Chapter 7 - The Scholarship Ledger
The veterans' scholarship fund had been Blair's father's pride.
He and Corinne had helped establish it to support students whose parents were wounded or lost during military service.
After his death, Nolan offered to supervise the administrative side.
Blair had appreciated the gesture.
Now she requested records from the foundation's independent treasurer.
The treasurer, Leonard Park, agreed to meet with Camille present.
He arrived carrying seven years of disbursement summaries.
“At first I thought it was sloppy bookkeeping,” he said.
“Then the requests began arriving with board approvals I couldn't verify.”
“What requests?” Blair asked.
“Consulting fees paid to outside entities.”
The amounts were small enough to escape attention individually.
Together, they exceeded half a million dollars.
Several payments went to firms connected to Diane Mercer.
Leonard looked ashamed.
“I asked Nolan about it last spring.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me your mother had approved everything.”
Corinne had not sat on the finance committee in six years.
The lies were no longer confined to a police station.
Camille advised reporting the suspected diversion to the foundation's auditors and appropriate authorities.
Blair agreed.
She would not use her rank to threaten anyone or bypass evidence rules.
She wanted a case that could withstand scrutiny.
Nolan, however, preferred spectacle.
That evening he gave a carefully staged interview to a local online outlet.
He wore a soft gray sweater and described himself as a frightened husband seeking help for a family member in decline.
He never mentioned Corinne's documented injuries.
He never mentioned the false doctor's affidavit.
And he implied Blair was being manipulated because she was rarely home.
The video spread quickly through social media.
Old acquaintances sent Blair anxious messages.
A former neighbor wrote that Nolan had always been a wonderful man.
Blair read none of the comments twice.
She sent the recording to Camille.
“Let him speak,” her attorney said.
“Every specific claim can be tested.”
At 10:21 p.m., Leonard called again.
“I remembered why your father got suspicious.”
“Tell me.”
“He noticed that an original donor agreement had vanished.”
“From the foundation?”
“From the county archive, too.”
“Who had access?”
Leonard hesitated.
“Your husband chaired the records committee.”
Blair stared at the darkened window.
Nolan hadn't merely been taking money.
May you like
He had been rewriting the history of where the money belonged.
