Robert sat on the motel room's only chair while the rest of us remained standing.<\/p>\n
He looked like a defendant.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, in some sense, he was.<\/p>\n
I closed the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom drove your car back to St. Anne's?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause her car had already been seen there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert rubbed his hands together.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret believed whoever killed Peter was watching the parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she used your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd where were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Gerald's house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did you return to the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told us you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The admission came quietly.<\/p>\n
Daniel folded his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo your story about going back for the flash drive was false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo protect Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger flared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep protecting her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause what she did after Peter died could make it look like she was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stared at the carpet.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe removed evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe flash drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad gave it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you left it in his room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mom retrieved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert glanced toward Vanessa.<\/p>\n
She seemed genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt contained recordings Peter made of Victor and William.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already found recordings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot those.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was different?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese were conversations about the development financing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel immediately understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe forged release.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCriminal evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Mom do with the drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word hit the room hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought it would protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Always protection.<\/p>\n
Always destruction.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtect me from what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe companies in your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would destroying evidence help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the recordings also proved Peter knew your identity was being used months before he told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he didn't stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad would never allow that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he was trying to trace the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel's expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe let the fraudulent companies remain active as part of his investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
My identity had become bait for everyone.<\/p>\n
Even my father.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when she learned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe confronted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days before the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they fight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow badly?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBadly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I suddenly remembered a call from Mom that week.<\/p>\n
Her voice had sounded strained.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I had ever considered moving.<\/p>\n
I had laughed and told her Robert loved the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Had she been trying to get me away?<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom blame Dad for putting me at risk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then Dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
A terrible thought formed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she think Dad's own investigation caused his death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was why she destroyed the flash drive. She thought continuing the investigation would get you killed too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't explain why she went back to the hospital disguised as Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn't disguised as me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe drove your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she enter Peter's room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get the drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did she enter without being logged?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used a service entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told her about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at Vanessa.<\/p>\n
Nobody needed the answer.<\/p>\n
Vanessa stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Robert said. \u201cVictor did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor helped Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That contradicted nearly everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then Margaret and Victor were working together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa whispered, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter suspected Victor. Margaret didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Dad's recording.<\/p>\n
I made the mistake of assuming the obvious suspect was the correct one.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom believed William was behind everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed he had stolen money but wasn't responsible for the larger scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerald's ledger had suggested the same.<\/p>\n
Daniel asked, \u201cThen why did Victor disguise himself later?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already suspect that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean Victor wasn't even near the hospital after he signed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe met her in the parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore she left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the person impersonating Victor entered afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mom knew the real Victor had left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was how she knew the man in the security still wasn't him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained her letter.<\/p>\n
William will want you to believe he killed your father.<\/p>\n
He did not.<\/p>\n
She was talking about the disguised figure.<\/p>\n
Not William.<\/p>\n
Not necessarily Victor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't Mom tell police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't trust them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone had already altered the accident report.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first responding officer noted tire marks from another vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't see that in the archived report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho removed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret never proved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy no?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor gave her a copy of the original notes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Every villain kept becoming partly helpful.<\/p>\n
Every helper kept becoming partly guilty.<\/p>\n
Lucas spoke from the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan somebody in this family have one clean role?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
I looked at Robert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after Mom returned to Gerald's?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had Peter's blood samples and the flash drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe joined us twenty minutes later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were all together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert, Margaret, Gerald and Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you decide?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert's expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo bury everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou decided what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTemporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou buried evidence of Dad's murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believed going public would expose you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fraudulent companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose were forged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all the signatures were.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked miserable.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, you signed some of the formation documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought they were refinancing papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou signed a packet at our kitchen table.\u201d<\/p>\n
A memory surfaced.<\/p>\n
Robert bringing home documents.<\/p>\n
Saying they were connected to a home-equity rate adjustment.<\/p>\n
I had signed where he pointed while making dinner.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd those signatures created companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
Marisol whispered, \u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was already involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow involved?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n
Robert rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI received payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes snapped toward Vanessa.<\/p>\n
She didn't look away.<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cAlmost six hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIntroducing entities. Signing resolutions. Confirming identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom's identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt numb.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally.<\/p>\n
A truth without disguise.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was legal. Aggressive, maybe. But legal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you know it wasn't?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then William had records showing I had participated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not protection. That's cowardice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No defense.<\/p>\n
No explanation.<\/p>\n
Just yes.<\/p>\n
It made anger harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd confronted you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe then recruited you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo help expose William.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Mom believed Victor could be turned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Robert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the blood evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGerald's son tested it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMidazolam. No other unusual drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAir embolism?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCouldn't prove it from the sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do with the blood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDestroyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My head snapped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou destroyed that too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret ordered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone keeps hiding behind my dead mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Vanessa.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked for William afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell him Mom and Victor were cooperating?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou followed them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI followed Robert and Margaret. Victor arrived after I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo William didn't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe learned later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was suddenly the most important question.<\/p>\n
Someone inside the group.<\/p>\n
Mom.<\/p>\n
Robert.<\/p>\n
Gerald.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
One of them leaked.<\/p>\n
Or someone else watched.<\/p>\n
Daniel pulled up the timeline on his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa dies. Grandma retrieves the flash drive. Group meets at Gerald's. Evidence gets destroyed. Then what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing for two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Peter had recorded him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew the flash drive was gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Margaret had joined Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The leak had been devastatingly specific.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew all three facts?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cGerald.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa added, \u201cPossibly Samuel Ortega.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter told Samuel more than people think.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered Ortega arriving at the bank with Dad's envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Samuel know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the easement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cWe need to stop using memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Vanessa.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said William had you collect hospital security footage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny copy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCloud storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor once, thank God for people who don't delete things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept the full east-corridor export.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore and after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you access it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened a laptop from her bag.<\/p>\n
The connection was painfully slow.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Finally a folder appeared.<\/p>\n
ST ANNE \u2014 11\/15.<\/p>\n
She downloaded the files.<\/p>\n
Daniel connected the laptop to the motel television.<\/p>\n
The first video showed the east hallway.<\/p>\n
Time stamp 12:47 a.m.<\/p>\n
We accelerated.<\/p>\n
Mom arrived at 12:52.<\/p>\n
She entered Dad's room.<\/p>\n
Left nineteen minutes later.<\/p>\n
Then the real Victor appeared at 1:03.<\/p>\n
Entered.<\/p>\n
Left at 1:27.<\/p>\n
He was clearly himself.<\/p>\n
No disguise.<\/p>\n
No coat.<\/p>\n
At 1:29, Vanessa appeared.<\/p>\n
She walked toward the service stairwell.<\/p>\n
At 1:31, a man wearing Ortega's camel coat entered from the stairs.<\/p>\n
He paused.<\/p>\n
Turned slightly.<\/p>\n
Even with the grainy image, his face looked like Victor's.<\/p>\n
But now we knew it was a disguise.<\/p>\n
At 1:32, Vanessa joined him.<\/p>\n
They spoke.<\/p>\n
Then the man entered Dad's room.<\/p>\n
Vanessa walked away.<\/p>\n
At 1:34, the monitor alarm began.<\/p>\n
Nurses ran toward the room.<\/p>\n
The disguised man slipped out through the service door.<\/p>\n
Daniel paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at his gait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's limping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight leg.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor didn't limp.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGerald?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shook his head.<\/p>\n
Then Marisol whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa's funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
We looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a man with a cane.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
Not William.<\/p>\n
Not Victor.<\/p>\n
Another man.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Near the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marisol looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert had gone pale.<\/p>\n
I saw recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at the frozen frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven't seen him in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't have an uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father's younger brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name is Thomas Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed because the alternative was shouting.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was an only child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what he told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger returned instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElena\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop introducing secret relatives every time we solve one mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I were.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter told me the night before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Thomas was the person he finally realized he'd overlooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the frozen image.<\/p>\n
The disguised man.<\/p>\n
The limp.<\/p>\n
The uncle I had never heard of.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened between them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert's voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas went to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at the trust documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I felt the answer before asking.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas believe Dad owed him something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe land under your house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert sat on the motel room's only chair while the rest of us remained standing. He looked like a defendant. Perhaps, in some sense, he was. I closed the door. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12167","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\/12167","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=12167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12191,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12167\/revisions\/12191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}