Harold sat behind the glass when Dad entered the interview room.<\/p>\n
His wrists were cuffed to the table.<\/p>\n
He looked tired but strangely calm.<\/p>\n
Dad remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have something you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad said nothing.<\/p>\n
Harold leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always were impatient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't have patience left for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked through the glass at me.<\/p>\n
I stayed outside with Sheriff Mercer.<\/p>\n
Harold's eyes followed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't say her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI caused her death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold's answer surprised everyone.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I didn't change the medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked directly at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've been looking at the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the recording?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold's expression became serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll give it to you after Thomas hears the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you won't get the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer left the room.<\/p>\n
Dad remained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wife was already dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor had a heart condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer doctor warned her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying she wasn't murdered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am saying her death was made to look inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold took a slow breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor discovered the money. She discovered Grant's parentage. She discovered the accounts. She discovered everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe planned to expose us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Grant and Vanessa were supposed to frighten her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSupposed to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren't supposed to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's hands curled into fists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa confronted her. Grant came later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou entered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Eleanor collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad's face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou waited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I needed the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let her die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold's voice lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me where the red folder was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou threatened her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you changed her medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
Harold leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Dad stood so quickly the chair struck the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer immediately entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold nodded.<\/p>\n
He gave her a storage location.<\/p>\n
A locker at the old bus station.<\/p>\n
The sheriff sent deputies.<\/p>\n
Within forty minutes, they returned with a small recorder.<\/p>\n
Dad sat beside me as the file played.<\/p>\n
Mom's voice came first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what you've done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou changed the bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI only replaced the label.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad covered his mouth.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Vanessa was crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know what Harold was going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom said, \u201cYou have to call your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen call an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Grant is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom's breathing became heavier.<\/p>\n
Grant entered the room.<\/p>\n
He sounded frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe's sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant said, \u201cWe need to call someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one calls anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold.\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the folder?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're going to die without it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold shouted at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording became chaotic.<\/p>\n
Then Mom said something clearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cVanessa didn't change the medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad froze.<\/p>\n
The next sentence was barely audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe changed the label, but Harold changed what was inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold's voice came immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the recording stopped.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer rewound it.<\/p>\n
Mom had said it.<\/p>\n
Vanessa had changed the label.<\/p>\n
Harold had altered the medication itself.<\/p>\n
Vanessa had participated, but she had not administered the lethal dosage.<\/p>\n
The distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
Grant's voice returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, I swear I didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
For the first time, the entire sequence made sense.<\/p>\n
Harold had manipulated Vanessa into helping him.<\/p>\n
He had manipulated Grant into believing Dad would destroy him.<\/p>\n
He had used both children to hide his crimes.<\/p>\n
But he had been the one who controlled the medication.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to question Vanessa again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded.<\/p>\n
But before they could leave, Harold spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still something you haven't heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recorder had not ended.<\/p>\n
The file continued.<\/p>\n
Mom's breathing was faint.<\/p>\n
Then another voice appeared.<\/p>\n
Dad's voice.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't there.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the recording proved someone had been speaking as him.<\/p>\n
The voice said:<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor, you need to tell me where Natalie has the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
The voice repeated the question.<\/p>\n
Mom began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren't Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording stopped.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
Someone had impersonated him.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer immediately looked at Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked horrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never made that call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold didn't answer.<\/p>\n
The sheriff played the recording again.<\/p>\n
The voice sounded almost identical to Dad.<\/p>\n
But there was a faint difference.<\/p>\n
A slight rasp.<\/p>\n
A particular hesitation.<\/p>\n
I recognized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant can imitate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used to prank Mom when we were kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad remembered.<\/p>\n
Grant had copied Dad\u2019s voice over the phone countless times.<\/p>\n
Harold looked pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou finally understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant threatened Eleanor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he didn't know you planned to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked toward the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought he was helping me frighten her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I told him you were going to send him to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
The manipulation had been carefully constructed.<\/p>\n
Every person had been given a different version of the truth.<\/p>\n
Grant believed Dad hated him.<\/p>\n
Vanessa believed Harold could destroy the family.<\/p>\n
Harold alone knew the full plan.<\/p>\n
And Mom had understood it too late.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer gathered the evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're finished here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still the account.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat account?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one Eleanor opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know about the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know where the money came from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stared.<\/p>\n
Harold continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor didn't inherit it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked confused.<\/p>\n
Harold leaned toward the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had been investigating me for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was working with someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wife was the informant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cInformant for what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold's smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn investigation into fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
Mom hadn't merely been gathering evidence to protect herself.<\/p>\n
She had been building a case against Harold.<\/p>\n
The financial records.<\/p>\n
The photographs.<\/p>\n
The recordings.<\/p>\n
The hidden account.<\/p>\n
Everything had been part of a much larger investigation.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer took the recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the full file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou'll get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold looked at Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the floor of the old repair shop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe place where you trusted me most.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's where Eleanor hid the last evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff ordered deputies to secure the property.<\/p>\n
Dad remained silent.<\/p>\n
Then he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're not going inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer considered him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded.<\/p>\n
As we left, Harold called after him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad turned.<\/p>\n
Harold's voice was almost gentle.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were never the fool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Eleanor knew exactly who you were.\u201d<\/p>\n
The doors closed.<\/p>\n
Outside, Dad looked at the dark sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew I'd keep looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Mercer received a call.<\/p>\n
The deputies had arrived at the old repair shop.<\/p>\n
They found the hidden compartment.<\/p>\n
But it was empty.<\/p>\n
Except for one handwritten note.<\/p>\n
It contained only six words.<\/p>\n
Thomas, ask Frank what he saw that night.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the message.<\/p>\n
The mystery wasn't over.<\/p>\n
It had moved to the one person who had been beside Harold from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Harold sat behind the glass when Dad entered the interview room. His wrists were cuffed to the table. He looked tired but strangely calm. Dad remained standing. \u201cYou wanted to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6626","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\/6626","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=6626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6642,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6626\/revisions\/6642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}