The cabinet marked SINCLAIR contained nine files.<\/p>\n
The oldest predated my marriage by twelve years.<\/p>\n
The newest was less than six months old.<\/p>\n
I stared at photographs of the evidence table while investigators catalogued each document inside the foundry.<\/p>\n
My name appeared on folders from college.<\/p>\n
Medical school.<\/p>\n
Residency.<\/p>\n
My first attending position.<\/p>\n
My engagement.<\/p>\n
My marriage.<\/p>\n
My fertility treatment.<\/p>\n
My divorce.<\/p>\n
Someone had documented my adult life with bureaucratic patience.<\/p>\n
Kenneth stood beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn't Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe earliest file was created before you met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I already understood that.<\/p>\n
I simply did not like hearing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond worked for Walter\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter\u2019s father died before Connor and I divorced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo who kept the file going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we need to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter sat at the far end of the conference room.<\/p>\n
He had been silent since Morales told us the cabinet label.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reacted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter stared at the table.<\/p>\n
Evelyn sat beside him.<\/p>\n
She turned toward her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
That confirmed it.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirsten\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not use my name to buy time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Connor sounds like people who have had to argue with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Walter did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know about my family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Sinclair consulted for Fleming Industrial.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not entirely surprising.<\/p>\n
My father had been a corporate accountant before his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you met Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInternal financial review.\u201d<\/p>\n
The missing trust money.<\/p>\n
I knew before Walter finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe investigated your father\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he work with Thomas\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had heard it only once tonight.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father know Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey worked together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't what your face says.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne trusted David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessionally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they met outside work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father had Raymond investigate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
The family solution to uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Surveillance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Raymond find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing romantic, if that's what you're asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
It had not been.<\/p>\n
But now I knew Walter had considered it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were sharing records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords of missing money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father know Marianne was in danger?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father died of a heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years after Marianne\u2019s car accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you suggesting something else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The speed of the answer mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was Raymond monitoring him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause my father believed David had copies of the financial records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does this have to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter David died, my father told Raymond to determine whether any records had passed to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in medical school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family investigated a medical student because her dead father might have left accounting documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I have them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep watching me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked toward Connor, who had been returned to a secured hospital room and was participating by video.<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s face had gone still.<\/p>\n
Walter said, \u201cBecause you met Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter did not answer.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor and I met at a hospital foundation fundraiser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis company sponsored a table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy department received invitations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe invitations were.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor spoke through the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked toward his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father knew Kirsten worked there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather arranged for her department to attend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted Raymond to observe her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse pounded in my ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Connor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe encouraged you to attend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI attended those events all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Grandfather hoped we'd meet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know if he hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he knew it was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
The beginning of my marriage had always belonged to me.<\/p>\n
A crowded ballroom.<\/p>\n
Bad white wine.<\/p>\n
Connor making a joke about a donor who had fallen asleep during a speech.<\/p>\n
Me laughing despite myself.<\/p>\n
Coffee three days later.<\/p>\n
Dinner.<\/p>\n
A relationship.<\/p>\n
Seven years.<\/p>\n
Now even the first moment had fingerprints around it.<\/p>\n
Connor looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
That almost made it worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren't assigned to seduce me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut your grandfather created the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked toward Kenneth.<\/p>\n
Kenneth said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed David Sinclair hid evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he thought I might lead Raymond to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd instead I fell in love with his grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor flinched.<\/p>\n
I did not.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid your grandfather approve of our relationship?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter gave a bitter laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he liked me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause keeping me inside the Fleming family made me easier to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter did not answer.<\/p>\n
Connor swore.<\/p>\n
Evelyn whispered, \u201cWalter, how could you know this and say nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter they were engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew before we married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me marry her without telling either of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked toward the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the investigation was finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said Kirsten had nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to decide that made it harmless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Raymond continue watching me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho paid after your father died?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked genuinely uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond answered that question an hour later.<\/p>\n
He had been brought back for another interview after the SINCLAIR cabinet was found.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy employer changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d Morales asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked at him through the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't say my name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFleming Holdings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho authorized payments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich executive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond gave a name.<\/p>\n
Walter frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe retired ten years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo after my father died, an old standing contract continued automatically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hired you for Melinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou paid me once before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore your wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never hired you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot knowingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather asked you to sign a security authorization for the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou authorized background work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor vendors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Kirsten.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face crumpled anyway.<\/p>\n
Raymond continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather inserted the request.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales asked, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo confirm whether Kirsten had inherited David\u2019s records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would a wedding background check establish that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHome access. Financial history. Storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou searched my apartment?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor whispered, \u201cJesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile you were on call.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered an apartment near downtown.<\/p>\n
A third-floor walk-up.<\/p>\n
Books stacked beside the couch.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s old desk in the second bedroom.<\/p>\n
Someone had entered that home while I worked at the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why keep a file?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your father had been careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hide records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never found them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth asked, \u201cWhat did David Sinclair discover?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond hesitated.<\/p>\n
Morales reminded him he was cooperating.<\/p>\n
Raymond sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter\u2019s father had been diverting trust assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo himself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA medical investment company.\u201d<\/p>\n
My attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond named it.<\/p>\n
I knew the name.<\/p>\n
Not because of Connor.<\/p>\n
Because of my father.<\/p>\n
He had once owned a small number of shares.<\/p>\n
I remembered seeing certificates after his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did the company do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFertility medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the room went still.<\/p>\n
I stared at Raymond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClinics. Laboratory technology. Early reproductive diagnostics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather invested hidden trust money into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMillions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Michael know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy hide it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the investment violated trust restrictions and involved self-dealing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd David Sinclair found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the company?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond gave a number.<\/p>\n
Walter swore.<\/p>\n
The investment had become extraordinarily valuable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did the proceeds go?\u201d Kenneth asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cVarious entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIncluding the current Fleming fortune?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The wealth Connor feared losing.<\/p>\n
The trust Walter defended.<\/p>\n
The succession Rebecca wanted to break.<\/p>\n
Part of it traced back to hidden investments my father had discovered.<\/p>\n
My family had not been incidental.<\/p>\n
We had been near the foundation.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cDid my father keep evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you never found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know it existed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he had copied everything necessary to prove the diversion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother had died three years after my father.<\/p>\n
If she knew, she never told me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould the records still exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond looked toward the photographs from the cabinet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why the SINCLAIR file never closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
A detective entered and handed Morales a plastic evidence sleeve.<\/p>\n
Inside was an old photograph.<\/p>\n
My father stood outside our former family home.<\/p>\n
He held a cardboard box.<\/p>\n
On the back, Raymond had written:<\/p>\n
D. SINCLAIR \u2014 MOVED ARCHIVE AFTER MARIANNE INCIDENT.<\/p>\n
Below that was a date.<\/p>\n
Three weeks after Marianne Vale died.<\/p>\n
I stared at the image.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never learned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid your father have storage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe-deposit box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOffice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCleared after he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily property?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost said no.<\/p>\n
Then memory surfaced.<\/p>\n
A cabin.<\/p>\n
Not mine.<\/p>\n
My grandfather\u2019s.<\/p>\n
My father used it after my grandfather died.<\/p>\n
Small place outside Nashville, Indiana.<\/p>\n
Brown County.<\/p>\n
He went there alone sometimes.<\/p>\n
After Marianne\u2019s death, more often.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know where he might have put it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
Connor leaned toward the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Kenneth.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family had a cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI sold it after my mother died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho owns it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales immediately started searching property records.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, he had the answer.<\/p>\n
The cabin had changed hands twice.<\/p>\n
Current owner:<\/p>\n
Red Marsh Consulting.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked genuinely stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't own a cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour company does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot through any purchase I authorized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward Claire\u2019s empty chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Claire was in custody.<\/p>\n
And when Morales confronted her, she denied buying the property.<\/p>\n
Then he showed her the deed.<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRed Marsh owns it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't authorize it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had signing authority for field acquisitions.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was it purchased?\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales read the date.<\/p>\n
Six months earlier.<\/p>\n
Thomas had found the cabin before any of us knew why it mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he find there?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
No one knew.<\/p>\n
Then Connor spoke quietly from the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that's what the California recording is about.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas disappeared to California after treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he wasn't running from Raymond?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he was following the Sinclair archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond\u2019s face changed on the second screen.<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in California?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond whispered, \u201cThomas found David\u2019s partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father had a partner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone who helped him copy the Fleming records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raymond closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Samuel Patel.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
Patel.<\/p>\n
My fertility specialist\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
The cabinet marked SINCLAIR contained nine files. The oldest predated my marriage by twelve years. The newest was less than six months old. I stared at photographs of the evidence … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30544","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\/30544","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=30544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30616,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30544\/revisions\/30616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}