Chương 13
“I know.”
Meredith looked away.
Her mother’s voice lowered.
“I hated that you built a life without us and then arrived looking calm.”
“I wasn’t calm.”
“I know that now.”
“You humiliated me because you thought I was calm?”
“I wanted to puncture it.”
Elaine’s face tightened with disgust, but this time the disgust appeared directed inward.
“I wanted you uncomfortable for one evening because I had been uncomfortable for years.”
Meredith stared at her.
“That is vicious.”
“Yes.”
No defense.
No correction.
No attempt to improve the sentence.
Something in Meredith’s anger shifted.
It did not lessen.
It became harder to hold cleanly.
“Why did Vanessa agree?”
“Because I taught her that cruelty could be called humor if enough people laughed.”
Meredith’s throat tightened.
Elaine closed her eyes briefly.
“That part is mine.”
“So you’re confessing now because you’re leaving?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I may not get another chance.”
Meredith went still.
“What does that mean?”
Elaine glanced toward the concourse again.
“I received a package six months ago.”
“Dad mentioned a letter.”
“It wasn’t just a letter.”
“What else?”
“Copies of old bank records.”
“Providence?”
“Yes.”
“From Claire?”
“I assumed so.”
“But?”
“She denied sending them.”
Meredith leaned closer.
“You contacted her.”
“I found her after Martin died.”
“Why?”
“Because I went to his funeral.”
“Dad told me.”
Elaine looked unsurprised.
“Martin and I had not spoken in twenty years.”
“Then why go?”
“Because he once took the blame for something Robert did.”
The noise of the terminal seemed to recede.
Meredith stared at her mother.
“What did Dad do?”
Elaine looked toward Daniel.
Then back at Meredith.
“He authorized the false tenant commitments.”
Meredith’s mouth went dry.
“He told me some signatures weren’t properly authorized.”
“That was how Robert described forgery when lawyers were billing by the hour.”
“Did you know?”
“Not until after the lender found them.”
“Then why was your name on the final transfer?”
“Because Robert said it was the only way to keep prosecutors from looking deeper.”
Meredith’s pulse hammered.
“And was it?”
Elaine gave a bitter smile.
“It was the only way to keep them from looking deeper at him.”
Meredith sat very still.
“What did Martin do?”
“He agreed to take most of the civil blame in exchange for payment.”
“The one point eight million.”
“Yes.”
“Then he went bankrupt anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the payment went through his company, and creditors consumed almost all of it.”
Meredith stared at the floor.
“And you lost your share of Hale Development.”
“I sold it to Robert for two hundred thousand dollars.”
“You were worth more.”
“Much more.”
“Why agree?”
Elaine’s jaw tightened.
“Because he told me if I fought him, he would say I prepared the fraudulent documents.”
Meredith felt sick.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Could he prove you did?”
“No.”
“Could you prove you didn’t?”
“Not then.”
“And now?”
Elaine looked at her.
“That is what the package changed.”
Meredith’s breath caught.
“What was in it?”
“A copy of an internal authorization sheet.”
“Signed by Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Original?”
“No.”
“So it could be fake.”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“An old fax cover page from Robert to Martin.”
“What did it say?”
“Enough.”
“Mom.”
Elaine’s eyes filled for the first time.
“Enough to prove I spent twenty-eight years married to a man who knew exactly what he had done to me.”
Meredith sat frozen.
Elaine wiped beneath one eye with her finger.
“I confronted him.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
Meredith’s mind jumped backward.
“That’s when you changed attorneys.”
“Yes.”
“What did Dad say?”
“He said I was rewriting history.”
“Did you show him the records?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I wanted to know what he would admit without seeing what I had.”
Meredith felt a reluctant chill of admiration.
“And?”
“He admitted enough.”
“Did you record him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because unlike your husband’s security people, I did not spend my marriage preparing for cross-examination.”
Despite everything, Meredith almost laughed.
Then she remembered the photograph.
“Where are the records?”
“Not with me.”
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Stop saying safe.”
Elaine looked beyond Meredith.
Her expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Meredith turned.
A woman stood near the newsstand twenty yards away.
Mid-forties.
Dark coat.
Short brown hair.
She held a phone loosely at her side.
When Meredith looked directly at her, the woman did not pretend not to notice.
She walked toward them.
Daniel was moving before Meredith could stand.
The woman stopped several feet away.
“I’m not armed,” she said.
Daniel positioned himself between her and the chairs.
“I didn’t ask.”
“No.”
Her gaze moved around him toward Elaine.
“You shouldn’t board that flight.”
Elaine stood.
“Claire.”
Meredith felt every answer rearrange itself again.
Claire Rourke looked at her.
“You must be Meredith.”
Daniel’s voice cooled.
“How do you know that?”
Claire raised the phone in her hand.
“Because I’m the one who sent the messages.”
Meredith stepped beside Daniel.
“Why?”
Claire looked toward Elaine.
“Because she wasn’t supposed to run.”
Elaine’s face hardened.
“I wasn’t running.”
“You bought a one-way ticket.”
“I was going somewhere Robert couldn’t reach me.”
Claire shook her head.
“You were supposed to meet the attorney this morning.”
“I changed my mind.”
“After you moved the money?”
“Yes.”
Claire laughed once in disbelief.
“You always do this.”
Meredith looked between them.
“You two know each other better than you’re admitting.”
Neither woman answered.
That was answer enough.
“How long?” Meredith asked.
Claire looked at Elaine.
Elaine finally said, “Six months.”
“You’ve been working together?”
“Not exactly.”
Claire folded her arms.
“I gave her the documents.”
Elaine stared at her.
“You told me you didn’t send the package.”
“I didn’t send it.”
Meredith frowned.
“Then how did you have the same records?”
Claire’s expression changed.
“Because my father kept copies.”
“Who sent Mom’s?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel spoke for the first time in nearly a minute.
“That’s the real problem.”
Claire looked at him.
“Yes.”
A boarding announcement for Lisbon began overhead.
May you like
Passengers started gathering their belongings.
Elaine looked toward the gate.
