Thomas reached across the table and pressed the speaker button before Jennifer could continue.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer," he said, "this is Thomas Brennan."<\/p>\n
Her voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
"Why are you there?"<\/p>\n
"Your mother asked me to be."<\/p>\n
"This is a family matter."<\/p>\n
"A forged financial instrument involving my client ceased being only a family matter."<\/p>\n
Jennifer stopped speaking.<\/p>\n
I looked at the black notebook Richard had hidden in the basement safe.<\/p>\n
"What did Dad supposedly ask you to protect me from?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer answered after a long pause.<\/p>\n
"You need to understand the situation first."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Mom\u2014"<\/p>\n
"No more deciding what I need to understand first."<\/p>\n
Thomas gave me an approving glance but said nothing.<\/p>\n
Jennifer's voice lowered.<\/p>\n
"Dad made investments you didn't know about."<\/p>\n
"I know about the trust account."<\/p>\n
Silence again.<\/p>\n
"The $1.2 million," I said.<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"That doesn't matter."<\/p>\n
"It matters because\u2014"<\/p>\n
"What did Richard ask you to do?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer exhaled.<\/p>\n
"He told us that if anything happened to him before he could explain things, we had to keep certain accounts separate until the tax issues were resolved."<\/p>\n
Thomas leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
"What tax issues?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know all the details."<\/p>\n
"Then what details do you know?"<\/p>\n
"Thomas, this isn't your concern."<\/p>\n
"It is literally my professional concern."<\/p>\n
Jennifer ignored him.<\/p>\n
"Mom, Dad made money in investments that weren't simple."<\/p>\n
"What does that mean?"<\/p>\n
"He had business arrangements. Private deals."<\/p>\n
"Illegal deals?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then why hide them from me?"<\/p>\n
"Because you hated financial risk."<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
Richard and I had argued about investments more than once. I preferred certificates, bonds, boring funds. Richard enjoyed opportunities that came with words like venture, development, and acquisition.<\/p>\n
But he had never mocked my caution.<\/p>\n
He had usually told me enough for us to decide together.<\/p>\n
Usually.<\/p>\n
"Did Richard tell you to forge my name?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The answer came quickly.<\/p>\n
Too quickly.<\/p>\n
"Did he tell you to create that power of attorney?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did he tell you to upload it?"<\/p>\n
"Not exactly."<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me harden.<\/p>\n
"There is no 'not exactly' attached to forging someone's signature."<\/p>\n
"It wasn't meant to hurt you."<\/p>\n
Thomas interrupted.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer, I'm advising you not to explain potentially criminal conduct casually over the phone."<\/p>\n
"Then stop interrogating me."<\/p>\n
"I'm not interrogating you."<\/p>\n
I said, "I am."<\/p>\n
That silenced both of them.<\/p>\n
"Did you make the document?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer whispered, "Yes."<\/p>\n
Evelyn squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
Thomas wrote the admission down with the exact time.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because Michael needed access."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"To see whether the accounts were safe."<\/p>\n
"From whom?"<\/p>\n
"From being mishandled."<\/p>\n
"By me?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then by whom?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer said nothing.<\/p>\n
"By whom?"<\/p>\n
"Mercer."<\/p>\n
Daniel Mercer.<\/p>\n
Richard's former financial adviser.<\/p>\n
I looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
He wrote the name.<\/p>\n
"What was Mercer doing?"<\/p>\n
"We thought he might move things."<\/p>\n
"What things?"<\/p>\n
"The private account."<\/p>\n
"The $1.2 million?"<\/p>\n
"Among others."<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
"Among others?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer cursed softly.<\/p>\n
"Mom, this is why Dad didn't want you involved until everything was sorted out."<\/p>\n
"Richard has been dead thirteen years."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"How long did he expect sorting out to take?"<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Thomas lifted the black notebook.<\/p>\n
"Margaret, ask her when Richard gave them these instructions."<\/p>\n
"When did Dad tell you to do all this?"<\/p>\n
"Before he died."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"A few months before."<\/p>\n
I opened the notebook.<\/p>\n
The final entries were dated.<\/p>\n
"Was it before or after he met you at Mercer's office?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer hesitated.<\/p>\n
"You have that picture."<\/p>\n
It was not a question.<\/p>\n
"Who sent it to me?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Who knew the photograph existed?"<\/p>\n
"Probably Mercer."<\/p>\n
"Was Lisa there because Dad asked her?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Michael?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"And what exactly happened?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer's answer came slowly.<\/p>\n
"Dad told us he had created a backup fund for you. He didn't want it included with the ordinary estate because he was concerned about a business dispute."<\/p>\n
"What dispute?"<\/p>\n
"Something involving Mercer and another investor."<\/p>\n
Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n
"Name?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
I flipped through Richard's notebook.<\/p>\n
There were initials in the margins of several entries.<\/p>\n
D.M.<\/p>\n
Daniel Mercer.<\/p>\n
R.K.<\/p>\n
Unknown.<\/p>\n
Near the final pages, Richard had written:<\/p>\n
J thinks control solves everything.<\/p>\n
M thinks access equals responsibility.<\/p>\n
L understands this is wrong but won't confront them.<\/p>\n
I stared at the sentence.<\/p>\n
The handwriting pressed deeper into the paper than surrounding entries.<\/p>\n
Richard had already seen the pattern.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer."<\/p>\n
"Yes?"<\/p>\n
"Did Dad trust you with my finances?"<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
"That's not what I'm asking."<\/p>\n
"He trusted all of us."<\/p>\n
I read from Richard's notebook.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer thinks control solves everything."<\/p>\n
Nothing came from the phone.<\/p>\n
"Richard wrote that."<\/p>\n
Jennifer's breathing changed.<\/p>\n
"What notebook?"<\/p>\n
"The one you didn't know existed."<\/p>\n
Thomas glanced sharply at me but did not interrupt.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
"He also wrote that Michael thinks access equals responsibility and Lisa knew something was wrong but wouldn't challenge either of you."<\/p>\n
"Mom, you can't take private notes from someone who was sick and turn them into\u2014"<\/p>\n
"Richard wasn't mentally impaired."<\/p>\n
"I didn't say that."<\/p>\n
"You were about to."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then don't."<\/p>\n
Jennifer exhaled.<\/p>\n
"Can we talk without Thomas listening?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"This is ridiculous."<\/p>\n
"You forged my name."<\/p>\n
"I did it because we were trying to protect the account."<\/p>\n
"You forged my name to protect my account from me?"<\/p>\n
"From Mercer."<\/p>\n
"Then why didn't you call the bank and report Mercer?"<\/p>\n
"Because we didn't have proof."<\/p>\n
"Why didn't you tell me?"<\/p>\n
"Because Dad said not to."<\/p>\n
I looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
He opened Richard's letter to me.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer," he said, "Richard left Margaret written instructions too."<\/p>\n
She went quiet.<\/p>\n
"He explicitly told her not to allow any of you to pressure her regarding the house or estate."<\/p>\n
"That's different."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"He was worried about Michael."<\/p>\n
Thomas and I both froze.<\/p>\n
"What about Michael?" I asked.<\/p>\n
Jennifer realized she had said too much.<\/p>\n
"Nothing."<\/p>\n
"No. You just said Richard was worried about Michael."<\/p>\n
"Michael was having business problems then."<\/p>\n
"What kind?"<\/p>\n
"Cash flow."<\/p>\n
I found the entry in the notebook.<\/p>\n
Thirty-two thousand.<\/p>\n
Business loan.<\/p>\n
Then later, another transfer.<\/p>\n
Fifty thousand.<\/p>\n
And another.<\/p>\n
"How much money did Dad give Michael?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Richard recorded over a hundred thousand."<\/p>\n
Jennifer said nothing.<\/p>\n
"Did Michael pay it back?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Did Michael ask for more?"<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Shortly before Dad died."<\/p>\n
"For what?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"How much?"<\/p>\n
"I think two hundred thousand."<\/p>\n
Evelyn covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Thomas wrote quickly.<\/p>\n
"What did Dad say?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The answer was barely audible.<\/p>\n
"Richard refused?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What happened?"<\/p>\n
"They argued."<\/p>\n
"About?"<\/p>\n
"Michael said Dad had promised to help expand the business. Dad said helping was different from funding every mistake."<\/p>\n
I remembered Michael's company.<\/p>\n
The first years had been unstable.<\/p>\n
Richard had helped him buy equipment.<\/p>\n
I thought it had been modest.<\/p>\n
Apparently not.<\/p>\n
"What does any of this have to do with the forged power of attorney?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer's voice trembled now.<\/p>\n
"After Dad died, Michael became convinced Mercer had hidden money."<\/p>\n
"Was he right?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Then why did you make a document giving Michael control?"<\/p>\n
"Because he said we needed access to trace it."<\/p>\n
"And you believed him."<\/p>\n
"At first."<\/p>\n
At first.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
"What changed?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"Michael started talking differently."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"Like the money was ours."<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
"Ours?"<\/p>\n
"The family's."<\/p>\n
"You mean yours."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"You just said ours."<\/p>\n
"I mean eventually."<\/p>\n
There was that word again.<\/p>\n
Eventually.<\/p>\n
The future tense people used when they wanted to take ownership of something before they had the right.<\/p>\n
"When did you realize Michael wanted more than information?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer was silent.<\/p>\n
"Answer me."<\/p>\n
"Last year."<\/p>\n
"Before or after you printed my account summaries?"<\/p>\n
"After."<\/p>\n
"You printed them."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Michael asked me to."<\/p>\n
"You still had access through the forged document."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
My anger became so cold it stopped feeling like anger.<\/p>\n
"You knew the document was false."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"You knew Richard had not authorized it."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"You used it anyway."<\/p>\n
Jennifer began crying.<\/p>\n
"I thought I was helping."<\/p>\n
"Helping whom?"<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
"That question seems difficult for all three of you."<\/p>\n
"Mom."<\/p>\n
"Did Michael ever move money?"<\/p>\n
"Not from your main accounts."<\/p>\n
"That isn't an answer."<\/p>\n
Thomas leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer, was money transferred from any account associated with Richard's hidden trust?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Did Michael attempt to access it?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Two years ago."<\/p>\n
The same period the forged power of attorney was submitted.<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
"What happened?"<\/p>\n
"Mercer blocked him."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because the account wasn't controlled by the document."<\/p>\n
Thomas's head snapped up.<\/p>\n
"Then what controlled it?"<\/p>\n
"A separate trust."<\/p>\n
"Trustee?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"You do."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Jennifer."<\/p>\n
"I swear."<\/p>\n
Thomas made a note.<\/p>\n
I looked again at the anonymous messages.<\/p>\n
Someone knew about the hidden money.<\/p>\n
Someone knew my children had met Mercer.<\/p>\n
Someone knew they already understood more than they had told me.<\/p>\n
"Who else knew about the trust?"<\/p>\n
"Mercer."<\/p>\n
"Anyone else?"<\/p>\n
"Maybe Dad's business partner."<\/p>\n
"What business partner?"<\/p>\n
Jennifer hesitated.<\/p>\n
"I only heard the name once."<\/p>\n
"Tell me."<\/p>\n
"Robert Kane."<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped writing.<\/p>\n
"Do you know him?" I asked.<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
"I know the name."<\/p>\n
"From where?"<\/p>\n
"Richard had a real-estate investment partnership with a Robert Kane twenty years ago."<\/p>\n
I had never heard that name at our dinner table.<\/p>\n
Thomas flipped through the records.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer, did Robert Kane attend the meeting at Mercer's office?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did Richard mention him?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What did he say?"<\/p>\n
"That Kane couldn't be trusted."<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
Richard's notebook contained R.K. beside several payments.<\/p>\n
I turned pages quickly.<\/p>\n
Then I found a line I had skipped earlier.<\/p>\n
If Mercer caves to Kane, move Maggie's reserve immediately.<\/p>\n
I read it aloud.<\/p>\n
Thomas stood.<\/p>\n
"Jennifer, I'm ending this call."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because we need to verify something."<\/p>\n
He disconnected before she could object.<\/p>\n
"Thomas?"<\/p>\n
"If Robert Kane had a claim against Richard's investment partnership, the hidden account may have been structured to keep funds from being dragged into litigation."<\/p>\n
"Would that be legal?"<\/p>\n
"Depends what the funds were and when they were transferred."<\/p>\n
"Jennifer said there were tax issues."<\/p>\n
"That may be her understanding. Or something she was told."<\/p>\n
"By Michael?"<\/p>\n
"Possibly."<\/p>\n
He searched the old files on his laptop.<\/p>\n
After several minutes, he found a scanned litigation notice.<\/p>\n
Robert Kane had sued Richard's partnership seventeen years earlier.<\/p>\n
The case settled privately.<\/p>\n
Three years before Richard died.<\/p>\n
"Then why was Richard still afraid of him?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Evelyn, who had been quietly listening, pointed at the notebook.<\/p>\n
"What if the lawsuit wasn't the real problem?"<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at her.<\/p>\n
"What do you mean?"<\/p>\n
"Your friend wrote that if Mercer caves to Kane, move Margaret's reserve. Sounds like he was worried about access, not court."<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
Thomas took out his phone.<\/p>\n
"I'm calling Mercer again."<\/p>\n
This time Daniel Mercer answered.<\/p>\n
Thomas identified himself, then said, "I'm with Margaret Harris."<\/p>\n
A long silence followed.<\/p>\n
Thomas put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
Mercer's voice was older than I remembered.<\/p>\n
"Maggie."<\/p>\n
"Hello, Daniel."<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry."<\/p>\n
"For what?"<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
"For Richard."<\/p>\n
"He's been dead thirteen years."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Then be specific."<\/p>\n
Thomas almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Mercer sighed.<\/p>\n
"Richard wanted you protected."<\/p>\n
"So everyone keeps telling me while explaining why they kept things from me."<\/p>\n
"Maggie, there were complicated circumstances."<\/p>\n
"I am tired of that word."<\/p>\n
Mercer grew quiet.<\/p>\n
"Did Richard create the $1.2 million trust?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"For you."<\/p>\n
"Where did the money come from?"<\/p>\n
"A property investment."<\/p>\n
"With Robert Kane?"<\/p>\n
"Partly."<\/p>\n
"Was it legal?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"Then why hide it?"<\/p>\n
Mercer said, "Because Richard discovered Kane had been diverting partnership funds."<\/p>\n
Thomas leaned closer.<\/p>\n
"Did Richard report him?"<\/p>\n
"He intended to."<\/p>\n
"What stopped him?"<\/p>\n
"Nothing stopped him."<\/p>\n
Mercer paused.<\/p>\n
"He gathered evidence."<\/p>\n
My heartbeat quickened.<\/p>\n
"Where is it?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Who knew he had it?"<\/p>\n
"Me."<\/p>\n
"Anyone else?"<\/p>\n
Mercer did not answer.<\/p>\n
"Daniel."<\/p>\n
"His children."<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
"All three?"<\/p>\n
"I can't say."<\/p>\n
"You will."<\/p>\n
"Margaret\u2014"<\/p>\n
"Did Michael know?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
"Did Jennifer?"<\/p>\n
"Eventually."<\/p>\n
"Lisa?"<\/p>\n
"I don't think she understood."<\/p>\n
Thomas asked, "What was Kane accused of taking?"<\/p>\n
Mercer hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Nearly three million dollars over several years."<\/p>\n
I gripped the table.<\/p>\n
"And Richard?"<\/p>\n
"Richard recovered some of it through private assets Kane had concealed."<\/p>\n
"Recovered how?"<\/p>\n
"Legally, through settlement leverage."<\/p>\n
"What happened to the recovered funds?"<\/p>\n
"Richard separated what belonged to him from what might still be disputed."<\/p>\n
"And my trust?"<\/p>\n
"Clean money. Richard's share."<\/p>\n
"Then why all the secrecy?"<\/p>\n
Mercer took a long breath.<\/p>\n
"Because Michael went to Kane after Richard refused to give him another business loan."<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
My voice came out thin.<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
"Four months before Richard died."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Michael wanted leverage."<\/p>\n
"Against his father?"<\/p>\n
"At first he claimed he wanted to prove Richard was hiding money from the family."<\/p>\n
"Then?"<\/p>\n
"Kane offered him something."<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Information about the reserve account."<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
My son had gone to a man Richard believed had stolen from him.<\/p>\n
For money.<\/p>\n
Thomas asked, "Did Richard know?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What happened?"<\/p>\n
"They had a terrible fight."<\/p>\n
I remembered Richard coming home one evening months before his death.<\/p>\n
He had eaten almost nothing.<\/p>\n
When I asked what was wrong, he said Michael was struggling with business pressure.<\/p>\n
That had been all.<\/p>\n
"Did Michael threaten him?"<\/p>\n
Mercer hesitated too long.<\/p>\n
"Daniel."<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"He said if Richard didn't release the money, he would tell Kane where the evidence was."<\/p>\n
Thomas stood very still.<\/p>\n
"What evidence?"<\/p>\n
"The documents proving Kane's diversion scheme."<\/p>\n
I felt cold despite the warm kitchen.<\/p>\n
"Did Michael know where Richard kept them?"<\/p>\n
"Apparently."<\/p>\n
"Where?"<\/p>\n
Mercer's next words changed the shape of the entire story.<\/p>\n
"Richard told me the originals were somewhere inside your house."<\/p>\n
Thomas reached across the table and pressed the speaker button before Jennifer could continue. "Jennifer," he said, "this is Thomas Brennan." Her voice sharpened. "Why are you there?" "Your mother … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26804","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\/26804","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=26804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26839,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26804\/revisions\/26839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}