I stared at the speakerphone.<\/p>\n
Samuel Kessler had just told us someone called the trust administrator using my name.<\/p>\n
Not only my name.<\/p>\n
My role.<\/p>\n
My connection to the account.<\/p>\n
And a phrase Mom had used often enough that Dad and Linda both considered it plausible.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she sound like me?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Samuel paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never spoken to you before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know personal information?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m reluctant to disclose authentication questions over an unsecured line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff identified himself and provided his department information.<\/p>\n
Samuel verified it separately before continuing.<\/p>\n
The caller knew my full birth date.<\/p>\n
My current address.<\/p>\n
The last four digits of my Social Security number.<\/p>\n
Dad looked sick.<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew my Social?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere would she get that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered Dad\u2019s missing documents.<\/p>\n
Victor had taken his identity records.<\/p>\n
But mine?<\/p>\n
I had not stored anything at Dad\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Vanessa spoke faintly through the ongoing phone connection from home.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad turned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did our taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
Grant had helped me prepare a tax return three years earlier when I changed jobs and had two state filings.<\/p>\n
I had emailed him everything.<\/p>\n
W-2s.<\/p>\n
Address.<\/p>\n
Social Security information.<\/p>\n
Employment history.<\/p>\n
Dad muttered something I had never heard him say in front of his daughters.<\/p>\n
Samuel continued.<\/p>\n
The impersonator also knew Mom\u2019s maiden name.<\/p>\n
Knew where I went to college.<\/p>\n
Knew Dad\u2019s birth date.<\/p>\n
None of that was impossible to discover.<\/p>\n
Together, it was enough to sound convincing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did she fail?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe verbal phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she got everything else right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold asked whether the call had been recorded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff immediately requested preservation of the audio and metadata.<\/p>\n
Samuel agreed.<\/p>\n
Then he told us something more disturbing.<\/p>\n
The caller had not sounded surprised when the phrase failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she must have confused it with another family phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she try again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked what would happen after three failures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked toward the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was probing the security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe then ended the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c4:17 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the clock.<\/p>\n
That was while we were driving back from the bank.<\/p>\n
Whoever called knew enough to act soon after we accessed Box 417.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were watched,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone at the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Kim had coordinated with staff.<\/p>\n
Several employees knew we were there.<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cOr someone monitoring the trust itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows this account exists?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery few people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Cole, I can\u2019t simply\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife has been dead fifteen years, my brother may or may not be alive, someone forged my identity, someone just impersonated my daughter, and a man was attacked over this account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair point.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained.<\/p>\n
His father knew.<\/p>\n
He knew.<\/p>\n
One trust officer knew.<\/p>\n
A compliance attorney knew.<\/p>\n
And the original establishing parties knew.<\/p>\n
Raymond.<\/p>\n
Eleanor.<\/p>\n
Clara.<\/p>\n
Possibly Linda.<\/p>\n
That should have been all.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly?\u201d Linda asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy records show you received limited correspondence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cClara arranged that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel continued.<\/p>\n
One more name appeared in the historic file.<\/p>\n
Dad leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Harold closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
A direct line.<\/p>\n
Peter Bell helped create portions of the legal structure.<\/p>\n
His son Richard could have inherited records, files, or knowledge.<\/p>\n
Dad looked toward the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff did not take offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel agreed to lock the account against any further telephone authentication pending court order.<\/p>\n
That reduced immediate risk.<\/p>\n
It did not answer the larger question.<\/p>\n
Someone knew enough about Mom\u2019s safeguard to impersonate me within hours of the ledger being found.<\/p>\n
We ended the call.<\/p>\n
Dad paced Linda\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda looked at the gas-station image.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think this man isn\u2019t Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa\u2019s voice came from the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
She had been quiet for several minutes.<\/p>\n
Dad picked up the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Bell had two sons?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa nodded, though we could not see her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard mentioned him once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s his name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad and Harold looked at each other.<\/p>\n
Neither knew him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Richard say?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Robert ruined the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase sounded suspiciously familiar.<\/p>\n
One brother accusing another.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Robert look like?\u201d Dad asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe late sixties.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same rough age as Victor.<\/p>\n
The sheriff began searching.<\/p>\n
Public records showed Robert Bell.<\/p>\n
Age sixty-eight.<\/p>\n
Former address in Nevada.<\/p>\n
Dad stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNevada?\u201d<\/p>\n
The postcard Victor sent came from Nevada.<\/p>\n
Harold saw it too.<\/p>\n
The sheriff continued.<\/p>\n
Robert had arrests under fraud-related statutes decades earlier.<\/p>\n
One involved false identification.<\/p>\n
Another involved document falsification.<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhoto?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff requested one.<\/p>\n
It took several minutes.<\/p>\n
When it arrived, he turned the screen toward Dad.<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
The man did not look exactly like Victor.<\/p>\n
But he could at a distance.<\/p>\n
Same build.<\/p>\n
Similar jaw.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, the left shoulder sat lower than the right.<\/p>\n
Dad leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Normal.<\/p>\n
I looked at the gas-station still.<\/p>\n
Then the arrest photo.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame man.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff agreed.<\/p>\n
The gas-station \u201cVictor\u201d was likely Robert Bell.<\/p>\n
Dad sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Martin identified the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe deliberately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Martin knew Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClara mentioned a Bell who helped Victor disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cPeter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know which brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Robert may have helped Victor build false identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr used Victor\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the old account opened under Dad\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
The newer one.<\/p>\n
The impersonation.<\/p>\n
A family business of stolen identities passed from Peter to Richard and Robert.<\/p>\n
Dad laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWonderful. Two sets of brothers destroying each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe three.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot had a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many people are in this story?\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo many.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then her expression became serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot\u2019s brother Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe mentioned him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAtlanta?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe moved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda looked toward the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is everyone moving here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff searched.<\/p>\n
Daniel Price, sixty-six.<\/p>\n
A property record placed him in the county eight months earlier.<\/p>\n
Eight months.<\/p>\n
Before Richard\u2019s messages to Grant.<\/p>\n
Before Victor supposedly resurfaced.<\/p>\n
Before Linda moved back.<\/p>\n
This had been assembling quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Daniel do?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Dad answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never mentioned that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left town after Elliot died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe blamed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone blamed me for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel believed Dad had pressured Elliot during the company investigation.<\/p>\n
After Elliot\u2019s death, Daniel accused Dad of ruining his brother\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
Dad stopped speaking to him.<\/p>\n
Another unresolved grievance.<\/p>\n
Another person with motive.<\/p>\n
The sheriff asked whether Daniel knew Raymond.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert Bell?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
Linda said, \u201cClara mentioned Daniel once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNear the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Daniel knew the system better than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat system?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked toward the trust paperwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould mean financial infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or authentication.<\/p>\n
Or bank systems.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Every person in the room went still.<\/p>\n
Dad reached for it.<\/p>\n
The sheriff stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet her answer. Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
A man\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have opened the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie, listen carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
The voice sounded neither hurried nor threatening.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother did not understand what she was protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone who knew her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward. Still issuing orders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad froze.<\/p>\n
Recognition crossed his face.<\/p>\n
Not certainty.<\/p>\n
Something close.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man paused.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cHello, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad gripped the table.<\/p>\n
Linda covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
The sheriff motioned for us to keep him talking.<\/p>\n
Dad leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou attacked Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did he name you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Martin has spent twenty years blaming whoever frightens him most.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert Bell?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at the sheriff.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Victor knew Robert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is he doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he\u2019s always done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSelling someone else\u2019s lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor ignored the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie, your mother left you authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spoke to Clara?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me you were gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted you to believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked as though Victor had struck him.<\/p>\n
Linda shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cClara knew Raymond\u2019s arrangement would fail eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat arrangement?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe restitution account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat none of us deserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor once, we agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Dad repeated the question.<\/p>\n
Victor answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause somebody has been draining it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the room went still.<\/p>\n
Harold leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe account is frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe visible account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond created mirrors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cParallel accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree originally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda whispered, \u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone reactivated one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at the trust documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same date again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I came to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy impersonate me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy use your identity too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make us chase each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Robert have to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks he\u2019s working for Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor paused.<\/p>\n
The sheriff traced the call silently.<\/p>\n
Dad waited.<\/p>\n
Victor finally answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room tightened.<\/p>\n
Dad looked toward the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot\u2019s brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Elliot didn\u2019t die in an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Dad whispered, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I heard something like regret.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda sat down.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond tampered with the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Elliot called me the night before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he call you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Raymond was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf Clara.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Dad whispered, \u201cClara was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA healthy person can be threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cA dying person has less to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Victor continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cClara told Raymond she would expose everything before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared toward Mom\u2019s boxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard that today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor said, \u201cDaniel believes Raymond killed Elliot to stop him helping Clara.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now Daniel is stealing from the restitution account?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s trying to recover what he believes Elliot was owed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis entire family needs to stop deciding what it\u2019s owed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor was silent.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cOn that, brother, we agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff signaled.<\/p>\n
Trace narrowing.<\/p>\n
Dad asked, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor ignored him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not sign anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not trust Richard Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not trust Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd do not trust Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould we trust you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer felt more truthful than anything else he had said.<\/p>\n
The sheriff received the trace result.<\/p>\n
His eyes widened.<\/p>\n
He wrote an address and showed Dad.<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
The call was coming from less than a mile away.<\/p>\n
From Dad\u2019s own neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Victor continued speaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need one thing from you, Edward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo to the lake tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor ignored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been gone decades and your first invitation is an ambush?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wanted you dead, you\u2019d already be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff motioned sharply for Dad to keep him talking.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s at the lake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason Clara chose Natalie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s answer came softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t protecting the money from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was protecting Natalie from whoever killed Elliot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
I stared at the speakerphone. Samuel Kessler had just told us someone called the trust administrator using my name. Not only my name. My role. My connection to the account. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29999","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\/29999","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=29999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30045,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29999\/revisions\/30045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}