Chapter 6: What Arthur Did Before Midnight
At eleven forty-seven, Ray Cutler tried to leave the estate.
He made it as far as the service entrance on the north side before two of Vincent's men stopped him.
He had a bag.
Inside the bag: a change of clothes, a prepaid phone, and a manila envelope containing what appeared to be a signed statement.
Vincent brought the envelope to Dominic unopened.
Dominic opened it.
The statement was three pages.
Signed by Cutler.
Dated that evening.
It described in careful detail how he had accessed the rehabilitation wing, adjusted the brace retaining plate, and departed.
It named his contact.
It named the phone number.
It named the payment amount and the method.
The name on every page was not Arthur Voss.
It was Samuel Mercer.
Dominic read it twice.
Then he set it on the table and looked at Mercer, who was still standing near the equipment rack and had gone completely white.
"He's framing you," Dominic said.
Mercer's voice came out barely above a whisper.
"I didn't do anything."
"I know."
"I swear to you, I didn't—"
"Samuel." Dominic's voice was quiet.
"I know.
The access log shows the credential reactivation came from the administrative office.
Mercer, you don't have administrative access.
You never have." He set the statement aside.
"Arthur prepared this as a fallback.
If the footage became a problem, Cutler would sign a statement pointing to you, and Arthur would appear to be the one who uncovered it."
Vincent picked up the statement and read it quickly.
"Cutler signed this tonight," Vincent said.
"Which means Arthur had it prepared before he came into this room and offered you the deal."
"He was never offering me a deal," Dominic said.
"He was buying time for Cutler to reach the service entrance."
Mercer sat down heavily in a chair.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"Now Cutler talks to me directly." Dominic looked at Vincent.
"Bring him in."
Ray Cutler was sixty-one, broad-shouldered, with the permanent squint of someone who had spent years working under fluorescent lights.
He sat across from Dominic with his hands flat on the table and said nothing for a long moment.
"The statement in that envelope," Dominic said.
"Arthur told you to sign it."
Cutler said nothing.
"He told you it was insurance.
That if things went wrong tonight, the statement would protect you.
That it would redirect attention and give you time to leave."
Still nothing.
"Ray." Dominic leaned forward slightly.
"Arthur is in that conference room right now deciding how to make sure you take the full weight of this.
The statement you signed puts everything on Mercer.
But Mercer has no administrative access and no motive.
When that falls apart — and it will fall apart before morning — the only name left is yours."
Cutler's jaw moved.
"He paid you fourteen calls worth of instructions," Dominic continued.
"He reactivated your credentials from his own terminal.
He gave you access to this estate, to my rehabilitation equipment, and to my brace.
And when it was over, he handed you a signed statement naming someone else and pointed you toward the service exit." Dominic paused.
"He was never going to let you leave Chicago, Ray."
Cutler looked at the table.
"He said it was just the strap," Cutler said finally.
"He said it was a small adjustment.
That it would slow your recovery.
That nobody would get hurt."
"And the nerve damage timeline?"
Cutler's eyes came up.
"He didn't tell me about that."
"He told you it was harmless."
"He said it was temporary.
A few weeks of slower progress.
He said you'd recover fine once the documents were signed."
Dominic looked at him steadily.
"He lied to you too," Dominic said.
Cutler stared at the table for a long time.
"What do you need?" he said at last.
"Everything.
Every call.
Every instruction.
Every payment.
Every conversation.
And I need it in a new statement — accurate this time — signed in front of Vincent and two witnesses."
Cutler nodded slowly.
Vincent produced paper and a pen.
While Cutler wrote, Dominic stood and walked to the glass doors of the conference room.
Arthur was still at the head of the table.
Briggs and Fowler flanked him.
The other four council members had moved to the far side of the room and were speaking quietly among themselves.
Arthur looked up.
Dominic held up the original signed statement — the one naming Mercer.
Arthur's expression did not change.
Dominic set it down on the table beside him, picked up his phone, and photographed it.
May you like
Then he looked back through the glass and waited.
Arthur stood up.
