Chapter 13 - The Man in the TreesElias Ward was arrested two days later at a motel outside Las Vegas.
He asked for a lawyer immediately.
Then asked whether the children survived.
Morales answered:
“Yes.”
Ward closed his eyes.
Relief.
Real or performed?
Hard to tell.
He negotiated cooperation.
“I wasn’t supposed to hurt them.”
Morales did not blink.
“You had a map of their lake.”
“I was backup.”
“For what?”
“If Vanessa got the drive, I was supposed to take it.”
“And the children?”
“Make sure they got inside.”
Morales stared.
“After she restrained them beside deep water?”
Ward looked ashamed.
“I didn’t know about the rock.”
Arthur watched from behind glass.
Again.
Everybody knew enough to participate.
Nobody knew the worst detail.
Convenient.
“What did you see?”
Ward had parked beyond the tree line.
He used binoculars.
Saw Vanessa with Emma and Noah.
Saw restraints.
He called Dean.
“What did Dean say?”
“Wait.”
“You stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you call police?”
Ward said nothing.
Morales continued.
“You watched a ten-year-old and eight-year-old restrained beside water and did nothing.”
“Yes.”
“What happened when Vanessa pushed the rock?”
Ward’s face changed.
“I didn’t think she would.”
“But she did.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“I started toward the lake.”
Arthur leaned forward.
Morales:
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I saw Arthur.”
There.
Arthur’s arrival.
Ward saw him running.
He turned back.
Fled.
“You could have helped.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t.”
“No.”
Again.
Choice.
Morales asked:
“Who hired you?”
“Dean.”
“Did you know Harold Pierce?”
Ward hesitated.
“Yes.”
Arthur’s pulse rose.
“How?”
“He arranged payment.”
Pierce wasn’t just paper.
He financed operational pieces.
“Did Pierce know children were involved?”
“Yes.”
Arthur went cold.
“What exactly did he say?”
Ward thought.
“Something like… ‘Nobody touches them unless Dean loses control of Vanessa.’”
Morales leaned forward.
“What happens if Dean loses control?”
Ward looked away.
“I was told to recover the drive.”
“And?”
“Make the scene consistent.”
Arthur’s stomach turned.
“With what?”
“The accident story.”
The paperwork filed before the attack.
Unsupervised lake access.
Dangerous behavior.
If Vanessa failed to complete the story, Ward was supposed to manipulate the aftermath.
Maybe unlock them after they lost consciousness?
Maybe position evidence?
He claimed not to know.
Morales pressed.
“What did ‘make the scene consistent’ mean?”
“I was never given details.”
Nobody liked that answer.
Then Ward revealed Pierce’s location.
Not Arizona.
Not Palm Springs.
“He has a place near Santa Barbara.”
Police searched property records.
Nothing.
Ward described the house.
Private cliffside rental purchased through shell company.
Agents arrived.
Pierce was there.
Alive.
Packing.
He surrendered without resistance.
At seventy-one, he understood when escape became undignified.
During interrogation, Pierce denied any knowledge Vanessa intended murder.
Then Morales showed Ward’s testimony.
He changed wording.
“I knew risk existed.”
“Risk to whom?”
“The children.”
Arthur watched.
“What risk?”
“That Vanessa might become irrational.”
There was the weapon again.
Irrational.
Emotional.
Arthur almost laughed.
“You filed paperwork calling my children unstable while knowing Vanessa was dangerous.”
Pierce stared toward the glass.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Control.”
At least eventually, he admitted the word.
Control of Grace’s shares.
Control of Caldwell Capital through Dean.
Long-term fees.
Millions.
Morales asked:
“Did you plan Grace’s death?”
Pierce’s face hardened.
“No.”
“Did you threaten her?”
“I negotiated.”
“Did you know Dean would follow her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell him to?”
“No.”
“Did you discourage him?”
Silence.
“Did you know he took her phone?”
“Afterward.”
“Did you report it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Pierce answered with chilling simplicity.
“Because by then, everybody was compromised.”
Arthur felt something click.
That was Pierce’s entire business model.
Compromise everyone.
Then nobody could safely tell the truth.
Grace had been dangerous because she refused compromise.
Emma had been dangerous for the same reason.
Then Pierce added:
“Dean is going to blame me for everything.”
Arthur almost smiled.
“Maybe you deserve some of it.”
Pierce looked toward the mirror.
“Arthur, Dean was planning something I refused.”
Morales stopped.
“What?”
Pierce continued.
“He wanted permanent control.”
“Meaning?”
“Arthur removed.”
Arthur felt cold.
“How?”
Pierce shook his head.
“I told him no.”
“When?”
“After Grace died.”
“What did he suggest?”
Pierce hesitated.
May you like
Then:
“A second accident.”
Related Stories
