Chương 15
Jealous sister.
Disapproving auditor.
Family feud.
A neat story was often more persuasive than a complicated truth.
“What should I do?”
“For now, nothing beyond what I told you.”
“That’s becoming a theme.”
“Good.”
He paused.
“And consider taking Monday off.”
“Is that an order?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll decide later.”
“That also sounds like you.”
We hung up.
When I returned, Claire was watching me.
“What happened?”
“Mark complained about me to my firm before he was arrested.”
Her face changed instantly.
“What?”
“His attorney sent a letter last month accusing me of improper access.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
Maya looked at me sharply.
“Your firm verified that?”
“Yes.”
“Logs?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Claire’s anger came fast.
“So he was lying about you before anything happened.”
“Apparently.”
She stood.
“This proves the letter to Dad was a setup.”
Maya shook her head.
“It supports a pattern of accusation.”
“That is the same thing.”
“No.”
Claire slapped one palm against the table.
“He told everyone she was obsessed with him.”
“Yes.”
“He told my parents she was trying to destroy his business.”
“Yes.”
“He told her job the same thing.”
“Yes.”
“What more do you need?”
“Evidence of why.”
Claire stared at her.
“Why does why matter?”
“Because intent matters.”
“Fine.”
Claire’s eyes flashed.
“He knew the business was collapsing and wanted someone to blame.”
“Maybe.”
Claire turned away in frustration.
I understood it.
Facts were moving too slowly for the amount of pain they were causing.
Maya said, “There may also be another reason.”
We both looked at her.
She folded her hands.
“If Emma had a reputation for hostility toward Mark before any federal action became public, then any warning she gave your family could be dismissed as personal.”
Claire’s face went pale.
I felt something cold settle under my ribs.
Maya continued carefully.
“That would make it easier for people close to him to ignore concerns.”
Claire sat down.
“He didn’t just want to blame her later.”
“No one knows that.”
“But if he made us stop trusting her—”
She stopped.
I finished the thought silently.
Then nobody listens when she tells them to get out.
Claire looked at me.
“You warned us after he had already started saying those things.”
“Yes.”
“He knew you were asking questions.”
“At family dinners.”
“He knew enough.”
I thought about Mark smiling over pecan pie.
You know just enough about finance to make yourself nervous.
At the time, it had sounded like arrogance.
Now I heard something else in it.
Not fear exactly.
Management.
He had been managing me.
Managing the room.
Managing which version of me everyone saw.
My phone rang.
This time the name on the screen was Aunt Denise.
I answered.
“Please don’t have another emergency.”
Her voice was low.
“I don’t know if it’s an emergency.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“I’m at the vineyard.”
“I know.”
“No, Emma.”
She paused.
“I came back to get my suitcase.”
I waited.
“There’s someone here asking for Claire.”
“Who?”
“She says her name is Lena Harper.”
Every muscle in my body went still.
Across the table, Maya saw my face change.
Denise continued.
“She says she heard what happened to Mark.”
“Do not tell her where Claire is.”
“I haven’t.”
“Do not ask her questions.”
“I haven’t.”
“What does she want?”
Denise lowered her voice even further.
“She says Claire needs to know Mark didn’t fire her for stealing.”
Maya was already reaching for my phone.
I handed it to her.
Denise’s next words came through the speaker.
“She says Mark fired her because she refused to notarize another signature.”
Maya’s face changed before anyone spoke.
“Denise, put some distance between yourself and Ms. Harper.”
“I’m not standing on top of her.”
“I mean conversational distance.”
Denise lowered her voice.
“She looks terrified.”
“That does not change the instruction.”
There was a rustle on the line.
Then a woman’s voice appeared faintly in the background.
“I just need Claire to know what he did.”
Maya’s jaw tightened.
“Denise, do not let her explain anything else.”
“I heard you.”
“Tell her Claire has counsel and that counsel will contact her if appropriate.”
Another rustle.
Then Denise said, “She says she already talked to the FBI.”
Claire stood.
Maya held up one finger.
“Ask her whether she has an attorney.”
Denise relayed the question.
A pause.
“She says yes.”
Maya exhaled.
“Good.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“Why is that good?”
“Because it means I do not have to decide whether to become responsible for protecting a witness who walked into a canceled wedding.”
Denise returned to the line.
“She wants me to give you her lawyer’s name.”
“That is fine.”
Maya wrote it down.
“Nothing else.”
“Okay.”
“And Denise?”
“Yes?”
“Do not let your curiosity turn you into a witness.”
Denise made an offended sound.
“I am capable of minding my business.”
Claire and I looked at each other.
Neither of us believed that.
Maya ended the call.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Claire said, “Another signature.”
“Yes.”
“My signature?”
“We do not know.”
“Mom’s?”
“We do not know.”
“Dad’s?”
“We do not know.”
Claire pressed both hands against the table.
“Can we please know one thing today?”
Maya’s voice softened.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“You know Mark lied about why he fired Lena.”
Claire looked at her.
“That’s something.”
“It is.”
“And you know Lena went to the FBI.”
“Apparently.”
“That means she told them about the signatures.”
“Possibly.”
Claire groaned.
I almost smiled.
Maya noticed.
“You are both becoming difficult.”
“We were raised that way,” Claire said.
That one actually made Maya laugh.
The sound surprised all three of us.
It lasted less than a second.
Then her phone buzzed again.
This time she looked at the screen and said, “I need ten minutes.”
She left the room.
Claire sat down.
I stayed standing.
“So what now?” she asked.
“For you?”
“For us.”
I looked at her.
May you like
There had not been an us in a long time.
Maybe there had never been the kind she meant now.
