{"id":17246,"date":"2026-09-22T21:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T21:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17246"},"modified":"2026-09-22T21:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T21:41:17","slug":"part-10-candice-finally-admitted-my-guardianship-was-part-of-a-business-model-and-her-fear-led-us-to-families-who-had-already-lost-their-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17246","title":{"rendered":"PART 10 \u2013 Candice Finally Admitted My Guardianship Was Part of a Business Model, and Her Fear Led Us to Families Who Had Already Lost Their Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Police reached Candice\u2019s motel before we did.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca forbade us from leaving the house until Detective Ortiz called.<\/p>\n<p>For once, I did not argue.<\/p>\n<p>At three fourteen, Ortiz confirmed Candice was physically unharmed.<\/p>\n<p>The hallway camera had captured a hooded figure approaching her room from the rear stairwell.<\/p>\n<p>Face obscured.<\/p>\n<p>Gloves.<\/p>\n<p>No useful license plate.<\/p>\n<p>The note had been printed on ordinary office paper.<\/p>\n<p>No obvious fingerprints.<\/p>\n<p>Candice agreed to speak formally in the morning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe needs protection,\u201d Julian said.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz answered through the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has been moved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not giving that location over a phone line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat will be her decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized the expression.<\/p>\n<p>The old Julian would have gone anyway.<\/p>\n<p>The new one was learning that wanting access did not create a right to it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>At sunrise, I made coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Julian sat at the kitchen table without sleeping.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should rest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo should you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt eighty-one, sleep becomes less obedient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>The security installer arrived at seven.<\/p>\n<p>Cameras went above the front porch, driveway, rear door and laundry-room window.<\/p>\n<p>Motion lights followed.<\/p>\n<p>Julian asked before changing any setting.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered more to me than the equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca arrived at eight with a box of pastries nobody touched.<\/p>\n<p>At eight thirty, Malcolm called.<\/p>\n<p>His audit of the law firm\u2019s archived access logs was incomplete, but one fact was clear.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Reeves had opened Arthur\u2019s trust file twenty-three times during his final year at the firm.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-three.<\/p>\n<p>His assigned work required none.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca asked, \u201cDid he download documents?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least seven times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re reconstructing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he print?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than two hundred pages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the phone.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur\u2019s private protections had become somebody else\u2019s instruction manual.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere usually is,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReeves accessed files belonging to other elderly clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca sat straighter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPotentially seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWere any connected to Meridian Care Consulting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re checking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not contact Meridian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreserve every log.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlready done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the call, Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis may extend far beyond you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are not responsible for solving all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnowing something does not mean I intend to ignore it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assumed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Detective Ortiz arrived at nine forty.<\/p>\n<p>She brought another detective, Marcus Bell, who specialized in financial crimes involving vulnerable adults.<\/p>\n<p>I disliked the phrase vulnerable adults.<\/p>\n<p>Not because it was inaccurate.<\/p>\n<p>Because people often heard vulnerable and stopped hearing adult.<\/p>\n<p>Bell did not make that mistake.<\/p>\n<p>He asked me questions directly.<\/p>\n<p>When Julian answered one, Bell looked back at me until I spoke.<\/p>\n<p>I liked him immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Candice had given a preliminary statement overnight.<\/p>\n<p>She admitted helping Natalie assemble a file concerning me.<\/p>\n<p>She admitted falsely characterizing my memory.<\/p>\n<p>She admitted signing my name to at least one document.<\/p>\n<p>Julian lowered his head.<\/p>\n<p>I did not.<\/p>\n<p>Bell continued.<\/p>\n<p>Candice claimed Natalie convinced her that guardianship could be obtained legally if enough evidence existed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knew the evidence was misleading,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen she knew the process was not honest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is our concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Magnolia Gardens?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell exchanged a look with Ortiz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCandice says Meridian receives referral payments from multiple care facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much for me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight thousand dollars if admission became permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why Natalie wanted Mom moved?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney may have been one motive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I appreciated may.<\/p>\n<p>Facts first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWere there other incentives?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeridian also offered estate-transition services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn some cases, after a client entered long-term care, Meridian helped families sell homes, liquidate possessions and manage financial paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFees?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPercentage-based in some cases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you have evidence of coercive placements involving other clients?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCandice said there were others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell opened a folder.<\/p>\n<p>Three names appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Helen Ward.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel Price.<\/p>\n<p>Dorothy Keene.<\/p>\n<p>All elderly.<\/p>\n<p>All former Meridian clients.<\/p>\n<p>Helen Ward entered assisted living eighteen months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Her house was sold three weeks later.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel Price was placed under temporary guardianship after relatives described worsening confusion.<\/p>\n<p>His condominium was liquidated.<\/p>\n<p>Dorothy Keene moved into memory care after a physician declared her unsafe to live alone.<\/p>\n<p>Her property was transferred to her nephew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are they now?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelen Ward died six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room quieted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel Price is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Dorothy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan they speak for themselves?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Dorothy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer medical records now indicate significant dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word mattered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did they indicate when she was placed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are obtaining those records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at Bell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou suspect the initial assessment may have been exaggerated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe suspect enough to investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell closed the folder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t discuss every detail yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fair.<\/p>\n<p>I did not like it.<\/p>\n<p>Still fair.<\/p>\n<p>Julian asked, \u201cWhere does Daniel Reeves fit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know fully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you know where he is?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That worried me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen was he last seen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis apartment appears recently vacated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCar?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegistered vehicle is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of the man in my house three months earlier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if he is the person who broke into Martha\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell did not pretend possibility was proof.<\/p>\n<p>Candice\u2019s formal interview took place that afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>She asked for Julian.<\/p>\n<p>He asked me whether he should go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is your marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why are you asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I don\u2019t trust my judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked miserable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can listen to advice without transferring the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat would you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would hear what she has to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca and I accompanied him to the police station but remained in a separate room until Candice agreed to speak with me.<\/p>\n<p>When I entered, she looked older than she had two days earlier.<\/p>\n<p>No makeup.<\/p>\n<p>Hair tied back.<\/p>\n<p>Gray sweatshirt.<\/p>\n<p>She did not look like the woman who had stepped from church in a pale blue dress and tried her key in my new lock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat across from her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou wanted to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She flinched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen give me information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian sat beside the wall.<\/p>\n<p>Not beside her.<\/p>\n<p>Candice looked at him once.<\/p>\n<p>He did not rescue her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNatalie started Meridian five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said families needed help making decisions before a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was, at first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Simple.<\/p>\n<p>Credible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe began getting referral fees from facilities. Then commissions from estate sales and property services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey met three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI needed help understanding Arthur\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what reason three years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice stared at her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was worried about money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told me our finances were fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot as bad as later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice had begun trading online.<\/p>\n<p>Small amounts.<\/p>\n<p>Then larger.<\/p>\n<p>She lost money.<\/p>\n<p>Borrowed to recover it.<\/p>\n<p>Lost more.<\/p>\n<p>She hid credit cards.<\/p>\n<p>Then personal loans.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie knew.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie offered help.<\/p>\n<p>Not money.<\/p>\n<p>A strategy.<\/p>\n<p>My house would eventually pass to Julian.<\/p>\n<p>If my care needs increased, perhaps selling earlier made sense.<\/p>\n<p>Candice said she resisted at first.<\/p>\n<p>I believed that was possible.<\/p>\n<p>Wrongdoing often began with a sentence a person still knew enough to reject.<\/p>\n<p>Then the debt grew.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie introduced her to Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel told her Arthur\u2019s trust might complicate any sale.<\/p>\n<p>So he accessed the file.<\/p>\n<p>Illegally.<\/p>\n<p>He discovered the protections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you knew Arthur had trusted you to help protect me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did that stop mattering?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt never stopped mattering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat answer insults both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the debt got bad enough, I started telling myself you would be safe wherever you lived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told myself the house was too large.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Julian would inherit eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat we weren\u2019t taking something that would never be ours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She cried silently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the lie you needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian turned away.<\/p>\n<p>I did not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did Raymond enter the plan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel found references to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Natalie hired Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo locate Raymond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe thought he might have information that could challenge the trust restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood. Keep using accurate pronouns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julian looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I ignored him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened when Peter found Raymond?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRaymond wanted money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, one hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe realized the trust might be larger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo his price grew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you pay Peter from your savings?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Raymond might reveal hidden assets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAssets you planned to use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the debt became seventy-three thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd my money became your next source.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice covered her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually she lowered her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Natalie mean by recovering documents?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told Julian that last night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she know Martha kept copies?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knew you visited Martha.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe followed you twice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she enter Martha\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho took the photograph of my house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe texted Natalie Sunday morning saying things had gone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas he watching the house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Natalie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere would he go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a storage unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Detective Bell, listening from behind the observation window, entered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice gave an address outside Savannah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s stored there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeridian records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClient files.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaper?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComputers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes Daniel have access?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNatalie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell left before she finished.<\/p>\n<p>Ortiz followed.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remained seated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne more question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Candice looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you pack Arthur\u2019s photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared.<\/p>\n<p>Of everything I had asked, that one seemed to surprise her most.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought you would want it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer was so ordinary that my anger faltered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou packed my photograph because you thought I would miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile removing me from his house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She started crying again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat may be the saddest thing you have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside, Julian caught up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants me to forgive her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not a decision due today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not thinking about forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you thinking about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca answered hers at the same moment.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Bell.<\/p>\n<p>He had reached the storage facility.<\/p>\n<p>The unit was empty.<\/p>\n<p>Not recently emptied.<\/p>\n<p>Cleaned.<\/p>\n<p>Shelves removed.<\/p>\n<p>Floor swept.<\/p>\n<p>But the facility manager had security footage.<\/p>\n<p>A truck had backed up to the unit the previous night.<\/p>\n<p>Two people loaded boxes for almost an hour.<\/p>\n<p>One appeared to be Daniel Reeves.<\/p>\n<p>The other was a woman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNatalie?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCandice?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell sent a still image.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca enlarged it.<\/p>\n<p>The woman wore a baseball cap.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe late sixties.<\/p>\n<p>Thin.<\/p>\n<p>She turned toward the camera just enough for her face to show.<\/p>\n<p>I did not recognize her.<\/p>\n<p>Julian did.<\/p>\n<p>His face went white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pointed at the image.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He swallowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the woman Dad used to meet when he said he was seeing Raymond\u2019s accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were nineteen. How could you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I followed him once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never knew her name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca zoomed in.<\/p>\n<p>Julian stared harder.<\/p>\n<p>Then he whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I saw her with Elaine Porter.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17247\">Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Woman Helping Daniel Remove Meridian\u2019s Files Had Been Connected to Arthur Forty Years Earlier and Elaine Finally Told Me Why<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police reached Candice\u2019s motel before we did. Rebecca forbade us from leaving the house until Detective Ortiz called. For once, I did not argue. At three fourteen, Ortiz confirmed Candice &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17246","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\/17246","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=17246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17275,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17246\/revisions\/17275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}