Chapter 8 - SOMEONE CAME FOR LILY
Daniel could not understand why Leonard Shaw would hand Claire a check drawn from Emma's account months after Emma's death.
Rebecca confirmed the account number twice.
It was a dormant estate account created to collect residual payments after probate.
Daniel served as personal representative.
No one was supposed to issue checks from it without his authorization.
"I never signed anything for Claire."
Rebecca enlarged Mark's photograph again.
"We need the original image professionally enhanced."
Daniel pointed at the visible signature line.
"Can you tell whose name is there?"
"Not reliably."
Mark sat across from them looking sick.
"I should have given you these months ago."
Daniel wanted to be angry.
Instead, he looked at the man who had finally chosen not to look away.
"You gave me the video when it mattered most."
Mark swallowed.
"I almost didn't."
Daniel stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because Claire saw me watching once."
"When?"
"January."
"What happened?"
Mark rubbed his palms together.
"She came to my front door."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"What did she say?"
"She told me I was becoming too interested in another man's family."
"That's it?"
"Then she mentioned my son's college."
Daniel frowned.
"What about it?"
"She knew where he lived."
The room became quiet.
Mark continued.
"She said it would be terrible if some misunderstanding made him lose his scholarship."
Daniel's anger sharpened.
"You should have called the police."
"I know."
"Did she threaten you again?"
"No."
Mark looked toward the backyard.
"She didn't have to."
Rebecca photographed the camera and memory card for preservation.
Hernandez arrived within an hour to collect them.
He also brought an update about the hidden phone found in Claire's coat.
A judge had approved examination of the device.
The phone was registered under the prepaid account name C. Rowan.
Its message history had been partially deleted.
Forensic software recovered several fragments.
Most were exchanges with a contact saved only as V.
Daniel did not need anyone to tell him who V probably was.
Hernandez read one recovered message aloud.
"She still doesn't remember where the card is."
A response from V followed.
"Pressure her without leaving marks."
Daniel's face drained of color.
Rebecca whispered a curse.
Hernandez continued.
"Another message says, Daniel leaves Thursday. Use the time."
Daniel looked at the detective.
"That was my Germany trip."
Hernandez nodded.
"There are also references to documents, account numbers, and a person called L.S."
"Leonard Shaw."
"That's one possibility."
Daniel stood at the kitchen counter and stared through the window at the maple tree.
"Can you arrest Claire now?"
"The prosecutor is reviewing charges related to fraud, identity misrepresentation, and child endangerment."
"And Victor?"
"The same messages are part of the warrant application we're building."
Daniel turned.
"Every hour you wait gives him another hour to erase things."
Hernandez's expression tightened.
"I know."
At two that afternoon, Daniel received a call from Lily's school principal.
Her voice was unusually tense.
"Mr. Mercer, is Lily supposed to be picked up by anyone other than you today?"
Daniel's heart slammed against his ribs.
"No."
"Not a relative named Nicole Bennett?"
"I don't know anyone named Nicole Bennett."
Daniel was already reaching for his keys.
"Where is Lily?"
"She's with me in the office."
"Do not let anyone near her."
"We won't."
"Call the police."
"Security already did."
Daniel drove to the school with Rebecca while Hernandez headed there separately.
When Daniel entered the main office, Lily ran into him.
He lifted her and held her so tightly she squeaked.
"Daddy."
"I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"Because I should have been here."
The principal led them into a private room.
A woman had arrived ten minutes before dismissal claiming she had emergency permission to take Lily to a medical appointment.
She presented a printed authorization form bearing Daniel's name and signature.
The school secretary checked the emergency-contact list and found no Nicole Bennett.
When challenged, the woman claimed the online system had not been updated.
The principal asked her to wait while Daniel was called.
The woman walked out before the call connected.
School cameras captured her face.
Daniel stared at the image on the monitor.
He did not recognize her.
Lily did.
"That's Aunt Nicky."
Daniel turned.
"Who?"
Lily pointed at the screen.
"Claire's sister."
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
Claire had told him she was an only child.
Hernandez arrived and asked Lily whether she had met the woman before.
"At Grandpa's house."
Daniel's pulse jumped.
"My father?"
Lily nodded.
"She came in the back door."
"When?"
"When Daddy was gone."
Again, the Germany trip.
Hernandez requested school footage and the forged authorization.
The woman had written a phone number on the form.
It belonged to another prepaid line.
Her vehicle was caught on the parking-lot camera, but the plate was partly obscured by a temporary cover.
Daniel watched the footage frame by frame.
A dark SUV stopped near the curb.
Nicole emerged from the passenger side.
The SUV pulled away.
Five minutes later, after she left the school, the same vehicle returned.
Rebecca leaned toward the screen.
"Can you zoom in on the driver?"
The technician enlarged the image.
The driver wore sunglasses and a baseball cap.
Daniel did not recognize the face.
Then Lily pointed at the screen.
"That's Grandpa's car man."
Daniel looked at her.
"His driver?"
Lily nodded.
"Mr. Caleb."
Victor's longtime driver was Caleb Dunn.
Daniel felt the ground shift beneath him again.
Hernandez immediately radioed the name to another officer.
Within minutes, they learned Caleb's company-issued SUV had left Victor's property at 1:37 p.m.
The onboard tracking system had been manually disabled ten minutes later.
Daniel paced the principal's office.
"They came to take her."
Hernandez did not correct him.
"We need to establish intent."
"She used a forged authorization."
"Which is significant."
Daniel looked at Lily sitting with Rebecca and coloring on a notepad.
"I'm taking her somewhere Victor doesn't know."
Hernandez nodded.
"That's reasonable."
Rebecca arranged for Daniel and Lily to stay at a secure guesthouse owned by one of her relatives outside the city.
Only four people knew the address.
Daniel packed two bags and left home before sunset.
He did not tell the company.
He did not tell his mother.
He told no one in the Mercer family.
That evening, after Lily fell asleep on a couch beside him, Hernandez called.
Police had located Nicole Bennett.
Her real name was Nicole Rowan.
She was Claire's older half-sister.
Daniel stood in the dark kitchen of the guesthouse.
"Did she admit she went to the school?"
"She asked for an attorney."
"Did she say why she was there?"
"No."
"What about Caleb?"
"We haven't located him."
Daniel looked through the window at the empty country road outside.
"And Victor?"
Hernandez paused.
"Victor's attorney says he is unavailable for questioning tonight."
"Leonard Shaw?"
"Yes."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
"Daniel, there's one more thing."
The detective's tone changed.
"What?"
"The forensic team opened the first folder on Emma's microSD card."
Daniel's hand tightened around the phone.
"What's in it?"
"A video."
"Of what?"
Hernandez hesitated.
"Emma recorded herself."
Daniel stopped breathing.
"What does she say?"
"She says that if you're watching the video, she either failed to get the evidence to the authorities or someone stopped her."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Hernandez continued.
"Then she names the person she believed was controlling the original fraud scheme."
Daniel waited.
"Victor?"
"No."
Daniel opened his eyes.
"Then who?"
Hernandez spoke slowly.
May you like
"Emma says Victor was covering for someone else."
