{"id":25856,"date":"2026-09-30T01:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T01:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=25856"},"modified":"2026-09-30T01:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T01:47:12","slug":"part-13-the-blood-in-carols-suv-belonged-to-someone-we-knew-and-evelyn-finally-explained-why-warren-had-kept-two-ledgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=25856","title":{"rendered":"PART 13 \u2013 The Blood in Carol\u2019s SUV Belonged to Someone We Knew, and Evelyn Finally Explained Why Warren Had Kept Two Ledgers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Evelyn Marks arrived for her second interview with two attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>That alone told me the first interview had not contained anything close to the whole truth.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Bell would not allow me into the room, but Rebecca remained in contact with the investigators. I sat across the hall with Beth, watching people pass through a government building where every closed door seemed to contain another piece of my marriage.<\/p>\n<p>At 10:17 that morning, Bell stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blood from the Expedition has a preliminary identification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relief came before I could stop it. I hated myself for feeling it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarol?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa\u2019s business partner.<\/p>\n<p>The man who had discovered Daddy\u2019s box among Gulf Horizon\u2019s stored records.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at Bell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Derek alive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to locate him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMelissa said he went to the office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did anyone last speak to him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore the motel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore we found the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beth stood beside me. \u201cHow much blood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s expression remained controlled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnough to concern us. Not enough by itself to establish what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Derek in Carol\u2019s SUV willingly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Travis know Derek found the cloud archive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer chilled me.<\/p>\n<p>Derek had found the backup Travis forgot to erase.<\/p>\n<p>He had also found Daddy\u2019s documents in Gulf Horizon\u2019s storage.<\/p>\n<p>If Travis was eliminating evidence, Derek stood directly in his path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere\u2019s Melissa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was all Bell would say.<\/p>\n<p>He returned to Evelyn\u2019s interview.<\/p>\n<p>The next two hours dragged.<\/p>\n<p>At noon, Rebecca joined us carrying a legal pad covered with handwriting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn is cooperating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout my forged signature?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat and much more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca lowered her voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn knew Warren Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe worked at his bank.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-two years ago. She was a junior documentation clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before Daddy died.<\/p>\n<p>Before Travis and I met.<\/p>\n<p>Before almost everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarren trained her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn loan documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The distinction mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca continued. \u201cAccording to Evelyn, Warren developed a habit of maintaining two sets of records for troubled loans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo ledgers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne official.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne private.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I thought of Harold saying Reserve A contained more than money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was in the private one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTransactions that did not fit the bank\u2019s official accounting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIllegal transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome may have been. Others may have represented legitimate payments Warren wanted documented separately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word again.<\/p>\n<p>Warren did not trust memory.<\/p>\n<p>He trusted evidence that could hurt people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are the two ledgers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne is the ledger recovered from Carol\u2019s unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the other?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn says Warren called it the red book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave police found it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas it in folder seven?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarren kept changing the location.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned back.<\/p>\n<p>Another hidden record.<\/p>\n<p>Another object everyone had known about except me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is Evelyn in Warren\u2019s ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe sometimes prepared documents after hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKnowing they were false?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That word carried years inside it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says Warren told her they were corrections for incomplete files. Later, she realized some signatures were being backdated or witnessed improperly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd she continued.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney. Fear. Loyalty. Pick whichever explanation you find most convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>None improved what she had done.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she prepare Daddy\u2019s trust paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt my hands go cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Elaine Parker form?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. She says she saw it afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho created it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarren.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Carol?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProvided information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother\u2019s information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I pictured Mom\u2019s name on that document.<\/p>\n<p>Her Social Security number.<\/p>\n<p>Her death turned into an administrative convenience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn says he was involved earlier than Carol has admitted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow early?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore Raymond entered hospice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Again, the scheme moved backward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long before?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately three months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Travis do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe met Warren privately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout Daddy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInformation about Raymond\u2019s accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room became quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was already planning it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is what investigators are examining.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. He didn\u2019t stumble into something Carol and Warren were doing. He went looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca did not contradict me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Warren tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Raymond\u2019s trust was protected and Travis had no authority over it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I laughed without humor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Travis knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knew before Daddy died that the money wasn\u2019t his.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he still took it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence suggests he received funds afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That careful lawyer language again.<\/p>\n<p>I had begun to appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Facts first.<\/p>\n<p>Judgment after.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Warren help him after telling him no?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn says Travis discovered Reserve A.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis realized Warren had been maintaining money outside the official settlement records. He threatened to expose him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everything shifted.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had not simply asked Warren for help.<\/p>\n<p>He had obtained leverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Travis blackmailed Warren.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is Evelyn\u2019s account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Warren responded by helping him steal Daddy\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does partly mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarren apparently proposed something different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe offered Travis money from Reserve A if Travis left Raymond\u2019s trust alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFifty thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRefused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course he had.<\/p>\n<p>Daddy\u2019s trust held more.<\/p>\n<p>The land was worth more.<\/p>\n<p>And Travis\u2019s appetite had never been about enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to Evelyn, Warren began keeping additional records specifically about Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe red book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Warren had recognized what he had helped create.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe too late.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Carol know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn says Carol knew about the negotiations but not every detail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she help?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe provided copies of old Parker family documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did she get them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Travis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The chain tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had access to Daddy\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>He collected documents.<\/p>\n<p>Carol supplied identity information.<\/p>\n<p>Warren manipulated accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Evelyn completed paperwork.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody needed to do everything.<\/p>\n<p>Each person only needed to cross one line.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Evelyn forge Daddy\u2019s signature?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe denies it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she know who did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe believes Travis did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Not because I was shocked.<\/p>\n<p>Because somewhere inside me I had already known.<\/p>\n<p>Daddy had trusted him enough to let him into the house.<\/p>\n<p>I had trusted him enough to leave him alone with Daddy.<\/p>\n<p>Travis had watched my father\u2019s hand weaken.<\/p>\n<p>Then possibly imitated it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about my signature?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn admits she knowingly notarized it without you present.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she know Travis forged it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe says she suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuspected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis showed her copies of Warren\u2019s old records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that have to do with anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was blackmailing her too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The system was eating its own participants.<\/p>\n<p>Warren kept evidence on everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Travis acquired some of it.<\/p>\n<p>Then used Warren\u2019s leverage as his own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFolder seven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Travis have on Evelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDocumentation showing she had participated in improper loan files years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo when he needed a notary, he didn\u2019t find one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe selected one he could control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Not opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Preparation.<\/p>\n<p>Every person around Travis was either useful, compromised, uninformed, or some combination of the three.<\/p>\n<p>Bell appeared again.<\/p>\n<p>His phone was in his hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood so quickly my chair scraped backward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relief swept through the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmergency room in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe drove himself there early this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith that much blood loss?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had a laceration along his shoulder and upper arm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe says broken glass.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarol\u2019s SUV?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did he get to Houston?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBus, then taxi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he call police?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf Travis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Travis attack him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek says they struggled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The relief vanished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Gulf Horizon\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Derek returned for his laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That matched Melissa\u2019s account.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis was there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell explained what Derek had reported.<\/p>\n<p>He arrived expecting an empty office.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he found Travis loading boxes into Carol\u2019s Expedition.<\/p>\n<p>Derek confronted him.<\/p>\n<p>Travis demanded access to the cloud archive.<\/p>\n<p>Derek refused.<\/p>\n<p>The argument became physical.<\/p>\n<p>Travis shoved him against a glass partition.<\/p>\n<p>The glass broke.<\/p>\n<p>Derek\u2019s shoulder was cut badly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thought Travis was going to kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek did not say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said Travis looked terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTerrified of Derek?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething Derek had found.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cloud files?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek opened the contingency file before police secured the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melissa had refused to tell me what was inside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it contain?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA spreadsheet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPayments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>Always payments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGulf Horizon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, but not normal business expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestors?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne payment recipient was Warren Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWarren died six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe payment was made before his death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-five thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDescription says consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn Marks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarol?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTravis?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe controlled the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone new?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My eyes opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe records show payments to an entity connected to Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSixty thousand over four years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared toward the conference-room wall.<\/p>\n<p>Harold had presented himself as the estranged father trying too late to correct his mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>He had admitted speaking with Travis.<\/p>\n<p>Admitted giving him information.<\/p>\n<p>But not receiving money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Harold say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t asked him yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>He looked down.<\/p>\n<p>His expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He showed Rebecca, not me.<\/p>\n<p>She read.<\/p>\n<p>Then looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Expedition has been processed further.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blood is Derek\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relief.<\/p>\n<p>At least that mystery was resolved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut investigators found another item beneath the rear cargo mat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell took over.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe-deposit box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A numbered tag hung from it.<\/p>\n<p>Bell said investigators had traced the bank.<\/p>\n<p>It was a small institution outside Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n<p>The box was registered under a company name.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Heron Holdings.<\/p>\n<p>The company controlling Reserve A.<\/p>\n<p>My heart hammered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you open it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith proper legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>The red book.<\/p>\n<p>Warren\u2019s second ledger.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe the green box.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe folder seven.<\/p>\n<p>Every path seemed to be converging on Blue Heron.<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s phone rang again.<\/p>\n<p>This time he answered.<\/p>\n<p>His expression hardened while he listened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecure the property. Nobody enters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>Bell looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarold Hale is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficers went to his house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFront door open. Vehicle missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSigns of violence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he run?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter you found payments to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The timing was impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n<p>Then Rebecca\u2019s phone buzzed.<\/p>\n<p>An email.<\/p>\n<p>She opened it.<\/p>\n<p>Her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s from Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cScheduled delivery. Arrived two minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She read silently.<\/p>\n<p>Then handed me the phone.<\/p>\n<p>The message was short.<\/p>\n<p>If anything happens to me, stop looking at Travis first.<\/p>\n<p>Find the red book.<\/p>\n<p>Carol knows why Warren kept it.<\/p>\n<p>And ask June what Raymond hid beneath the floor where the old company began.<\/p>\n<p>I read the final sentence twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe old company began?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you know what that means?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did.<\/p>\n<p>Daddy and Harold had not started their business in an office.<\/p>\n<p>They had started it in Daddy\u2019s workshop.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Bell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a section beneath the workbench Daddy replaced when I was a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell was already reaching for his phone.<\/p>\n<p>If Harold was telling the truth, the workshop intruder might have taken the green box and still missed what was underneath it.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=25858\">Click here to continue reading: PART 14: Beneath Daddy\u2019s Workshop Floor We Found Warren\u2019s Missing Red Book and Proof That Carol Had Lied About the First Theft<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evelyn Marks arrived for her second interview with two attorneys. That alone told me the first interview had not contained anything close to the whole truth. Detective Bell would not &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25856","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\/25856","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=25856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25941,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25856\/revisions\/25941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}