The envelope from the anonymous photograph was not inside Unit 606.<\/p>\n
That was the first thing Detective Morales told us the following morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen whoever is texting me has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had access to Victor's unit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales across the interview-room table.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know who has been paying for it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced at Shah.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor's son.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis son knows where Victor is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to him, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep paying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor asked him to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales folded his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis son's name is Daniel Hale. He says Victor contacted him periodically for several years, always from different numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the last time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel send me the messages?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're investigating that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which meant they suspected him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I talk to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned back.<\/p>\n
The police station smelled faintly of burnt coffee.<\/p>\n
Sanders sat beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her about the recordings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Morales nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe've reviewed enough to establish context.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I hear them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed a digital recorder on the table.<\/p>\n
The first file began with Victor's voice.<\/p>\n
I had never heard him before.<\/p>\n
He sounded older than I expected. Rough. Impatient.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeptember twenty-third. If I'm keeping this, I'm keeping it correctly. Arthur will deny everything if this blows up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper rustled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst Magnolia application was my idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Victor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Arthur we could push the refinance through and clean the paperwork later. He knew. Don't let him say he didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Sanders.<\/p>\n
Arthur had lied.<\/p>\n
But not exactly in the way I expected.<\/p>\n
Victor really had initiated the first forgery.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had Eleanor's signature copied from prior documents. Arthur said she'd come around once the money was committed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
A click.<\/p>\n
Next recording.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor caught it. Bank killed the application. Arthur panicked. Told me to take the blame if she went legal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another click.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol knows enough to be dangerous. She prepares half Arthur's paperwork and pretends not to understand the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily wasn't present.<\/p>\n
I was glad.<\/p>\n
The next recording was dated after my mother's death.<\/p>\n
Victor sounded different.<\/p>\n
Less arrogant.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur wants another route into Magnolia. Says Diane is eight and won't know anything until she's eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands curled under the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor coughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already forged one dead-end application while Eleanor was alive. I'm not touching a child's trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording stopped.<\/p>\n
Morales looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere's more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next file began with an argument.<\/p>\n
Arthur's voice.<\/p>\n
You owe me.<\/p>\n
Victor answered.<\/p>\n
I owe you nothing.<\/p>\n
You cost me the Hale project.<\/p>\n
Eleanor killed that deal, not me.<\/p>\n
Because you couldn't control your wife.<\/p>\n
I flinched.<\/p>\n
Arthur's voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
Don't talk about her.<\/p>\n
Then Victor:<\/p>\n
Why? She's dead. That's what you kept saying would solve everything.<\/p>\n
A chair scraped.<\/p>\n
Arthur said something too low to understand.<\/p>\n
Victor responded.<\/p>\n
No, Arthur. I will not manufacture a transfer. The kid gets the house at eighteen. That's the trust.<\/p>\n
Arthur:<\/p>\n
She'll sell it to me.<\/p>\n
Victor laughed.<\/p>\n
For what? Lunch money?<\/p>\n
My face burned.<\/p>\n
Even then.<\/p>\n
Even when I was eight.<\/p>\n
The plan had already existed.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Arthur:<\/p>\n
She'll do what I tell her.<\/p>\n
Victor:<\/p>\n
Maybe. But leave me out of it.<\/p>\n
The file ended.<\/p>\n
I stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
My father had spent ten years waiting for me to become legally capable of surrendering what my mother protected.<\/p>\n
Every lecture about obedience suddenly carried a second meaning.<\/p>\n
Maybe not consciously every time.<\/p>\n
But the structure was there.<\/p>\n
Keep Diane dependent.<\/p>\n
Keep Diane doubtful.<\/p>\n
Keep Diane accustomed to needing permission.<\/p>\n
Then, at eighteen, ask for a signature.<\/p>\n
Morales played another file.<\/p>\n
Victor was alone again.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur offered me one seventy-five to disappear from the estate mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cashier's check.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says it's repayment for money I lost because Eleanor blocked the project. That's partly true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he's also buying silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor sounded disgusted with himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told myself I deserved it. Maybe I did. Doesn't change what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording clicked off.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he left?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy keep records?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's our interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened with Ventura?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales exchanged a glance with Shah.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a recording about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
This one was years later.<\/p>\n
Victor's voice sounded tired.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel says Arthur transferred the Ventura parcel.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI checked county records. Eleanor apparently signed from the grave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol. Has to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called Arthur. He told me to mind my business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him if he ever touched Magnolia, I would send everything to the girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I'd never get close enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor's next words were quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him I wouldn't need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
I looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Victor was protecting me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was firm.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe participated in serious misconduct involving your mother. Later choices don't erase earlier ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
I appreciated that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what was he doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtecting himself, perhaps. Making amends, perhaps. We can't know his motives without asking him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAssuming he's alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he send me everything when I turned eighteen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
But this time the uncertainty suggested something more troubling.<\/p>\n
Maybe Victor had intended to.<\/p>\n
Maybe something prevented him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was his last contact with Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Shah opened her notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cA text eight months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
She read it.<\/p>\n
If Arthur asks, you don't know where anything is.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Arthur ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales's expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad contacted Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor's location.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur told Daniel there were unresolved business matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSaid he didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timeline formed in my head.<\/p>\n
Eight months ago, Victor warned his son.<\/p>\n
Six months ago, Arthur went looking.<\/p>\n
Then, as my eighteenth birthday approached, Arthur prepared the Magnolia transfer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew Victor had evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted it before I turned eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood and paced toward the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did Victor live eight months ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must have something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel says Victor was somewhere in Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor have money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I returned to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the envelope?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo envelope was found.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Daniel has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't assume that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated on the table.<\/p>\n
All four of us looked at it.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Morales nodded.<\/p>\n
I opened the message.<\/p>\n
A location pin.<\/p>\n
No words.<\/p>\n
Shah immediately copied the information.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResidential address.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales was already standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDiane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe messages are being sent to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not make the location safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders touched my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet them check.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated it.<\/p>\n
But I stayed.<\/p>\n
For nearly two hours.<\/p>\n
At 1:17, Morales called Sanders.<\/p>\n
We could hear only his side.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body tightened.<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe address belongs to Daniel Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Daniel is texting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel says he knows where his father is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief hit first.<\/p>\n
Then suspicion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he tell police before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor made him promise not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy change now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Arthur tried to contact him again last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the storage unit was opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur knew his protection was collapsing.<\/p>\n
By three, Morales allowed Daniel to speak with us at the station.<\/p>\n
He was thirty-two, thin, tired-looking and visibly uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're Diane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't know what to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBarely. I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed his hands together.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad talked about her later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she was the only person in that whole mess who knew exactly what Arthur was.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't Victor contact me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn't stop him from keeping evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what stopped him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf prison. Of Arthur. Of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew what he'd done to your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he didn't get to show up when you turned eighteen and pretend he was some hero.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, at least, sounded honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Morales.<\/p>\n
The detective nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside Reno.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I talk to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he would talk to police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel studied me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he has spent ten years deciding what I should know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard my mother's letter in my own voice.<\/p>\n
The right to decide for yourself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'd like one person involved in this to stop doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he left, he handed Morales an envelope.<\/p>\n
The envelope from the photograph.<\/p>\n
My name was written across the front.<\/p>\n
DIANE REYNOLDS \u2014 ONLY IF ARTHUR COMES LOOKING.<\/p>\n
Morales photographed it, documented it and finally allowed Sanders to open it in my presence.<\/p>\n
Inside were three pages.<\/p>\n
The first was a letter from Victor.<\/p>\n
Diane,<\/p>\n
If you're reading this, Arthur has probably tried to get Magnolia from you.<\/p>\n
I was involved in the first attempt to use that house against your mother's wishes. That was my idea, and Arthur agreed to it. Eleanor caught us.<\/p>\n
I kept evidence because Arthur later asked me to help him defeat the trust after she died. I refused.<\/p>\n
The second page listed accounts, companies and dates.<\/p>\n
Ventura.<\/p>\n
Palm Springs.<\/p>\n
Reynolds Management Services.<\/p>\n
At the bottom was a company I hadn't seen before.<\/p>\n
ER Education Fund.<\/p>\n
I looked at Sanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor's letter explained.<\/p>\n
Your mother funded this separately for your education. Arthur was never supposed to control it.<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
The amount written beside it was $450,000.<\/p>\n
Initial funding.<\/p>\n
I looked at Sanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He was already reaching for his phone.<\/p>\n
The third page contained one sentence.<\/p>\n
If Arthur tells Diane she has no money for university, ask him what happened to Eleanor's education fund.<\/p>\n
I thought of Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
My father telling me I had three days to leave.<\/p>\n
Find work.<\/p>\n
Support yourself.<\/p>\n
He had believed I failed.<\/p>\n
He had believed I had no future.<\/p>\n
And somewhere, apparently, my mother had left nearly half a million dollars specifically to ensure that I did.<\/p>\n
The envelope from the anonymous photograph was not inside Unit 606. That was the first thing Detective Morales told us the following morning. \u201cThen whoever is texting me has it.\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12212","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\/12212","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=12212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12236,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12212\/revisions\/12236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}