Chapter 10 - Mr. Whitaker’s SecretDaniel Whitaker did not deny the recording.
At 2:17 Tuesday morning, her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Megan was asleep on the couch because neither of them had been sleeping upstairs.
Sadie almost ignored the call.
Then she answered.
“Hello?”
A man whispered, “Don’t hang up.”
Sadie recognized the voice from the school fire.
Marcus.
She sat upright.
“You tried to kill us.”
“No.”
“You set the lab on fire.”
“No.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
Sadie quietly activated the recorder on her phone.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then I’m hanging up.”
“Brian Cole is going to kill Margaret.”
Sadie froze.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand I’m scared too.”
“You poisoned Leah.”
“No.”
“You stole medicine.”
“Yes.”
The admission shocked her.
Marcus continued.
“I stole. I forged invoices. I paid people. I took student research. I did a lot of things I’ll probably go to prison for.”
“But you didn’t hurt Leah?”
“No.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because Leah had evidence against me. Killing her would guarantee police looked at my company.”
“You threatened her father.”
“Yes.”
“You’re admitting that?”
“I was trying to scare her.”
Sadie felt disgusted.
“That doesn’t make you innocent.”
“I’m not innocent.”
His voice cracked.
“But Cole is worse.”
“Why?”
“He started as my protection.”
“Protection from what?”
“Police scrutiny. Missing shipments. Complaints.”
“You bribed him.”
“For years.”
“And then?”
“He realized he didn’t need me.”
Sadie stood and woke Megan silently.
She mouthed Marcus.
Megan immediately called Keller from another phone.
Marcus continued.
“Cole started moving product himself. Then he started blackmailing Margaret.”
“Your wife knew?”
“She discovered the contracts were fraudulent.”
“And helped you hide it?”
“For a while.”
Sadie’s jaw tightened.
“Then she tried to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because of the students.”
Sadie didn’t know whether to believe him.
“Where are you?”
“I’ll tell police everything.”
“Then call them.”
“I can’t trust them.”
“You mean you can’t trust Cole.”
“I don’t know who else he paid.”
Megan wrote a note.
KEEP HIM TALKING.
Sadie swallowed.
“What happened at the school fire?”
Marcus went silent.
“I went there to destroy files.”
“So you did start it.”
“No. I intended to delete records from a computer.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
“Who locked us in?”
“Cole.”
Sadie stopped.
“He followed you?”
“I didn’t know until I saw him outside the science wing.”
“And you ran.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you warn us?”
“I did.”
Sadie remembered his words.
You really think this ends with me?
“You were talking about Cole.”
“Yes.”
Keller arrived at the house less than ten minutes later.
He listened through headphones while Sadie continued.
“Where is Principal Danner?”
Marcus started crying.
The sound was unexpected.
“I don’t know.”
“You said Cole has her.”
“He sent me a picture.”
“What picture?”
Marcus sent it.
Sadie opened the message.
Principal Danner sat tied to a chair inside what looked like a warehouse.
A newspaper rested on her lap.
Yesterday’s date.
Keller examined the image.
“Ask about landmarks,” he whispered.
“Where was this taken?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look at the picture.”
“I have.”
“What’s behind her?”
Marcus breathed shakily.
“Shelving. Concrete wall.”
Sadie zoomed.
Then noticed a small symbol painted on a steel support column.
A red triangle.
She had seen it before.
On shipping crates delivered to Franklin Ridge.
“Ridge Educational warehouse.”
Marcus went silent.
Keller immediately radioed the location.
Marcus finally whispered, “The old warehouse.”
“Where?”
“East Mill Road.”
Police moved.
Sadie stayed home with Megan.
Twenty-two minutes later, Keller called.
They found Principal Danner.
Alive.
But Cole was gone.
Inside the warehouse, police recovered enough evidence to expose years of fraud.
Missing medication.
Forged contracts.
Student research files.
Cash ledgers.
And security footage.
One recording showed Cole entering the chemistry room before class.
Another showed him placing something in the backpack area.
A third showed him entering Leah’s locker.
Sadie finally had proof.
Real proof.
She had been framed.
But Cole was still free.
And the National Young Scientists Expo was eleven days away.
Keller urged Sadie to withdraw.
“We can protect you better if you stay home.”
Sadie shook her head.
“If I stay home, he wins.”
“This isn’t about winning.”
“It is to him.”
“Sadie.”
“He wanted my project hidden or stolen.”
“You don’t owe anybody a science fair.”
“No.”
She looked at her prototype.
“But I owe myself the right not to disappear because someone tried to scare me.”
Megan was afraid.
Sadie could see it.
But she also knew her mother understood.
The expo was held in Washington, D.C.
Thousands of students, judges, universities, and technology companies would attend.
Sadie’s project would become public.
Once presented, nobody could quietly steal it.
Keller reluctantly agreed.
“With security.”
“Fine.”
“With federal investigators notified.”
“Fine.”
“And you do exactly what we say.”
Sadie nodded.
The morning before the trip, Leah visited the Monroe house.
She was still weak but walking.
“I found something,” she said.
Sadie frowned.
“What?”
Leah held out her old phone.
“I remembered where I backed up the recording.”
Sadie stared.
“You found Marcus threatening you?”
“Not Marcus.”
Leah pressed play.
Principal Danner’s voice filled the room.
Then Officer Cole’s.
You don’t get to quit now, Margaret.
A girl almost died.
Then make sure the next one doesn’t talk.
A pause.
Then Principal Danner whispered:
Sadie Monroe?
Cole answered.
She’ll sign. And if she doesn’t, six pills in a backpack will make sure nobody listens to anything she says again.
Sadie stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
Then another voice entered.
A voice Sadie knew.
Mr. Whitaker.
Leave Sadie out of this.
Sadie looked up.
Leah looked terrified.
“There’s more.”
On the recording, Cole laughed.
May you like
Then said:
You don’t get a vote anymore, Daniel. Not after what you did.
