June did not cry.<\/p>\n
That would have been easier.<\/p>\n
She stood in the bank vault holding the photograph with both hands while every other person in the room waited for her to react.<\/p>\n
Finally she said, \u201cCall my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s mother, Ellen Parker, lived forty minutes away.<\/p>\n
She had not attended the will reading because she claimed grief made family arguments unbearable.<\/p>\n
At the time that excuse had sounded plausible.<\/p>\n
Now it sounded strategic.<\/p>\n
June called once.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
On the third attempt, Ellen picked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cJune?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJune\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa leave you any photographs of Leonard Albright?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
June\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
That silence was an answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
June almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJune.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeputy Harris too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you scared?\u201d<\/p>\n
The line remained quiet.<\/p>\n
Finally Ellen whispered, \u201cBecause your grandfather promised me this would never come out.\u201d<\/p>\n
June disconnected.<\/p>\n
The drive to Ellen\u2019s house passed in silence.<\/p>\n
Agent Bennett remained at the bank.<\/p>\n
Harris followed us in his cruiser.<\/p>\n
I rode beside June.<\/p>\n
Her hands never left the wheel except to change gears.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to decide what anything means yet,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s message might mean property, not biology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe Leonard was involved in a business arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a mile she added, \u201cStop trying to protect me from something neither of us understands.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked out the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re also right about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then it vanished.<\/p>\n
Ellen was waiting on the porch.<\/p>\n
She had changed since the funeral.<\/p>\n
Or maybe I had never looked closely enough.<\/p>\n
Her hair, usually carefully styled, was pulled into a loose knot. She wore jeans and an old university sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
When June stepped out carrying the photograph, Ellen closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody argued.<\/p>\n
The living room smelled of coffee and furniture polish.<\/p>\n
Family photographs covered the mantel.<\/p>\n
June as a baby.<\/p>\n
June at ten.<\/p>\n
June graduating from high school.<\/p>\n
Walter holding her at a county fair.<\/p>\n
Ellen sat in the armchair.<\/p>\n
June remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked at Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris answered, \u201cIt may also be relevant to a homicide investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen turned back to June.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was Michael Parker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the name on my birth certificate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he my biological father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
June absorbed the word without moving.<\/p>\n
I watched her fingers tighten around the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked at Leonard\u2019s younger face.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Leonard.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s shoulders dropped slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why is he in this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen began.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine years earlier, she had worked for a regional agricultural company.<\/p>\n
Walter owned part of the business.<\/p>\n
Leonard handled the contracts.<\/p>\n
Another partner was a man named Thomas Avery.<\/p>\n
June frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never heard that name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas was married.<\/p>\n
So was Ellen.<\/p>\n
Their affair lasted less than a year.<\/p>\n
When Ellen became pregnant, Thomas wanted to leave his marriage.<\/p>\n
Ellen refused.<\/p>\n
Michael Parker agreed to raise the baby as his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll his life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died before you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked toward Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cCar accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n
Harris noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOctober 1997.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInterstate 70.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Leonard involved in the estate?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas left a will.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything he owned personally was to go into trust for his child.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stopped breathing for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence changed the room.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s message made sense.<\/p>\n
It was always hers.<\/p>\n
Not Walter\u2019s wealth alone.<\/p>\n
Thomas Avery\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he own?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Ellen rubbed her hands together.<\/p>\n
\u201cLand. Company shares. Mineral rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time? Maybe four hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd today?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked at June.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral million.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeonard stole it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen nodded.<\/p>\n
After Thomas died, Leonard handled the estate.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s widow did not know about June.<\/p>\n
Ellen was terrified the affair would destroy both families.<\/p>\n
Leonard promised discretion.<\/p>\n
He told Ellen the trust would be preserved quietly until June reached adulthood.<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
Properties were transferred.<\/p>\n
Shares were sold.<\/p>\n
Documents disappeared.<\/p>\n
By the time Walter discovered what had happened, Leonard claimed everything had been legally distributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t Grandpa go to police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to fix it privately at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI begged him not to expose the affair.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou protected yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI protected your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe raised you. He loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you should have trusted him with the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael knew Leonard had mishandled Thomas\u2019s estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to report him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father died before he could.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
Michael Parker had died when June was six.<\/p>\n
We had always been told it was a workplace accident.<\/p>\n
He fell from a grain platform.<\/p>\n
Harris asked, \u201cWas Leonard involved?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen shook her head quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same answer as no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Michael died, he started looking at Leonard differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter eventually reconstructed parts of Thomas Avery\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n
He discovered that some of the land had been purchased by shell companies tied indirectly to Leonard and Judge Weller.<\/p>\n
Years passed.<\/p>\n
Documents vanished.<\/p>\n
Witnesses died.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret Ellis approached Walter.<\/p>\n
Her story looked familiar.<\/p>\n
That was when Grandpa realized Leonard had continued using similar schemes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the three million?\u201d June asked.<\/p>\n
Ellen wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it came from Thomas\u2019s assets Walter recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Grandpa didn\u2019t give me his money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome was his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut part belonged to Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked toward the family photographs.<\/p>\n
For years, she had believed Walter\u2019s inheritance was gratitude for Wednesdays.<\/p>\n
Now she had to process something more complicated.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had been restoring what had been stolen before she could even remember being alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy leave everyone else one dollar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your grandfather wanted nobody to claim the money had accidentally passed to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted the will to be unmistakable.\u201d<\/p>\n
June sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he chose me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Thomas money was yours regardless. The farm was Walter\u2019s choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at her mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved your visits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talked about Wednesdays constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked away.<\/p>\n
The distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
Maybe not enough to comfort her yet.<\/p>\n
But it mattered.<\/p>\n
Harris asked Ellen whether she recognized Margaret Ellis\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
Walter had spoken with Margaret several times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Dr. Trent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe treated Michael after the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked sharply at her mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same Dr. Trent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became still.<\/p>\n
Michael Parker.<\/p>\n
Margaret Ellis.<\/p>\n
Walter Parker.<\/p>\n
Three deaths.<\/p>\n
One doctor appearing around all of them.<\/p>\n
Harris immediately called Agent Bennett.<\/p>\n
While he spoke, June walked toward the mantel.<\/p>\n
She picked up a photograph of herself with Michael.<\/p>\n
He was kneeling beside her at a fishing pond, both of them covered in mud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever DNA says.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June touched the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa ever think Leonard caused his death?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen did not answer.<\/p>\n
June turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wondered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Michael had evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone after the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris ended his call.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgent Bennett is checking the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen suddenly stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
She left the room.<\/p>\n
When she returned, she carried a small metal cash box.<\/p>\n
Inside were letters from Michael.<\/p>\n
June opened the most recent one.<\/p>\n
It was dated two days before his death.<\/p>\n
Michael wrote that Leonard had become nervous.<\/p>\n
He had discovered forged signatures in Thomas Avery\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n
He planned to meet Walter on Friday and take everything to investigators the following Monday.<\/p>\n
Michael died on Saturday.<\/p>\n
June handed the letter to Harris.<\/p>\n
At the bottom Michael had written a name.<\/p>\n
Curtis Vale.<\/p>\n
The pharmacist.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was involved twenty-three years ago?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Ellen nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael believed Vale supplied something Leonard used.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris looked at the date.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis predates Margaret Ellis by two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conspiracy was not recent.<\/p>\n
It was a system.<\/p>\n
Built patiently.<\/p>\n
Protected by respected men.<\/p>\n
Leonard handled documents.<\/p>\n
Weller provided legal cover.<\/p>\n
Vale provided medication.<\/p>\n
And Trent certified deaths.<\/p>\n
June sat beside her mother.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Ellen reached toward her.<\/p>\n
June did not pull away.<\/p>\n
But she did not take her hand either.<\/p>\n
A knock sounded at the door.<\/p>\n
Harris drew his weapon before opening it.<\/p>\n
Agent Bennett stood outside.<\/p>\n
Her expression told us she had found something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe located Dr. Trent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAirport parking structure in Wichita.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was trying to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a ticket to Mexico City.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he talk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked for an attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett stepped inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut his car contained Walter Parker\u2019s original medical file.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris asked, \u201cAnything useful?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral pages are missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lab results from the morning Walter died.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were lab results?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t anyone tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the hospital record says no blood sample was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett opened a folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Dr. Trent\u2019s private file contains a billing entry for toxicology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone understood.<\/p>\n
Walter had been tested.<\/p>\n
Someone had hidden the result.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you find the report?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett looked directly at June.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we found a note in Trent\u2019s handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n
She placed a photocopy on the table.<\/p>\n
One sentence.<\/p>\n
W.P. POSITIVE. L.A. SAYS DESTROY.<\/p>\n
June touched the initials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter Parker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd L.A.?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeonard Albright is the obvious possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was Grandpa positive for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Bennett placed down another paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was folded behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A list of patient initials.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
And beside each, the same handwritten symbol.<\/p>\n
M.E.<\/p>\n
D.C.<\/p>\n
M.P.<\/p>\n
W.P.<\/p>\n
Margaret Ellis.<\/p>\n
Daniel Cole.<\/p>\n
Michael Parker.<\/p>\n
Walter Parker.<\/p>\n
Four dead people connected to Leonard.<\/p>\n
Four entries in Dr. Trent\u2019s private notes.<\/p>\n
June stared at her father\u2019s initials.<\/p>\n
The man who raised her had died twenty-three years earlier.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had apparently spent decades trying to prove why.<\/p>\n
And somewhere inside the evidence Leonard\u2019s group had spent years hiding was the answer.<\/p>\n
Bennett\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She listened without speaking.<\/p>\n
Then she looked at Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state lab called about Walter\u2019s medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey already tested it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey ran a rapid screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tablets in Walter\u2019s bottle were not his heart medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey contained a powerful sedative combined with another cardiac-active compound.\u201d<\/p>\n
June gripped the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould it kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the concentration they found?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
June closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
There was no longer much room for comforting interpretations.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had not simply died while Dale was trying to make him appear confused.<\/p>\n
Someone had prepared pills capable of killing him.<\/p>\n
Bennett\u2019s phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
She read the message.<\/p>\n
Then looked at June.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lab found something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter\u2019s bottle contains two sets of fingerprints.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDale and Leonard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne is Dale\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Leonard.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe preliminary match belongs to someone who has not been arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned toward Ellen.<\/p>\n
For one terrible second I thought she meant June\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
Then Bennett said the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Samuel Trent.\u201d<\/p>\n
June did not cry. That would have been easier. She stood in the bank vault holding the photograph with both hands while every other person in the room waited for … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8369","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\/8369","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=8369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8389,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369\/revisions\/8389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}