak with him."
Simon stopped him.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Daniel told the hospital staff that he has a message for Teresa Moretti."
I stared at him.
"What message?"
Simon swallowed.
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"He says his grandmother disappeared two days before the engagement."
"And before she vanished, she told him that someone was trying to steal Harbor House."
