Chapter 8 - The Deposit Was Gone
Brett asked me to meet him at a diner without the rest of the family.
I agreed only after telling Mara where I would be and choosing a public table near the front window.
He arrived fifteen minutes late and ordered nothing.
"You need to understand how businesses work," he began.
"Then explain yours."
He pressed his palms together.
The buyer's deposit, he admitted, had been used to cover expenses for another real estate venture that failed.
They had expected the house sale to replace it before anyone noticed.
"How much?"
"Seventy-five thousand."
I stared at him.
"And you used an asset you didn't own to promise repayment?"
"Your father said you would sign."
"Did you ask me?"
"You were overseas."
The answer was so familiar I could have said it with him.
I was gone, therefore my consent was optional.
Brett leaned in.
"Paige doesn't know the full picture."
"She knows you plan to sell the house."
He flinched.
"She thinks there's a replacement place lined up."
"Is there?"
He said nothing.
The waitress brought water and retreated.
Brett watched her go.
"If the buyer sues, Paige could lose everything."
"What does she own?"
He looked at me with naked resentment.
"You don't have to be cruel."
"I'm asking what she owns."
He pushed a folded paper across the table.
It was an offer to repay me fifteen thousand dollars if I signed a statement saying the power of attorney had been authorized.
I read it once.
Then I slid it back.
"You're offering to reimburse me for a fraction of the theft if I help cover it up."
"I'm trying to save the family."
"You're trying to save yourself."
For a moment the polished salesman disappeared.
His voice dropped.
"Gene said he could make your Army situation very uncomfortable."
I took out my phone and made a note of his words.
Brett stood so abruptly that his chair scraped the floor.
"You think you're smarter than all of us."
"I think you signed things you shouldn't have."
As he walked away, I noticed he'd left the repayment offer behind.
I put it in a folder.
Outside, my phone rang.
It was my commander.
May you like
"Captain Braddock," he said, "we need to talk about an allegation someone sent to the unit this morning."
