The blood inside Saint Agnes belonged to Eleanor.<\/p>\n
We learned that before sunrise.<\/p>\n
Not because the laboratory had performed some miracle of speed, but because a small medical kit had been found beside the pew where she apparently waited. Inside were insulin needles, alcohol wipes, and a glucose monitor marked with the name Eleanor Vale.<\/p>\n
One used lancet carried enough blood for a preliminary comparison to material on the scarf.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the blood might not mean she was injured,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Detective Vega nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief arrived cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was the scarf on the floor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the overturned chair?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe note?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know she wrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSame pad and pen found in her bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer bag was there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWallet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made no sense.<\/p>\n
If someone abducted her, why leave identification?<\/p>\n
If she fled, why leave money?<\/p>\n
Ashley examined photographs Vega had allowed her to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there another exit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSacristy door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCamera?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChurch system has been offline for months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
A groundskeeper had seen an older dark sedan near the church around the time of Eleanor\u2019s call but could not identify the driver.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s abandoned vehicle was a silver SUV.<\/p>\n
Jason remained in custody.<\/p>\n
That left unknown participants.<\/p>\n
Or Eleanor herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe might have left willingly,\u201d Ashley said.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter calling us for help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has spent half a century disappearing whenever she believes danger is close.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated the logic.<\/p>\n
Vega\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cJason is requesting to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says it concerns Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Ashley shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely not without counsel present.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m her counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can be both.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can sit beside her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe specifically said Margaret alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen definitely not,\u201d Ashley said.<\/p>\n
I looked at Vega.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan the call be recorded?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Ashley listen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he agrees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Jason\u2019s laughter as police cuffed him.<\/p>\n
He had known something.<\/p>\n
Perhaps everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll speak to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley began objecting.<\/p>\n
I lifted a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used Chloe because she was frightened of losing things. He used me because he assumed I would react emotionally to losing my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are reacting emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not predictably.\u201d<\/p>\n
An hour later, I sat in a small interview room at police headquarters.<\/p>\n
Jason appeared on a monitor from the detention facility.<\/p>\n
No tailored shirt.<\/p>\n
No expensive watch.<\/p>\n
His hair had lost its careful shape.<\/p>\n
Yet he looked calmer than he had in my kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Eleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
No greeting.<\/p>\n
No performance.<\/p>\n
His mouth curved.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen this conversation is finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remained standing.<\/p>\n
Jason leaned toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father is not what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to be a common condition in your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called you from the cemetery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe you and Richard are not coordinating?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I expect you to decide whether believing it keeps your mother alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
His eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Richard take from Wallace?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause my father has spent thirty years looking for Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo kill her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the stupidest thing you have said since I came home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard assaulted Wallace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father panics when he thinks he is losing control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRuns in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason ignored it.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard believed Eleanor had evidence that Franklin ordered Ruth\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo expose Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n
That did not fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin was his grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think families always protect themselves. Sometimes sons spend their entire lives trying to destroy the men who raised them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Thomas.<\/p>\n
Maybe that was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Richard participate in mortgage fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason\u2019s expression shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case was manufactured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather\u2019s remaining partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin was still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. His network was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel Dent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe recanted and died six weeks later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had nothing to do with Dent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re good at this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised Chloe. Compared with adolescence, interrogating criminals is relaxing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, his face showed pain at her name.<\/p>\n
I did not soften.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you marry my daughter to gain access to the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I forced myself not to react.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long had you watched her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout eighteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince university?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father took that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard had been tracing Eleanor\u2019s descendants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo your father identified Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd sent you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert Harrison had stopped responding to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert knew Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband contacted my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year before Robert\u2019s Boston trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found Thomas Vance\u2019s papers after your father died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t understand them immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert found a letter mentioning Ruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s ally.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tracked Richard down?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Richard tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Eleanor might still be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Robert learned the truth from your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd went looking for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Richard send you after Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause after Robert found Eleanor, he stopped trusting Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason smiled bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Eleanor told him something my father had hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Richard had been present the night Ruth died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat perfectly still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old was he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he kill her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound certain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he watched Franklin do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Jason rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father spent the rest of his life believing he could dismantle Franklin\u2019s network from inside. He became exactly like them instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I could do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy marrying my daughter under false pretenses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy installing surveillance in my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy forging my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy manufacturing Chloe\u2019s debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes changed.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
The one accusation he had not expected me to understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason looked toward something outside the camera.<\/p>\n
When he returned, the arrogance had diminished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe debt was supposed to frighten Chloe into asking you to sell voluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew I would refuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you created a forged power of attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI transferred it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Hawthorne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cControlled by Creed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking for whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin Creed does not work for my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho does he work for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people Franklin left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason smiled without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already have the names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why search for it if Creed\u2019s people already know who they are?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the ledger doesn\u2019t only identify the guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt proves where the money went.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley had suspected financial records.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Jason continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin and his partners accumulated land worth hundreds of millions today. They used shell companies, trusts, foundations. Some assets passed to children who have no idea where the money originated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the original ledger connects them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Creed needs it destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed it first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo buy my way out.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not justice.<\/p>\n
Not redemption.<\/p>\n
Leverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou planned to blackmail them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI planned to survive them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to reach through the screen.<\/p>\n
Instead, I asked, \u201cDid you ever love her?\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer took too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually is a cruel word.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Chloe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe will.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I asked for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Eleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Creed knows she is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she had the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou traded my mother\u2019s location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have her location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told dangerous people she existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTime.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk Vega who ordered the officers away from Saint Agnes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone redirected the nearest patrol unit fifteen minutes before Eleanor called Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Creed told me the church would be clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I was arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe expected me to retrieve Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me Creed\u2019s number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already have it in the Hawthorne filings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate number.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recited it.<\/p>\n
I memorized it.<\/p>\n
Then Jason said, \u201cMargaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Creed has Eleanor, he will not hurt her until he knows where the ledger is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if Richard finds them first\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me Richard wants to expose Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why fear him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jason\u2019s expression became grim.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause my father has one weakness stronger than guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will destroy anyone who can prove what I have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven Eleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he still thinks I can be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
I left without answering.<\/p>\n
Ashley waited outside with Vega.<\/p>\n
One look at my face and she stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Vega.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho redirected the patrol unit assigned near Saint Agnes?\u201d<\/p>\n
She went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat patrol unit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within minutes, she was on a secure terminal.<\/p>\n
The record existed.<\/p>\n
A patrol car had been diverted from the church road to a reported domestic disturbance seven miles away.<\/p>\n
The disturbance never happened.<\/p>\n
The instruction had entered the system using valid supervisory credentials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d Ashley asked.<\/p>\n
Vega stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaptain Daniel Reddick.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surname struck me.<\/p>\n
\u201cReddick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley remembered too.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles Reddick was the banker who approached Thomas with Franklin Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vega looked between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel is Charles Reddick\u2019s grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The ledger had not merely documented dead men.<\/p>\n
Their descendants still occupied positions of trust.<\/p>\n
And one of them had just cleared the road around the church where my mother disappeared.<\/p>\n
The blood inside Saint Agnes belonged to Eleanor. We learned that before sunrise. Not because the laboratory had performed some miracle of speed, but because a small medical kit had … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13107","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\/13107","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=13107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13131,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13107\/revisions\/13131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}