The photograph stayed on my screen until Detective Ortiz took the phone from my hand.<\/p>\n
Arthur Bell looked directly into the camera as though seventeen years had been a brief inconvenience.<\/p>\n
Victor sat opposite him.<\/p>\n
A coffee cup stood between them.<\/p>\n
Behind Arthur was a window reflecting fluorescent lights and the dark outline of shelving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was this taken?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Ortiz enlarged the image.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Victor was meeting him under surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you know where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know where they were supposed to meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
Martin watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat photograph did not come from your operation, did it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word changed the room.<\/p>\n
Graham stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who took it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Victor okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige reached for his arm.<\/p>\n
He did not pull away.<\/p>\n
Ortiz continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor agreed to meet Arthur at a caf\u00e9 near the industrial district. Officers established surveillance before he arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur never entered.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is sitting across from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Victor went somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham cursed.<\/p>\n
Ortiz ignored it.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor\u2019s car left the caf\u00e9 parking lot eight minutes after he arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou followed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a vehicle change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlanned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective\u2019s refusal to speculate would have impressed me under different circumstances.<\/p>\n
Now it made me want to shake her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you track his phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Arthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo confirmed device.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked again at the image.<\/p>\n
Arthur had aged better than a man who had supposedly drowned.<\/p>\n
His hair was thin.<\/p>\n
His cheeks hollow.<\/p>\n
But his eyes were exactly as I remembered.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Patient.<\/p>\n
Slightly amused by other people\u2019s confusion.<\/p>\n
Thomas had disliked that expression.<\/p>\n
I had once thought the dislike petty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to speak to him,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Graham turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
He caught himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I really, really do not want you to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will not contact him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not mean you respond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen eventually he\u2019ll need to tell me what.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prefer to control when that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetective, nothing about this has been controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
That earned the smallest reaction from her.<\/p>\n
Not disagreement.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Martin said, \u201cEvelyn is right about one thing. Arthur did not return simply to send messages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the Harbor account still requires her authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes you a target.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed harder than I expected.<\/p>\n
Target.<\/p>\n
Not merely participant.<\/p>\n
Not merely owner.<\/p>\n
Something to be reached.<\/p>\n
Used.<\/p>\n
Moved.<\/p>\n
I thought of Thomas warning Graham not to confuse love with control.<\/p>\n
Arthur apparently had no such philosophical concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens if I refuse to sign anything?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Martin answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may try to prove your authorization is unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Graham.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if that fails?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
That silence was enough.<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Ortiz held out her hand.<\/p>\n
I gave it to her.<\/p>\n
A new message had appeared.<\/p>\n
HE LIED TO YOU ABOUT THE LAST NIGHT.<\/p>\n
No name.<\/p>\n
No explanation.<\/p>\n
Graham looked over Ortiz\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be anyone,\u201d Paige said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad,\u201d Graham replied immediately.<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat last night?\u201d<\/p>\n
I already knew.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s final night conscious.<\/p>\n
He had stopped speaking clearly by morning.<\/p>\n
The evening before, he had asked everyone to leave his hospital room except me.<\/p>\n
Or so I had believed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d Martin asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas\u2019s last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded false even to me.<\/p>\n
I corrected myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing I recognized as unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas had asked about T&E.<\/p>\n
That much I remembered.<\/p>\n
Not the properties.<\/p>\n
Not the bank accounts.<\/p>\n
Only one question.<\/p>\n
Is the green book still at home?<\/p>\n
I had told him yes.<\/p>\n
Then he had relaxed.<\/p>\n
At the time, I assumed he meant the fishing journal because he liked having familiar objects nearby.<\/p>\n
Now I understood.<\/p>\n
He had been checking whether the evidence remained safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone visit him after I left?\u201d I asked Martin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were at the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was legally missing by then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige said, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean he wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
She shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s apparently our theme.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
Her expression shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep the scene closed. I\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hung up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Graham asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found Victor\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside an abandoned printing warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould have been taken there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz headed for the door.<\/p>\n
Graham followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not letting\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s involved my children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I will inform you when I have verified information.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay together tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost objected.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the photographs of Owen and Lily.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz left.<\/p>\n
We returned to my cottage.<\/p>\n
Paige\u2019s mother kept the children overnight.<\/p>\n
Ruth came too, bringing enough food to survive a siege.<\/p>\n
No one ate much.<\/p>\n
At ten twenty, Ortiz called.<\/p>\n
Victor was alive.<\/p>\n
That was the first good news.<\/p>\n
The second was stranger.<\/p>\n
He had walked into a police precinct thirty miles away.<\/p>\n
Alone.<\/p>\n
With a briefcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe surrendered?\u201d Graham asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was never under arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz\u2019s voice remained flat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Arthur released him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReleased?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe claims he was held for several hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Arthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in the briefcase?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDocuments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor says they prove Thomas knew the original Graham transaction was fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
The thing Arthur needed.<\/p>\n
The thing he supposedly wanted from Victor.<\/p>\n
Yet Victor had emerged carrying it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Arthur let him leave with that?\u201d Paige asked.<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
Ortiz answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what we are determining.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we see Victor?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he know where Arthur is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe he has reasons not to tell us everything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like Victor.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Arthur hurt him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMinor injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBruising. A cut above one eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham looked away.<\/p>\n
Ortiz continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also has a message for you, Mrs. Walsh.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Arthur wants you to read Thomas\u2019s final affidavit before deciding whether to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat affidavit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor claims it is in the briefcase.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Martin.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas make one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot through me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat phrase is getting tiresome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz said, \u201cWe are authenticating everything before you see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated waiting.<\/p>\n
But by morning, waiting had done something useful.<\/p>\n
It revealed the first major lie.<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s briefcase contained an affidavit signed by Thomas.<\/p>\n
Unlike the forged trust amendment, this signature was genuine.<\/p>\n
The paper was genuine.<\/p>\n
The date was genuine.<\/p>\n
The notary was genuine.<\/p>\n
And the contents were devastating.<\/p>\n
Martin read the copy first.<\/p>\n
Then me.<\/p>\n
Thomas stated that years earlier, he had discovered unauthorized transactions involving Victor Lane and records in Graham\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that Graham had not knowingly participated in the theft.<\/p>\n
He also stated that Arthur Bell had moved company reserves into the Harbor structure to prevent further losses.<\/p>\n
So far, everything matched what we had learned.<\/p>\n
Then came the part I did not expect.<\/p>\n
Thomas acknowledged that he had asked Arthur to maintain control of the Harbor funds temporarily.<\/p>\n
My hands stopped moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas authorized him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
Thomas wrote that once Victor\u2019s conduct was contained, Arthur refused to return control.<\/p>\n
He claimed the assets needed protection from Thomas himself.<\/p>\n
That was the break.<\/p>\n
Not theft at the beginning.<\/p>\n
Not betrayal from the first transfer.<\/p>\n
A legitimate emergency measure that became something else.<\/p>\n
Control.<\/p>\n
Arthur convinced himself he was the only person capable of protecting the money.<\/p>\n
The same moral failure Thomas later warned Graham about.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw himself in Arthur,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas warning Graham against turning responsibility into authority.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that lesson did not begin with our son.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Thomas had watched Arthur become consumed by exactly that mistake.<\/p>\n
There was more.<\/p>\n
Thomas stated that Arthur had threatened to reveal Graham\u2019s drunken recording and forged transactions if Thomas pursued him aggressively.<\/p>\n
Not because the evidence proved Graham guilty.<\/p>\n
Because scandal would damage him anyway.<\/p>\n
Thomas made a choice.<\/p>\n
He preserved the evidence.<\/p>\n
Locked Arthur out of what he could.<\/p>\n
And waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d Graham asked when we gathered later.<\/p>\n
Martin answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas believed Arthur would eventually return for Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeventeen years later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas could not predict when.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he expected it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the affidavit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
I already knew.<\/p>\n
Protection.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Thomas had believed knowledge would burden me.<\/p>\n
So he carried it alone.<\/p>\n
And in doing so, left everyone vulnerable to the very secrets he had tried to contain.<\/p>\n
Victor was brought in shortly before noon.<\/p>\n
His left eye was swollen.<\/p>\n
A thin bandage crossed his temple.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you Arthur wasn\u2019t finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also failed to mention he once had Thomas\u2019s permission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know about the affidavit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin sat across from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Arthur release you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to deliver the affidavit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not send it himself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he wants Evelyn to believe Thomas betrayed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy proving Thomas kept Arthur involved after discovering my theft.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not prove betrayal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Arthur, it does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur has had seventeen years to perfect his opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Thomas used everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham tensed.<\/p>\n
I raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is allowed to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas protected Graham by keeping you ignorant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe protected you by keeping Graham ignorant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe protected the company by using Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd protected his reputation by not prosecuting me publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last statement carried bitterness.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted prosecution?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen do not resent the mercy you exploited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked away.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
I was tired of men turning their own choices into Thomas\u2019s moral failures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Arthur want?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s eyes returned to mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Harbor account.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You know he wants the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t want to steal it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be reassuring if I were foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believes it belongs to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he preserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes him a custodian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his mind, it makes him the reason it exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he spent seventeen years protecting money and decided that earned him five million dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople build entire religions around less.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said, \u201cWhat is Arthur proposing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn authorizes transfer of half the Harbor account.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Arthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo a foundation he controls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t heard\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor nodded as if expecting it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you\u2019d say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why bother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the alternative involves Graham.\u201d<\/p>\n
My son stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat alternative?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur still has the original recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd copies of your genuine signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd correspondence that can be framed to suggest you knowingly participated in the old fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said, \u201cFramed evidence is not evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn court? Eventually, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Graham.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn public? Faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Scandal again.<\/p>\n
A lie wrapped in enough truth to survive the first headline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly is the threat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Victor hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur releases everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n
Victor frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham\u2019s name\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill survive a newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom,\u201d Graham said quietly.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
His face was pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to decide for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence stopped me.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Arthur has something, let him release it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paige stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done letting Dad\u2019s fear run my life seventeen years after he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas had died nearly five years ago, but I understood what he meant.<\/p>\n
The secret had begun long before.<\/p>\n
Graham looked at Victor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said stupid things. I signed something I shouldn\u2019t have. I lied to Dad because I was ashamed. That\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I didn\u2019t steal from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Arthur wants to accuse me, let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something in me loosen.<\/p>\n
This was the choice Thomas had wanted him capable of making.<\/p>\n
Not perfection.<\/p>\n
Ownership.<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Then answered.<\/p>\n
The conversation lasted less than a minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He placed the phone down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bank holding Harbor received new instructions this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA transfer request.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin looked at Paige.<\/p>\n
Everyone followed his gaze.<\/p>\n
Her face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe receiving account is in your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Paige stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never heard of Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Arthur transfer money to Paige?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not be trying to take the account anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is he trying to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroy the family before he walks away.\u201d<\/p>\n
The photograph stayed on my screen until Detective Ortiz took the phone from my hand. Arthur Bell looked directly into the camera as though seventeen years had been a brief … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11992","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\/11992","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=11992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12016,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11992\/revisions\/12016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}