Chương 9
Lucinda’s lips moved.
No sound came.
Andrew stepped closer.
“How long?”
She began crying silently.
“How long did my wife lie there before you called for help?”
“I don’t know.”
“How long?”
“Eleven minutes.”
The number destroyed what remained of Andrew’s composure.
He stepped backward and struck the dining chair with his leg.
It toppled onto the marble.
Alex cried out.
Andrew immediately stopped.
His eyes went to his son.
The rage drained from his posture, replaced by horror at having frightened him.
He righted the chair with shaking hands.
“I’m sorry.”
Alex stared at him.
Andrew crouched several feet away.
“I’m sorry, buddy.”
Lucinda wiped at her face.
“Andrew.”
He did not look at her.
“Don’t speak to me.”
“There is more.”
Andrew became still.
Elizabeth looked at Lucinda.
Lucinda’s eyes moved toward the closed laptop.
“Victor didn’t come for Caroline.”
Andrew slowly stood.
“What does that mean?”
Lucinda swallowed.
“He came for you.”
Andrew stared at her.
Lucinda wiped beneath one eye with the side of her finger.
“He was supposed to pressure you.”
Andrew’s voice came out low.
“For what?”
“The trust.”
“You forged my authorization to move money from the trust, and Victor was supposed to pressure me into what?”
Lucinda looked at the floor.
“To sign the restructuring documents.”
Elizabeth felt Alex’s body stiffen against her.
Andrew’s expression went from confusion to disgust.
“You were going to make the theft legal after the fact.”
Lucinda flinched.
“It was not theft to me.”
“It was money held for Alex.”
“It was family money.”
“For him.”
“For all of us.”
Andrew laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“You keep saying that like it changes what you did.”
Lucinda lifted her chin.
“My father built that estate.”
“And then placed part of it beyond your control.”
“He made mistakes.”
Andrew stared.
“No.”
The word came quietly.
“He made a decision you hated.”
Lucinda’s face tightened.
Andrew looked toward the laptop.
“Victor knew about the money.”
“Yes.”
“He knew Caroline had evidence.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew she was going to tell me.”
Lucinda hesitated.
“Eventually.”
Andrew’s eyes sharpened.
“What did you promise him?”
Lucinda said nothing.
“Mother.”
“He was owed money.”
“By Peter?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“More than Peter could repay.”
Andrew’s mouth tightened.
“So Victor became your solution.”
“He knew how to keep creditors quiet.”
“By laundering money through a fake consulting company?”
Lucinda looked away.
Elizabeth saw Andrew stop himself.
He wanted answers quickly.
Lucinda knew it.
Every second she withheld one became another small form of control.
Andrew took his phone from his pocket.
Lucinda’s head snapped up.
“Who are you calling?”
“The police.”
“No.”
Andrew looked at her.
“No?”
“You need to hear everything first.”
“I have heard enough.”
“You haven’t.”
He unlocked the phone.
Lucinda stepped forward.
Andrew raised one hand.
“Do not come closer.”
She stopped.
Alex’s face remained hidden in Elizabeth’s shoulder.
Andrew dialed.
Lucinda’s composure broke.
“Andrew, if you call them now, you lose any chance of finding Victor.”
His thumb froze above the screen.
She saw that.
“He has the original documents.”
Andrew stared.
“The photographs are copies?”
“Yes.”
“What originals?”
“Transfer authorizations, signatures, correspondence.”
“And you let him keep them?”
“I did not let him.”
Andrew’s jaw tightened.
Lucinda rubbed both palms together as if cold.
“He took them after Caroline fell.”
Elizabeth looked at her.
“From the house?”
Lucinda nodded.
Andrew said, “Why?”
“To protect himself.”
“And you.”
Lucinda gave a small, miserable shrug.
“At the time, those were the same thing.”
Andrew looked at her for several seconds.
Then he pressed call.
Lucinda whispered, “You’re making a mistake.”
“No.”
The line began ringing.
Andrew walked several feet away.
Elizabeth watched Lucinda watch him.
No one else moved.
When the dispatcher answered, Andrew gave the address first.
His voice became unnaturally calm.
He described a past fatal fall.
He said new evidence had been discovered.
He said there was an admission from a person present at the time.
He did not say murder.
He did not say his mother.
Lucinda listened anyway.
Her face seemed to shrink around the words.
The dispatcher asked whether anyone was in immediate danger.
Andrew glanced at the scissors on the console.
“No.”
Then he looked at Lucinda.
“Not at the moment.”
He gave his name.
He answered two more questions.
When the call ended, the room felt altered.
Lucinda sat down without being told.
Andrew put the phone on the table.
Elizabeth looked at him.
“How long?”
“They’re sending officers.”
Alex shifted.
Andrew immediately lowered himself near him again.
“You don’t have to stay down here.”
The boy did not answer.
Elizabeth said, “I can take him upstairs.”
Alex shook his head.
Andrew looked at him.
“You want to stay?”
A tiny nod.
Lucinda closed her eyes.
Andrew said, “Okay.”
He moved another chair closer to Elizabeth.
She sat with Alex in her lap despite the awkward weight.
His bare feet hung against her skirt.
He had lost one pajama button near his stomach.
Elizabeth had noticed it that morning and forgotten to sew it back.
The stupid omission bothered her now.
It gave her something small to be angry with herself about.
Andrew sat opposite his mother.
For a while, nobody spoke.
The refrigerator compressor stopped.
Somewhere outside, a sprinkler clicked against the lawn.
Lucinda stared at her hands.
Finally Andrew said, “Tell me about Victor.”
Lucinda exhaled slowly.
“He worked for Peter.”
“Doing what?”
“Collections.”
Andrew looked at her.
Lucinda’s lips thinned.
“Not formally.”
“So he threatened people.”
“He persuaded them.”
“Mother.”
“Yes.”
Her answer was almost impatient.
“He threatened people.”
Andrew leaned back.
“And after Peter died?”
“He came to me.”
“For repayment.”
“Yes.”
“How did he know about the trust?”
Lucinda hesitated.
“Peter told him.”
Andrew stared.
“Of course he did.”
Lucinda looked toward the windows.
“Peter was desperate.”
“That doesn’t explain why you kept paying Victor for six years.”
Her eyes returned to him.
“He had records.”
“What records?”
“Loans.”
May you like
“That’s not illegal.”
“No.”
