CHAPTER 8: A Dead Man's Voice in the Rain

Vivian saw the envelope and went still.
That was when Maya knew Aaron had been right.
Reyes accepted the envelope from Maya with both hands, as if the rain had suddenly become part of a crime scene. Inside was a flash drive, a notarized statement, and one printed page with Aaron's signature across the bottom.
'He cannot make statements after death,' Vivian said too quickly.
Maya looked at her. 'He made it before.'
Reyes plugged the flash drive into the rugged tablet from his cruiser. For a moment there was only rain, Vivian's breathing, and the low hum of the cars.
Then Aaron appeared on the screen.
He sat in the den, thinner than Maya remembered, with the green desk lamp glowing behind him and the suitcase open on the floor beside his chair.
His voice came through the small speaker, rough but steady.
'My name is Aaron James Graydon. If this file is being opened, it means my mother or my brother has attempted to remove Maya from our home or destroy property I left in her care.'
Vivian stepped back as if the dead had reached through the rain and touched her shoulder.