His lawyer instincts, or pride, told him staying projected innocence.
Paul watched footage.
Photographed connector.
Documented blue compound.
Asked everyone separate questions.
Then he asked Victor:
“Did you touch the motorcycle Sunday night?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Visual inspection.”
“Authorized by owner?”
“No.”
“By shop?”
“No.”
“Did you remove the side cover?”
“I don't remember.”
Footage showed his posture consistent with it.
“Do you use blue witness compound?”
“Yes.”
“Did you use it Sunday?”
“I don't remember.”
Paul looked at him.
“You don't remember whether you applied marking compound to a motorcycle you didn't have permission to inspect?”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“I work around motorcycles every day.”
“Fair.”
Paul wrote.
“Did you disconnect anything?”
“No.”
Immediate.
Certain.
Paul nodded.
“Okay.”
Mason noticed the difference.
Victor did not remember opening a cover.
Did not remember blue compound.
But absolutely remembered not disconnecting anything.
Again:
Not proof.
Interesting.
Paul asked Sarah for ownership documentation.
She had it.
Asked whether Victor had offered to purchase the motorcycle.
Sarah showed the contract.
Paul read.
“When prepared?”
Victor said:
“Today.”
Sarah said:
“He called me before seven thirty.”
Paul looked at timestamp metadata on the emailed version.
6:54 a.m.
The first unsuccessful start attempt at Hale Motor Works occurred around 7:20.
Mason stared at the screen.
“Wait.”
Ray understood first.
Victor had prepared an increased purchase offer for the supposedly broken motorcycle before Hale Motor Works discovered it would not start.
Paul looked at Victor.
“When did you learn the motorcycle had failed?”
Victor hesitated.
“Sarah told me.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
“You called me.”
“After eight.”
She pulled out her phone.
Call log.
8:17.
Victor’s email with purchase contract:
6:54.
Paul's expression became more focused.
“What information did you have at 6:54 that justified revising your offer for a non-running motorcycle?”
Victor said nothing.
Mason felt anger move through the garage.
Slow.
Heavy.
Ray stepped away from the wall.
Outside the office, two club members had arrived and were watching through the glass.
Mason saw their faces.
He knew what could happen if the room became emotional.
He walked to the doorway.
“No.”
The men looked at him.
“Go drink coffee.”
One started:
“Mason—”
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“No touching.”
“No crowd.”
“No hero nonsense.”
“Paul handles it.”
They understood.
They left.
Victor smiled faintly.
“Protecting me?”
Mason looked at him.
“No.”
“Protecting them from becoming you.”
Victor's smile vanished.
The police investigation did not end that afternoon.
Real evidence rarely produced instant endings.
Paul collected copies.
The motorcycle remained untouched except for necessary preservation steps.
The blue compound sample was documented.