Chapter 6
I remembered Leonard smiling.
That was what frightened me most.
Not anger.
Not suspicion.
His smile.
He had hugged me before I walked down the aisle and said, “Ruth would be so proud of you.”
I had cried.
He had known exactly what those words would do to me.
Now his name sat on a fraudulent transfer worth more than eight hundred thousand dollars.
Richard stared at the screen.
“I should have seen this.”
Dad looked at him.
“Seen what?”
“Leonard handled part of Ruth’s estate.”
“You knew him?”
“Professionally.”
“And you never suspected him?”
“No.”
Richard looked genuinely shaken.
“He was the one who hired me.”
That silenced everyone.
“What?” I asked.
“Your grandmother spoke to Leonard first when she discovered the missing money. He recommended an independent forensic accountant.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
“So if he was involved—”
“He knew exactly what I was investigating.”
Jonathan laughed bitterly.
“Maybe your perfect grandmother’s lawyer is the criminal and my mother is being set up.”
I turned toward him.
“Your mother admitted stealing from Grandma.”
“She said she took what she was owed.”
“That is stealing.”
He looked away.
Daniel spoke.
“Both things can be true. Evelyn may have stolen money and Leonard may have helped.”
Richard nodded.
“That would explain several gaps.”
“What gaps?” I asked.
He opened his laptop.
“Every time I got close to identifying where certain transfers went, records disappeared.”
“You thought Evelyn removed them.”
“I did.”
“And now?”
“Now I think Leonard may have controlled what I could access.”
My phone buzzed again.
A blocked number called.
Everyone looked at it.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Claire.”
My skin went cold.
Leonard.
“Where are you?”
“Before we discuss that, I need you to understand something.”
Richard gestured for me to put the call on speaker.
I did.
Leonard heard the click.
“I assume Richard is there.”
Richard leaned toward the phone.
“Hello, Leonard.”
A sigh.
“I had hoped you wouldn’t involve yourself tonight.”
“You put my client’s inheritance at risk.”
“Your client is dead.”
Richard’s face tightened.
I spoke.
“I’m not.”
Silence.
Then Leonard said, “No, Claire. You are very much alive.”
Something about the way he said it made Dad stand closer to me.
“What did you do?”
“I protected assets Ruth intended to be protected.”
“You transferred them to yourself.”
“That is an oversimplification.”
“It sounds pretty simple.”
“Evelyn was going to take everything.”
I looked toward the patrol car outside.
“She says you’re her attorney.”
“I have never represented Evelyn.”
“Then why was she screaming your name?”
“Because she thinks I can rescue Jonathan.”
Jonathan stepped toward the phone.
“How do you know my mother?”
Leonard ignored him.
“Claire, you need to stop the fraud complaint.”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
“If Hawthorne freezes the trust, you may lose access for months.”
“That’s fine.”
“You don’t understand.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I did not.”
“The authorization has your name on it.”
“As beneficiary, yes.”
“How?”
Another pause.
“I cannot explain safely over the phone.”
Daniel mouthed, Keep him talking.
I nodded.
“Then come here.”
Leonard laughed softly.
“I don’t think that would be wise.”
“Why?”
“Because there are police outside your house.”
“You’re an attorney. Why would that bother you?”
No answer.
I continued.
“Unless you committed a crime.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
“Everyone tonight seems to hurt me while claiming they’re protecting me.”
Jonathan flinched.
Leonard lowered his voice.
“Claire, your grandmother discovered something shortly before her death.”
“What?”
“That Evelyn was not acting alone.”
I looked at Richard.
He nodded for me to continue.
“Who was helping her?”
“I can show you.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because phone calls can be recorded.”
Daniel almost smiled.
Richard wrote something on a piece of paper.
ASK WHERE.
I said, “Where do you want to meet?”
Dad shook his head violently.
I raised my hand.
I wasn’t agreeing.
I was keeping Leonard talking.
“The old Parker office.”
I froze.
Grandma’s company had operated from a converted warehouse downtown before she sold the business.
The building had been empty for years.
“Tonight?”
“In forty minutes.”
“No.”
“Then the transfer completes tomorrow.”
“Fraud has already been reported.”
Leonard became quiet.
When he spoke again, the calmness was gone.
“You reported it?”
“Yes.”
“You foolish girl.”
Dad’s eyes flashed.
There he was.
The real Leonard.
I kept my voice steady.
“You sound worried.”
“You have no idea what you’ve interrupted.”
“Then explain it.”
“I tried to protect Ruth too.”
“By stealing her money?”
“I DIDN’T STEAL IT!”
His shout filled the room.
Then he breathed.
Slowly.
Regaining control.
“Claire.”
“No.”
“You need to listen carefully.”
“I’ve listened to enough liars tonight.”
“Evelyn wanted Jonathan to marry you so the trust would vest.”
“I know.”
“She believed that once it vested, Jonathan could persuade you to authorize transfers.”
Jonathan stared at the phone.
Leonard continued.
“What she didn’t know was that the trust’s original documents included a contingency.”
Richard went still.
“What contingency?”
Leonard ignored him.
“If the beneficiary entered a marriage under fraudulent circumstances, the trustee could suspend distribution pending review.”
Melissa’s voice came faintly from my other phone.
“Who is the trustee?”
Leonard answered.
“I am.”
Richard swore.
Everything clicked.
Leonard controlled the trust.
He had authority.
He had access.
And he had named himself beneficiary on the transfer.
I asked, “Why transfer it instead of freezing it?”
“Because Evelyn learned about the contingency.”
“How?”
“Someone told her.”
“Who?”
Leonard went silent.
“Who, Leonard?”
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
“What should I ask?”
“How did Ruth die?”
My heart stopped.
Dad gripped the back of a chair.
“What did you say?”
Leonard’s voice softened.
“You were told it was a stroke.”
“It was.”
“Was it?”
I couldn’t breathe.
Grandma had collapsed at home.
Evelyn had found her.
The hospital said stroke complications.
She died two days later.
I had never questioned it.
Why would I?
“Don’t do this.”
“Claire—”
“Don’t use my dead grandmother to manipulate me.”
“I’m not.”
“Then give evidence to the police.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Richard stared at the phone.
“What?”
Leonard said, “You weren’t the only investigator, Richard.”
Richard looked stunned.
“You hired someone else?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Leonard answered.
“Ruth did.”
A car engine roared outside.
Everyone turned toward the windows.
The patrol car holding Evelyn was still there.
But another dark sedan sped past the house.
Daniel moved toward the window.
Leonard spoke urgently.
“Claire, get away from the windows.”
Dad immediately pulled me down.
“What?”
“GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS!”
A crash exploded through the front of the house.
Glass shattered.
I screamed.
Something heavy struck the wall above us.
Daniel shouted for everyone to get down.
The officers outside reacted instantly.
One ran toward the street.
Another drew his weapon.
Jonathan dropped beside the sofa.
Richard crawled behind the dining-room wall.
My ears rang.
For several seconds, I didn’t understand what had happened.
Then I saw it.
A brick.
It lay among broken glass.
Something was wrapped around it.
Paper.
Daniel approached only after the officers confirmed the vehicle was gone.
He pulled the paper free.
One sentence had been printed in black letters.
STOP DIGGING OR THE NEXT ONE WON’T MISS.
My hands went numb.
Dad read it.
His face changed.
“Leonard.”
I had almost forgotten the phone.
The call was still active.
“Leonard?”
Silence.
“Leonard!”
Then his voice.
Whispering.
“They found you faster than I expected.”
“Who?”
“You need to leave that house.”
“Who are they?”
The line went dead.
I called back.
Straight to voicemail.
Daniel looked at the brick.
“This just became a lot bigger.”
Jonathan was staring at the shattered window.
He looked terrified.
“Mom wouldn’t do that.”
I turned toward him.
“No.”
For once I agreed.
“Your mother is sitting in a police car.”
Richard stood slowly.
“Which means someone else is watching.”
My stomach turned.
I thought about the coffee shop photographs.
The information Evelyn had collected about me.
My routines.
My gym.
My workplace.
My house.
“How long?”
Richard looked at me.
“What?”
“How long have people been watching me?”
Nobody answered.
One officer came inside.
“We have units looking for the sedan. Any cameras?”
“Yes.”
I had security cameras.
Jonathan had helped install them.
The thought made me sick.
We opened the security app.
Front camera.
Side camera.
Driveway.
The sedan appeared.
No visible plate.
The driver wore a baseball cap.
The footage was too dark for a face.
Then Daniel paused the video.
“Go back.”
I did.
“What?”
“Passenger side.”
I zoomed in.
A person sat beside the driver.
Only a profile.
Partially hidden.
But I recognized the jacket.
Dark green.
Gold buttons.
I had seen it only hours earlier.
At my wedding.
I pulled up a reception photograph.
Guests laughing near the cake.
Then I enlarged the background.
A woman stood beside Leonard.
Dark green jacket.
Gold buttons.
My wedding coordinator.
Stephanie.
“No.”
I called her.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
Dad stared at the screen.
“She gave Evelyn the marriage certificate.”
My mind raced.
“She said Evelyn took it.”
Richard leaned closer.
“Maybe that was a lie.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“Stephanie doesn’t know my mother.”
“Are you sure?”
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Nobody was sure of anything anymore.
Daniel asked, “How did you hire Stephanie?”
I thought back.
“She contacted me.”
“How?”
“Instagram.”
“When?”
“About six months ago.”
She had offered a discount because she wanted photos for her portfolio.
She had been amazing.
Organized.
Friendly.
Always available.
She knew every detail of my wedding.
Every vendor.
Every guest.
Every schedule change.
And she had handled the marriage certificate.
I whispered, “She knew everything.”
Richard looked grim.
“Including exactly when the trust would vest.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Stephanie.
I opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Leonard.
Bound to a chair.
Blood on his forehead.
My hand flew over my mouth.
Below the photograph was a message.
COME ALONE TO THE PARKER BUILDING.
BRING RUTH’S LETTER.
NO POLICE.
Jonathan stared over my shoulder.
“Jesus.”
Then another message arrived.
A photograph of my grandmother’s letter.
Not the one in my hand.
Another letter.
At the bottom, in Grandma’s handwriting, were five words.
CLAIRE, TRUST NO ONE THERE.
I stared at the word there.
Not them.
There.
As if Grandma had known exactly where I would be when I read it.
Then the final message arrived.
YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES.
OR LEONARD DIES.
I looked at Daniel.
“I’m going.”
“No.”
“I have to.”
“It’s a trap.”
“I know.”
Dad grabbed my arm gently.
“Claire.”
I looked at him.
“We can’t let someone die.”
Daniel was already calling for additional units.
“We do this properly.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“I’m coming.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
“Claire—”
“No.”
His face twisted.
“This started because of me.”
“Yes.”
“Then let me help finish it.”
Before I could answer, an officer entered from outside.
His expression was grim.
“We have another problem.”
“What?”
He looked toward the patrol car.
“The woman you identified as Evelyn Mercer?”
My stomach tightened.
“Yes.”
“She’s gone.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What do you mean gone?”
“The transport officer was found unconscious behind the vehicle.”
Jonathan ran toward the window.
I looked outside.
The back door of the patrol car stood open.
Empty.
Evelyn had escaped.
And suddenly I understood why Leonard had told me to leave.
May you like
Someone hadn’t thrown that brick to scare us.
They had thrown it to distract the police long enough to free her.
