Chapter 4 - THE LEXUS
The black Lexus belonged to Carver Meridian.
Not officially.
A leasing subsidiary owned it.
Fleet records listed the vehicle under executive transportation.
Emma and David learned that from a parking database David could still access.
Vehicle:
Black Lexus LS.
Assigned pool:
Executive security overflow.
Last checked out:
4:56 p.m.
User credential:
NCarver-ExecOps.
Emma stared at the screen.
“Nicholas?”
David shook his head.
“Credential doesn’t prove driver.”
“Who can use it?”
“Executive operations.”
“How many people?”
“Seven.”
Again.
Enough uncertainty to hide inside.
The Lexus returned to the company garage at 8:13 that evening.
Clean.
Front camera memory missing.
Driver log blank.
David called Detective Lena Brooks, the officer who had handled Michael Trent’s missing-person report.
This time, he did not call as a security employee.
He called as a witness to attempted vehicular assault.
Brooks arrived at Emma’s apartment before midnight.
She listened.
Then asked Emma:
“Did you see the driver?”
“No.”
“Plate?”
“Partial.”
“Any contact?”
“No.”
“Could the car have been avoiding something else?”
Emma stared.
“It came straight at me.”
Brooks nodded.
“Then we prove that.”
Not:
I believe you.
Not:
Nicholas did it.
Evidence first.
Emma appreciated her immediately.
Brooks obtained nearby traffic footage.
One camera captured the Lexus entering the intersection.
Another showed acceleration.
A third showed lane deviation toward the curb.
The pattern supported deliberate targeting.
Then came a worse detail.
The car had been waiting across from Carver Meridian for eleven minutes before Emma was shoved outside.
Whoever drove it knew she was coming.
That required coordination.
Someone inside the tower had signaled the driver.
May you like
Nicholas had the motive.
But motive is not a fingerprint.
