Grace nodded once, trying to appear older than ten. Then she faced my father.
“Did Grandpa know him?”
Richard recoiled.
I slowly stood. “That’s what we need to discover.”
Dad examined the photograph again. “I don’t remember this,” he said. “I swear to you, Evelyn, I don’t remember standing there with Julian.”
Eleanor wiped her tears. “Richard,” she said, her voice trembling, “think. Please.”
He closed his eyes.
“I remember the plant supervisor, Martin Vale. Everyone knew him. Cold man. Always courteous, never kind.” Dad rubbed his forehead. “I remember the inspections. The overnight shifts. The rumors. I remember Julian showing up asking questions.”
My heart jolted. “You knew he was investigating?”
Dad slowly nodded. “Everyone did. At first, people mocked him—some college kid believing he could take on a corporation.” He opened his eyes, and shame filled them. “But then he started uncovering things.”
“What things?”
Dad glanced at the flash drive on the table.
