Chapter 4 - What Mom Had Been Buying
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
I could hear rain striking the windows.
Then Daniel said, very quietly, “What do you mean, knows what happened to your father?”
Mom kept looking at me.
“Your father didn't die as peacefully as I told you.”
My pulse jumped.
“He had a heart attack.”
“That is what the report says.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
Mom stood.
“He was frightened.”
I stared at her.
“Frightened of what?”
She glanced at Mr. Bennett.
He looked down.
“Arthur asked me not to involve the police,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because he believed someone was trying to destroy him financially.”
Daniel moved closer.
“Who?”
Mr. Bennett shook his head.
“I never confirmed the identity.”
Mom stepped in.
“But I did.”
She opened the metal box again.
Inside was a stack of receipts, letters, and photocopies.
My mother pulled out a photograph.
It showed Dad walking out of his office.
Someone stood several feet behind him.
A man.
Dark jacket.
Hat pulled low.
I looked at the image.
“Who is that?”
“Thomas Vale.”
The name meant nothing to me.
My mother continued.
“He worked for your father.”
Natalie looked confused.
“Why would Dad be afraid of one of his employees?”
“Because Thomas knew about the missing money.”
“What missing money?”
My mother looked at me.
“The amount was larger than sixty-eight thousand dollars.”
Daniel asked, “How much?”
“Two hundred forty thousand.”
My knees almost gave out.
“What?”
Dad had owned a small construction company.
It had been successful.
But not wildly wealthy.
Two hundred forty thousand dollars disappearing was not something I could imagine.
Mom said, “Arthur discovered transfers from the company account.”
“To where?”
“Three separate shell companies.”
“Who owned them?”
“We never proved it.”
“But you kept paying someone.”
“Yes.”
“To find out?”
“To keep him quiet.”
I stared.
“Who?”
Mom didn't answer.
Mr. Bennett did.
“Thomas Vale is dead.”
The air left my lungs.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Then who have you been paying?”
Mom looked at me.
“I don't know.”
That answer was so absurd that I laughed.
A single sharp laugh.
“You've been sending money to a person you don't even know?”
“I send it through an intermediary.”
“Who?”
“I don't know his real name.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“That's not an intermediary. That's a black hole.”
Mom ignored him.
“I needed information.”
“You could have gone to the police.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because your father was not the only one involved.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who else?”
“Someone in the family.”
Natalie whispered, “No.”
Mom nodded.
“Your grandfather's old business partner.”
I looked at Mr. Bennett.
“Why didn't Dad tell me?”
“He did,” Mr. Bennett said.
My head snapped toward him.
“What?”
“He mentioned the name in a letter.”
“Which name?”
“Gerald Pike.”
I knew the name.
Every person in our family did.
Gerald had been my father's business partner for nearly thirty years.
He attended Dad's funeral.
He gave a speech.
He cried.
He told me my father had been like a brother.
He had also vanished from our lives six months after Dad's death.
I looked at Mom.
“You said you used our money to investigate him.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“We found bank transfers.”
“Proof?”
“Some.”
“Where?”
Mom hesitated.
Then Natalie asked the question none of us had asked.
“What does any of this have to do with Claire's money?”
Mom looked at her.
“It has everything to do with it.”
She opened the final compartment of the box.
There was a bank transfer record.
I recognized the account number.
It belonged to Mom.
But the destination account had my name.
I stared.
“That isn't mine.”
“Yes,” Mom said.
“It was created years ago.”
“By whom?”
“You.”
“No.”
“You didn't know about it.”
I turned to Mr. Bennett.
“Is that possible?”
He checked the document.
“It's an investment account.”
“When was it opened?”
“Three years after your father's death.”
I frowned.
“Who had access?”
Mr. Bennett looked at Mom.
She lowered her eyes.
“I did.”
I felt betrayed all over again.
“You created an account in my name?”
“I needed somewhere to move the money.”
“What money?”
Mom's face tightened.
“The money you were giving me.”
Daniel swore under his breath.
I felt dizzy.
“So the eight hundred dollars wasn't being spent on the mortgage.”
“No.”
“Where was it going?”
“Some of it went into that account.”
“How much?”
Mom hesitated.
“About thirty thousand.”
I stared at her.
“And the rest?”
She looked toward the floor.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On what happens next.”
The room went cold.
Daniel stepped forward.
“What does that mean?”
Mom didn't answer.
Then Mr. Bennett's phone rang.
He checked the number.
His face changed.
“It's the county recorder's office.”
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked directly at me.
“Claire, there's a problem.”
My heart sank.
“What?”
“The property at 4418 Maple Ridge Drive is being prepared for a transfer.”
“To whom?”
He listened again.
Then said:
“To Natalie.”
Natalie went completely still.
May you like
“What?”
Mom closed her eyes.
