Chương 10
“So why did she call you?”
“She knew me.”
“That is not a reason.”
“She was concerned.”
“About what?”
Garrett glanced at the legal pad and then back at me.
“Your father.”
The words landed quietly.
No drama.
No satisfaction.
Just weight.
“What did she think he had done?”
“She did not say.”
“That’s convenient.”
“It is also true.”
“Did she mention St. Vincent?”
His expression changed.
Barely.
Enough.
“You know the name.”
“I know many of Mercer Mechanical’s clients.”
“That wasn’t a no.”
“Ethan.”
“What happened at St. Vincent?”
Garrett’s mouth tightened.
“I am not here to discuss historical billing.”
“You just told me Rebecca contacted you about records.”
“I said materials.”
“You asked whether she discussed Mercer.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re avoiding a hospital job from fourteen years ago.”
“I’m advising you not to mistake fragments for conclusions.”
“Then give me the conclusion.”
“I cannot.”
“Because you don’t know?”
“Because I represent your father.”
There it was.
The first clean sentence of the meeting.
I leaned back.
“So this is not advice.”
“No.”
“It’s containment.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“That is your word.”
“What’s yours?”
“Risk management.”
I laughed once.
“Of course it is.”
Garrett did not.
He slid the legal pad to one side.
“Let me be direct.”
“Please.”
“If you possess documents originating from Mercer Mechanical, your father wants them returned.”
“Why?”
“Ownership.”
“My separation agreement says certain disclosures are exempt.”
“I am aware.”
“You wrote it?”
“My firm did.”
“Then you know paragraph seven.”
“Yes.”
“Why include it?”
“Because agreements must comply with law.”
“Not because you thought there was unlawful conduct.”
“No.”
I watched him.
He watched me back.
Garrett had been around my father for decades.
He knew silence could pressure people better than shouting.
I had learned from the same teacher.
After several seconds, he broke first.
“Your father is prepared to resolve this privately.”
“Resolve what?”
“The broader family dispute.”
“I’m not negotiating my daughter’s birthday.”
“I did not say you were.”
“You’re talking about the inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“So if I return documents I may or may not possess, he puts me back in the trust.”
Garrett looked uncomfortable for the first time.
“That is not how I would characterize it.”
“How would you characterize it?”
“He is willing to reconsider certain recent amendments.”
I looked at him.
“That’s worse.”
“Ethan.”
“You’re offering me money for paper.”
“I am offering you nothing.”
“Right.”
I stood.
Garrett remained seated.
“I think this meeting is over.”
“You should understand something before you leave.”
I waited.
His voice lowered.
“Blake does not know everything.”
That stopped me.
“What does he know?”
“I cannot discuss privileged matters.”
“You just told me he doesn’t know everything.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Garrett’s eyes moved toward the door.
Then back to me.
“Because your father believes control is easier when information is limited.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was the closest thing to an honest description of Walter Mercer I had ever heard from someone who still worked for him.
“Does Blake know about St. Vincent?”
Garrett did not answer.
“Does he know Rebecca contacted you?”
Still nothing.
“Does my mother?”
His eyes shifted.
That was enough.
“She knows.”
“I did not say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Garrett stood.
“Be careful about interpreting expressions as evidence.”
“Lawyer advice?”
“Human advice.”
I picked up my coat.
“Why did Rebecca call you?”
“I told you.”
“No.”
“You told me what she asked.”
He said nothing.
“Why you?”
Garrett’s face changed in a way I had never seen before.
Not fear.
Shame.
“She thought I might still have a conscience.”
The sentence stayed between us.
I did not know what to do with it.
“Did you?”
He looked down at the legal pad.
“Not enough of one.”
I left before he could turn that into another careful answer.
In the elevator, my hands started shaking.
I put them in my coat pockets.
The meeting had given me information without giving me clarity.
Rebecca had suspected something.
My mother apparently knew more than I did.
Garrett had helped my father and regretted some part of it.
Blake was being kept partially ignorant.
And Walter wanted old records badly enough to connect them to money.
Outside, I walked three blocks before realizing I had passed the garage where I parked.
I turned around.
My phone rang.
My mother.
I nearly let it go.
Then Garrett’s expression when I asked if she knew came back to me.
I answered.
“Mom.”
She did not say hello.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Were you with Charles?”
I stopped walking.
“How do you know that?”
“Your father knows.”
“I asked how you know.”
“He called me.”
“Did you know Rebecca contacted Garrett?”
Nothing.
Traffic moved beside me.
A bus exhaled at the curb.
“Mom?”
“Yes.”
The answer was so soft I almost missed it.
I stepped away from the sidewalk.
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“What did she tell you?”
“This is not a conversation for the phone.”
“Then come to my apartment.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Walter has someone watching your building.”
For a second, I thought I had misunderstood.
“What?”
“He had one of the company security contractors drive by.”
My body went cold.
“Why?”
“He says he wants to know whether you’re meeting with anyone.”
“You mean a lawyer.”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
She began crying.
Not loudly.
That made it worse.
“Ethan, I need you to listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“Do not go home yet.”
I looked around the sidewalk as if I expected to find my father standing among strangers.
“Where is June?”
“At school.”
“Does he know which school?”
“Of course he knows.”
The answer came too quickly.
My chest tightened.
“Mom.”
“No, no, he would never hurt her.”
“You don’t get to tell me what he would never do anymore.”
“I know.”
Her voice cracked.
“I know.”
I started walking toward the garage.
“What did Rebecca find?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“What do you know?”
May you like
Another pause.
Then she said, “Your father used Mercer jobs to move money.”
