Page 92 of Hidden Tide

“Then why was it ruled an accident?”

“The brake line had ruptured. The investigators believed it was caused by corrosion.”

“Did Grandpa believe that?” I ask.

“No.”

“What did he do?”

“He hired an independent mechanic to inspect what remained of the car.”

Mom’s hand flies to her mouth.

Thomas’s voice grows rough.

“The mechanic found a clean cut in the brake line.”

Mom closes her eyes.

Nathan crouches beside her chair, but he doesn’t touch her until she reaches for him.

“Where is that report?” Keating asks.

“James had it.”

“Is it in the safe-deposit box?”

“It may be.”

Keating looks toward the door through which Cross was taken.

“Did James report the mechanic’s findings?”

“He tried. By then, the car had been destroyed.”

Ward’s head lifts. “They disposed of it before the family could demand another examination?”

“James believed someone arranged it.”

“Who?” I ask.

“Pacific Maritime Restoration.”

“Simon Vail?”

Thomas shakes his head. “Vail would have been young then. His father, Lawrence Vail, controlled the company.”

Nathan searches for the name on his phone.

“Lawrence Vail died eight years ago.”

“And Simon created Pacific Beacon Recovery afterward,” Ben says.

“A new name for the same operation,” Ward adds.

Keating holds up his hand.

“We don’t know that yet. We have possible corporate connections, an accusation from an armed intruder and Thomas’s account of an independent examination we haven’t verified.”