We reached the Bell property shortly after one in the morning.<\/p>\n
Patrice had spent the drive making calls I could only partly follow. Renee had confirmed in writing that nobody had permission to excavate her property. A sheriff\u2019s deputy was on the way. A federal contact had been notified about possible destruction of evidence connected to financial fraud.<\/p>\n
None of that made the dark road ahead feel safer.<\/p>\n
Evan rode with Patrice.<\/p>\n
Marianne followed separately.<\/p>\n
I sat in the passenger seat watching the tree line pass through the headlights.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s last instruction would not leave me alone.<\/p>\n
Drain the pond.<\/p>\n
My father had taught Daniel and me to fish there when we were children. Daddy kept an aluminum boat chained to a cypress stump and complained every spring that turtles stole more fish than we caught.<\/p>\n
The idea that Victor Lang\u2019s records might have been beneath that water while our family picnicked beside it made my skin crawl.<\/p>\n
Patrice slowed before the turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cEquipment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two floodlights glowed beyond the trees.<\/p>\n
We stopped at the gate.<\/p>\n
A chain had been cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not sitting here while somebody destroys Daniel\u2019s evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are also not walking toward heavy machinery in the dark without knowing who is operating it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was reasonable.<\/p>\n
I hated reasonable.<\/p>\n
We waited until the deputy arrived.<\/p>\n
Then we drove in together.<\/p>\n
The field had been torn open by truck tires.<\/p>\n
Near the pond sat an excavator, a pump trailer and two utility vehicles.<\/p>\n
The pump was running.<\/p>\n
A thick hose carried water from the pond toward a drainage ditch.<\/p>\n
The waterline had already dropped several feet.<\/p>\n
Someone was draining it.<\/p>\n
A man stood beside the excavator.<\/p>\n
Thomas Gentry.<\/p>\n
He did not run.<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
He simply watched us approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sounded exactly as it had on the phone.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Professional.<\/p>\n
As if we had met to discuss a property listing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt one thirty in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to finish before weather comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have authorization from the property owner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Renee Bell?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the party controlling the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRenee Bell owns this parcel.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes moved toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwnership is more complicated than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything in my life had become more complicated than that.<\/p>\n
The deputy asked Gentry for documentation.<\/p>\n
He produced a work order.<\/p>\n
Patrice read it.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
The authorization carried Renee\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Forged.<\/p>\n
I recognized the pattern immediately.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s world ran on people who were absent but somehow always available to sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cRenee didn\u2019t sign that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t for me to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Victor Lang.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression barely changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found properties for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI sold real estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew my father\u2019s land was being purchased through Dale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are we repeating ourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dale says you lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
That produced something.<\/p>\n
Not fear.<\/p>\n
Annoyance.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale is frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pump continued its mechanical throb behind him.<\/p>\n
The deputy ordered it shut down until ownership and authorization could be verified.<\/p>\n
Gentry did not resist.<\/p>\n
One of his workers killed the engine.<\/p>\n
Silence spread across the field.<\/p>\n
Without the pump, I could hear frogs along the remaining water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is under there?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Gentry looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor\u2019s books.\u201d<\/p>\n
A small smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I want to hear you say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re more like Daniel than I remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comparison made my chest tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he was going to die?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice said my name.<\/p>\n
Gentry\u2019s smile vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Victor threatened him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about the insurance policy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Daniel had been poisoned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deputy shifted closer.<\/p>\n
Gentry noticed.<\/p>\n
He looked irritated rather than frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor believed somebody had tampered with Daniel\u2019s drink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor supplied the bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he poison it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor thought Dale did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The field seemed to go silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor was furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2019s death created attention Victor didn\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe collected insurance money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe collected debt repayment. That was different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re trying to turn Victor into a simple monster because simple monsters are easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he not a monster?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he was careful. Daniel dying immediately after threatening exposure was not careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Victor pay Dr. Vance?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry\u2019s eyes shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Vance do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry did not answer.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor pay him for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep questions from being asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout poisoning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the hemorrhage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe poison caused bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Gentry continued quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Vance could make the bleeding look medically unsurprising.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deputy said, \u201cSir, I recommend you be careful about what you say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry gave a tired laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat advice is about fifteen years late.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the shrinking pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Victor didn\u2019t poison Daniel, who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dale have access to the bottle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes returned to mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were at Daniel\u2019s workshop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier that afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor asked me to retrieve property maps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the bourbon there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you have opened it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I no longer knew whether any answer deserved belief.<\/p>\n
Patrice interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you draining this pond tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause somebody contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two hours ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
After he called me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Carol had found Daniel\u2019s tapes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat federal investigators would be here by morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he ordered you to destroy Victor\u2019s records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry looked toward the excavator.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to retrieve them before somebody else did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you help him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t helping Dale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho were you helping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Another person with an interest.<\/p>\n
Another layer.<\/p>\n
Gentry walked slowly toward the water\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n
The deputy stopped him before he got far.<\/p>\n
He pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee that concrete structure?\u201d<\/p>\n
The lowered water exposed the top of something near the pond\u2019s center.<\/p>\n
A rectangular slab.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t there when we were children,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was it installed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Daddy died.<\/p>\n
Before the land sale.<\/p>\n
Before the holding company.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stunned me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy knew Victor stored records here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he think it was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA survey monument.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder a pond?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father wasn\u2019t a surveyor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The structure contained a waterproof vault.<\/p>\n
According to Gentry, Victor had installed it when he began accumulating private lending records too dangerous to keep in an office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Daddy\u2019s land?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor believed he would eventually own it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father owed him money.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother\u2019s treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words struck harder than I expected.<\/p>\n
Mama had died of cancer when I was nineteen.<\/p>\n
Daddy had spent everything trying to keep her alive.<\/p>\n
Hospitals.<\/p>\n
Specialists.<\/p>\n
Trips to Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Bills he never discussed with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally about seventy thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLoaned it privately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daddy repay him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Victor want the land?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInterest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Victor had turned grief into collateral.<\/p>\n
I looked at the pond differently.<\/p>\n
Daddy had stood beside that water carrying a debt Daniel and I never knew existed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is in the vault?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginal loan files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPayments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBribes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a file on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel found out about the vault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he open it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained everything.<\/p>\n
Daniel had not merely found suspicious payments in Victor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
He had found Victor\u2019s archive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he take?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCopies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe insurance files.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Daniel\u2019s cassette.<\/p>\n
Three people died after you placed coverage on them.<\/p>\n
He had seen the originals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA file on Dale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw the contents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the vault.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Patrice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that file explains Victor\u2019s leverage over Dale\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may explain why Dale stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentry laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cStayed?\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Dale was trapped?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he wants Carol to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you believe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDale stayed because eventually he realized being Victor\u2019s partner was more profitable than being his debtor.\u201d<\/p>\n
That fit too well.<\/p>\n
The deputy contacted additional officers.<\/p>\n
Nobody touched the vault until a warrant and proper evidence team could be arranged.<\/p>\n
We waited beside Daddy\u2019s pond while the eastern horizon slowly lightened.<\/p>\n
At four forty, Marianne approached me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGentry is leaving something out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew the vault combination.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe maintained the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor trusted nobody with that combination except three people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor. Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward Gentry.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Gentry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if Gentry planned to retrieve the records tonight\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed someone who knew the combination.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
He was speaking with the deputy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Dale is at the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Emily.<\/p>\n
Mom, Dad just called. He says his flight was canceled.<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily replied.<\/p>\n
He wouldn\u2019t tell me.<\/p>\n
I showed Patrice.<\/p>\n
She immediately spoke to the deputy.<\/p>\n
At six fifteen, the evidence team arrived.<\/p>\n
The pond had fallen low enough to reach the vault by temporary walkway.<\/p>\n
A technician cleared mud from the steel access panel.<\/p>\n
There was a keypad.<\/p>\n
Gentry watched.<\/p>\n
Nobody asked him for the code.<\/p>\n
Marianne supplied it under supervision.<\/p>\n
The vault opened.<\/p>\n
Inside were waterproof document boxes.<\/p>\n
Dozens.<\/p>\n
Each marked with initials and dates.<\/p>\n
Evan began identifying Victor\u2019s notation system.<\/p>\n
Then I saw one.<\/p>\n
D.H.<\/p>\n
Dale Harris.<\/p>\n
The box was heavier than the others.<\/p>\n
Inside were loan agreements, insurance documents, photographs and correspondence going back nineteen years.<\/p>\n
The first loan matched Daniel\u2019s recording.<\/p>\n
Eighty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
The collateral section named Daniel Bell\u2019s life-insurance policy.<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
The next documents showed something Daniel had not known.<\/p>\n
Dale had not merely accepted the policy Victor arranged.<\/p>\n
He had requested it.<\/p>\n
I read his handwritten application note.<\/p>\n
D. Bell financially essential to planned family development. Coverage necessary.<\/p>\n
I had to sit down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked for insurance on Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrice crouched beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The file continued.<\/p>\n
A second policy.<\/p>\n
On me.<\/p>\n
Also requested by Dale.<\/p>\n
Not forced on him by Victor.<\/p>\n
Requested.<\/p>\n
I felt the last surviving version of my old marriage crack.<\/p>\n
Then Evan found a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
Across the front Victor had written:<\/p>\n
D.H. \u2014 LEVERAGE.<\/p>\n
Inside were photographs.<\/p>\n
Dale meeting a banker.<\/p>\n
Dale exchanging envelopes with Gentry.<\/p>\n
Dale entering Dr. Vance\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
And one photograph taken the night before Daniel died.<\/p>\n
Time stamp: 8:41 p.m.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s truck was parked outside Daniel\u2019s workshop.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
The recording began around nine twenty-eight.<\/p>\n
Dale had told me he left home around nine.<\/p>\n
But the photograph showed his truck there earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied about when he arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne whispered, \u201cHe was there before Daniel and I met.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which meant Dale could have entered the workshop.<\/p>\n
Could have opened the bourbon.<\/p>\n
Could have moved the insurance papers.<\/p>\n
Could have left before Marianne arrived.<\/p>\n
The final item in the envelope was a handwritten note from Victor.<\/p>\n
Dale handled D.B. problem himself. Too reckless. Vance will contain medical exposure. Keep evidence in case D.H. becomes difficult.<\/p>\n
My vision blurred.<\/p>\n
D.B.<\/p>\n
Daniel Bell.<\/p>\n
D.H.<\/p>\n
Dale Harris.<\/p>\n
I read it again.<\/p>\n
Dale handled D.B. problem himself.<\/p>\n
Patrice took the page from my shaking hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still need to establish what \u2018handled\u2019 means.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
We both knew what it probably meant.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Dale.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
Neither Patrice nor the deputy stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was quiet.<\/p>\n
I looked at Victor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were at Daniel\u2019s workshop before Marianne arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened the bourbon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou poisoned my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing became audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t supposed to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words tore through me.<\/p>\n
Nobody around me moved.<\/p>\n
I put the phone on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you put in his drink?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA blood thinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put poison in his bourbon without knowing how much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor gave it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Victor ordered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel was going to destroy everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not Victor.<\/p>\n
Not Vance.<\/p>\n
Not Gentry.<\/p>\n
My husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you trying to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMake him sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForty-eight hours. Maybe three days. Victor said if Daniel missed the meeting with federal investigators, we could move the files and unwind enough of the structure to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtect me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed it would protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor know beforehand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGentry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel asked you for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was your friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you poisoned him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale began crying.<\/p>\n
I had heard him cry twice in twenty-six years.<\/p>\n
At our daughter\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
At Daniel\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n
Now I understood what some of those funeral tears had meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to see Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stay away from her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to hurt her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said the same kind of thing about Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went silent.<\/p>\n
Then the call disconnected.<\/p>\n
I looked at Patrice.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was already dialing.<\/p>\n
I called too.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then a message arrived from my daughter.<\/p>\n
Mom, Dad is at my apartment.<\/p>\n
We reached the Bell property shortly after one in the morning. Patrice had spent the drive making calls I could only partly follow. Renee had confirmed in writing that nobody … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11249,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11229\/revisions\/11249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}