Chapter 2 - A Name in the Ledger
The judge recessed the hearing for twenty minutes.
Preston used seventeen of them to glare at me from the far end of the corridor.
On the eighteenth, Vivian crossed the polished floor and stopped close enough for me to smell her expensive perfume.
"You have embarrassed this family," she said.
"That wasn't my purpose."
"Then what do you call this performance?"
"A request for accurate financial records."
Arthur joined her, his smile reduced to a thin line.
"Military courtroom tricks won't work here, sweetheart."
I looked at the watch on his wrist, a wedding gift I had helped Vivian choose.
"Then the records should speak for themselves."
Martin Voss arrived and warned them not to talk to me about the case.
They obeyed him with the resentment of people accustomed to giving orders.
When court resumed, I submitted the public corporate record for Meridian Advisory Holdings.
Its managing member was Evelyn Mercer, a former employee of Hale Strategic Partners.
Martin described Meridian as an ordinary consulting vendor.
I asked whether any invoices existed for the transfer.
He said they could be produced.
"And whether Mrs. Mercer is related to your client?" I asked.
Preston's jaw tightened.
"Relevance?" Martin demanded.
"The transfers originated in a marital account, and the disclosed vendor may not be independent."
The judge permitted the question on a limited basis.
Preston admitted Evelyn Mercer was his cousin.
He had never mentioned her to me.
Not once in seven years of family dinners and crowded holiday tables.
I knew what a concealed relationship could suggest, but I also knew suggestions were not proof.
I asked for records, not a verdict.
Judge Morrison ordered both sides to exchange documents and prohibited either spouse from dissipating disputed assets without authorization.
Preston looked toward his father as though expecting him to fix the problem with a phone call.
Arthur avoided his eyes.
Outside, an unfamiliar woman in a gray coat waited beside the elevators.
"Captain Carter?" she asked softly.
I had not heard that name spoken by a stranger in years.
"Who wants to know?"
"My name is Elena Price."
She kept both hands visible and made no attempt to approach.
"I used to reconcile payments at Hale Strategic Partners."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"And you need to know what happened to the money after it reached Meridian."
The elevator opened behind her, but she did not step inside.
May you like
"Because the next account has your signature on it," she whispered.
