Chapter 8 - VICTOR HALE
Martin read the email twice.
"Victor Hale is an authorized signer on the box?"
"Apparently."
"Since when?"
"The bank says twelve years ago."
Martin looked toward the kitchen.
"Before Richard's father died."
I nodded.
We went back inside.
Richard and Tyler were still at the table.
I put the phone down between them.
"Victor Hale had access to the box."
Richard stared at the screen.
"That's impossible."
Tyler looked frightened again.
"Evan didn't tell me that."
"Did Evan know?"
"I don't know."
Martin sat.
"Who introduced Margaret to Victor Hale?"
Richard rubbed his face.
"I have no idea."
Tyler hesitated.
"Grandma said he was an old friend of Grandpa's."
Richard looked at him.
"He wasn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because Dad hated consultants."
"He thought people who made slide decks for a living were paid to tell owners what they already knew."
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
That sounded like the man described in the letter.
Martin leaned back.
"We need Margaret here."
Richard stood.
"I'll call her."
He dialed.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
A third time.
Straight to voicemail.
Richard stared at the phone.
"She turned it off."
My stomach tightened.
"Where did she go?"
"She was at the house."
I called the evidence technician.
Aaron answered.
"Ms. Harrison?"
"Is Margaret still there?"
A pause.
"No."
"When did she leave?"
"About twenty minutes ago."
"She said she was going to get medication."
Richard cursed.
"Did she take anything?"
Aaron hesitated.
"Her overnight bag."
The bag that had held my notebook.
Of course.
"Did anyone check it again?"
"We had already returned her personal property after documenting the notebook location."
"We had no authority to search everything else."
"Understood."
I ended the call.
Richard was already grabbing his keys.
"I'm going after her."
Martin stopped him.
"Where?"
"Home."
"She left home."
"Then her condo."
"And if she isn't there?"
Richard looked desperate.
"I don't know."
Tyler spoke quietly.
"I might."
We all turned.
"Grandma has a storage unit."
Richard frowned.
"What storage unit?"
"Near the old industrial park."
"She took me there once."
"When?"
"Last year."
"Why?"
Tyler looked uncomfortable.
"She needed help moving boxes."
"What boxes?"
"Old company records."
Richard slammed his palm against the table.
"Why does everyone in this family have secret company records except me?"
Nobody answered.
His laugh was almost a sob.
"I'm the CEO."
Tyler looked at him.
"Maybe that's why."
Richard stared.
Tyler continued.
"Maybe everyone kept you in the middle because you were useful there."
"You sign."
"You defend."
"You keep the company running."
"But you don't ask enough questions."
Richard's face hardened.
"You don't get to analyze me after stealing from Helen."
Tyler nodded.
"You're right."
That stopped Richard more effectively than an argument.
Tyler looked at me.
"I can take the deputies to the storage unit."
Martin shook his head.
"You can give them the address."
"You are staying where we can find you."
Tyler did not argue.
Another first.
The deputies contacted their department.
Within twenty minutes, a unit near the industrial park was being watched.
Margaret's car was not there.
But another car was.
Registered to Victor Hale.
Richard stared at the deputy's phone when the information came through.
"He's here?"
"His vehicle is."
"That does not mean he is inside."
Martin looked at me.
"This is moving beyond our control."
"Good."
Richard stared at me.
I met his eyes.
"We need outside investigators."
"Real ones."
"Not family conversations."
"Not explanations over dinner."
"Not your mother asking us to trust her."
Richard looked away.
"You're right."
The words were so rare from him that I almost missed them.
The sheriff's office asked us to remain at the lake house while they checked the storage unit.
We waited.
And waited.
Thirty-one minutes later, my phone rang.
The deputy's voice was clipped.
"Ms. Harrison, we need you to confirm whether any property in this unit belongs to you."
"What did you find?"
"Financial records."
"Copies of identification documents."
"Several external drives."
"And what appears to be a duplicate set of trust paperwork bearing your name."
My skin went cold.
"My signature?"
"Yes."
"Do not touch anything more than necessary."
"Understood."
Martin held out his hand.
I put the call on speaker.
The deputy continued.
"There is also a wall calendar."
"It contains initials, dates, and dollar amounts."
"One set of initials appears frequently."
"VH?"
I asked.
"Yes."
"Another is MC."
Margaret Cole.
"And another is RC."
Richard Cole.
Richard went pale.
"I have never been there."
The deputy continued.
"There are entries going back nine years."
Richard sat down.
"Nine years?"
"Yes."
"Some entries list amounts next to RC and the word signed."
Martin closed his eyes.
"Richard, do you remember signing batches of documents for your mother?"
Richard looked at him.
"All the time."
"Tax forms."
"Vendor approvals."
"Partnership distributions."
"She handled Dad's estate."
"She would bring folders."
"I would sign."
I stared at him.
"Without reading them?"
He looked ashamed.
"Sometimes."
I almost laughed from disbelief.
"Richard."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"I know now."
Martin stood.
"We need to identify every document signed during those nine years."
Richard nodded.
"Do it."
Martin looked at him.
"I am not your lawyer."
Richard's expression tightened.
"Then recommend one."
"I will."
"But understand something."
"If your interests conflict with Helen's, I protect Helen."
Richard looked at me.
"I understand."
I did not know if he did.
Not yet.
The deputy on the phone cleared his throat.
"There is one more item."
Of course there was.
"What?"
"A photograph."
"Old."
"Looks like it was taken at a company event."
"It shows three people together."
"Who?"
"A younger Mrs. Cole."
"Mr. Hale."
"And a man we believe is Richard's father."
Richard stood.
"So Dad did know him."
The deputy hesitated.
"Possibly."
"But there is writing on the back."
"What does it say?"
The deputy read it aloud.
"Victor - keep Margaret away from the books."
Richard's face emptied.
Then Tyler whispered,
"Grandpa trusted Victor."
Martin looked at him.
"Or thought he did."
I felt something click into place.
Victor Hale was not necessarily the outsider who corrupted the family.
He might have entered as the person Richard's father trusted to investigate Margaret.
And stayed long enough to learn exactly how the system worked.
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence.
IF YOU WANT MARGARET ALIVE, STOP LOOKING FOR VICTOR HALE.
I stared at the screen.
Richard saw my face.
"What?"
I turned the phone toward him.
He read the message.
All the color left his face.
Then a second message arrived.
THIS FAMILY HAS ALREADY PAID FOR ONE FUNERAL.
May you like
DO NOT MAKE IT TWO.
