Daniel returned when I called him. Detective Ortiz joined us soon afterward.
The recorder contained four audio files.
The first was a conversation between Warren and an unidentified man discussing a government contract. The second featured my voice delivering a briefing about possible security breaches involving multiple construction firms.
My words had been edited.
Sentences recorded at different times had been joined together, creating the impression that I had singled out Warren personally.
Daniel recognized the manipulation immediately.
“The room tone changes,” he explained. “So does Michael’s cadence. Someone assembled this from archived briefings.”
Christine listened with her arms wrapped around herself.
The third file was stranger.
A woman’s voice said, “He cannot learn what happened at the lake house. Not from Warren. Not from anyone.”
The voice sounded familiar, but I could not place it.
The fourth file contained only seventeen seconds of silence followed by a soft knock and three words.
