Chapter 6 - The Boy Who Remembered
Leo spent two nights at Newport Regional Hospital.
Smoke inhalation irritated his lungs, but he recovered quickly.
Clara needed stitches along her forearm and treatment for minor burns.
Richard refused to leave Leo’s floor.
Neither did Owen Bell.
Eleanor vanished before firefighters gained control of the estate.
Police located her the following morning at a private marina.
She claimed she had gone there because the hotel assigned to displaced family members was “unacceptable.”
Detective Maya Brooks did not believe her.
Neither did Clara.
The fire department found evidence of multiple ignition points.
One in the basement.
One in the west corridor.
One beside the third-floor linen closet.
The pattern eliminated accident almost immediately.
Then investigators found the gasoline trail near the dumbwaiter.
The investigation became criminal.
Leo gave his statement from his hospital bed.
Clara sat beside him.
Detective Brooks kept her voice gentle.
“Tell me what happened before the alarm.”
Leo looked at Clara.
She nodded.
“Aunt Eleanor came in.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was it before dinner?”
“After dessert.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me I should change clothes.”
“Why?”
“She said Grandpa wanted me to leave the estate.”
“Did that sound unusual?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Grandpa hadn’t told me.”
Detective Brooks wrote something down.
“Then what happened?”
“She helped me into the bathroom.”
“Why?”
“I thought she was helping me change.”
His voice became quieter.
“When I came back, my chair looked strange.”
“What was different?”
“The back wheels were gone.”
“Did you ask about them?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“She said the mechanic took them.”
Detective Brooks glanced toward Clara.
Clara said nothing.
“Then?”
Leo swallowed.
“She told me to lie down.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
“She got angry.”
“How?”
“She said I always made everything harder.”
Clara’s hand tightened around Leo’s.
“She took my braces and put them across the room.”
“Could you reach them?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She left.”
“Did she lock the door?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“I heard the key.”
Detective Brooks leaned forward.
“Had that door ever been locked from outside before?”
“No.”
Leo looked directly at her.
“She thought I would die.”
Nobody spoke.
Richard stood near the window.
His shoulders seemed to collapse.
The detective continued.
“Did your aunt say anything else?”
Leo nodded.
“What?”
“She said something about Dad.”
Clara looked at him.
“What did she say?”
Leo frowned.
“She said, ‘You should have gone with Arthur the first time.’”
Richard turned.
“What?”
Leo looked frightened.
“That’s what she said.”
Richard walked toward the bed.
“The first time?”
Detective Brooks raised one hand.
“Mr. Sterling, please.”
Richard stopped.
But his face had changed.
Clara saw recognition.
Later, in the hospital corridor, she confronted him.
“What does ‘the first time’ mean?”
Richard looked around.
“I don’t know.”
“You reacted.”
“I was surprised.”
“You were terrified.”
Richard walked away.
Clara followed.
“Arthur was taking Leo away the morning of the crash.”
“I told you.”
“What other time was there?”
Richard entered an empty consultation room.
Clara followed and closed the door.
“Tell me.”
Richard stared through the small window.
“Two months before the crash, Arthur tried to leave.”
“With Leo?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I stopped him.”
Clara felt anger rise.
“Why?”
“He was unstable.”
“Or inconvenient?”
“Do not twist this.”
“Then explain it.”
Richard rubbed his face.
“Arthur had become obsessed with the missing trust funds.”
“Because they were missing.”
“He accused everybody.”
“Was he wrong?”
Richard did not answer.
Clara laughed bitterly.
“That is what I thought.”
“He wanted to take Leo to Switzerland.”
“Why?”
“He had friends there.”
“No.”
Clara stepped closer.
“Why Switzerland?”
Richard looked at her.
“Because a bank there held copies of the financial records.”
That changed everything.
“Arthur had evidence outside the country.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Eleanor?”
Richard looked away.
Clara understood.
“You told her.”
“I told Marcus.”
“And Marcus told her.”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
Richard’s voice broke.
“Because I do not know.”
Clara stopped.
The old man looked suddenly older.
“I spent my entire life believing I could control consequences.”
He stared at the floor.
“I moved money.”
“I protected the company.”
“I silenced Arthur because I thought scandal would destroy us.”
“And every choice gave someone else more room to hurt him.”
Clara listened.
“I did not kill my son.”
“I know.”
“But I made it easier for whoever did.”
That was the closest Richard had come to confession.
Clara lowered her voice.
“Then help Leo now.”
He looked at her.
“All of it.”
“What?”
“Tell the detective everything.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“If I do that, Sterling Energy may collapse.”
Clara stared.
“Your grandson almost burned alive.”
Richard said nothing.
“You are still choosing.”
The next morning, Richard requested Detective Brooks.
For three hours, he talked.
He admitted taking money temporarily from Leo’s trust.
He admitted ignoring Arthur’s warnings.
He admitted that Arthur suspected Eleanor.
He also revealed something new.
Arthur had hired a private forensic accountant.
Her name was Natalie Cross.
She disappeared from the records after Arthur died.
Detective Brooks searched.
Natalie Cross was alive.
She lived under her married name in Maine.
And she had kept copies.
Two days later, Brooks drove to see her.
Clara and Richard remained at the hospital.
At 4:12 p.m., Brooks called.
“I found the accountant.”
Clara placed the phone on speaker.
“Does she have the records?”
“Yes.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“What do they show?”
Brooks paused.
“Eleanor moved money through four shell companies.”
Richard exhaled.
“But that is not all.”
Clara’s stomach tightened.
“What else?”
“One payment occurred six days before Arthur’s helicopter crash.”
“To whom?”
“A maintenance contractor.”
Richard went pale.
“What contractor?”
“Atlantic Rotor Services.”
Richard gripped the table.
“That company serviced Arthur’s helicopter.”
“Yes.”
Clara felt sick.
“How much?”
“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
The room went silent.
Then Brooks said something even worse.
“There was another payment.”
“When?”
“The morning of the fire.”
Clara stared at the phone.
“To who?”
Brooks hesitated.
“Owen Bell.”
Clara slowly turned.
May you like
Owen stood in the hospital doorway.
And he had heard every word.
