Chương 9
I yanked it harder.
A folder fell out and spilled insurance documents across the carpet.
Beth crouched.
“Don’t touch.”
“I’m wearing hands.”
“You know what I mean.”
I used my phone to photograph everything before moving it.
Most of the papers were ordinary.
Health insurance.
Auto coverage.
Mark’s employer benefits.
Then I found a folder labeled L.
Inside were photocopies of Lily’s birth certificate, my driver’s license, and an old medical authorization form.
My stomach turned.
Beth whispered, “Why would he have those together?”
“I don’t know.”
There was also a printed email from Grant Holloway.
The date was five days before Mark died.
Mark,
I strongly recommend that any cancellation or beneficiary change be completed in person given the dispute you described.
I can meet Monday at 3:30.
Grant
Below it, Mark had handwritten one word.
Done.
Monday was the day he died.
I sat back on my heels.
Beth looked pale.
“He met Grant that afternoon.”
“And died that night.”
My phone rang in my hand.
I nearly dropped it.
Reyes.
“Please tell me you have something,” I said.
“I have a question first.”
I closed my eyes.
“Okay.”
“Did Mark keep financial documents at home?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We just found an email from Grant.”
There was a pause.
“Don’t touch anything else.”
“Too late.”
“What did you touch?”
“A folder.”
“Claire.”
“I photographed it first.”
“Read me the email without moving it again.”
I did.
Reyes asked me to send the photograph.
I heard typing on her end.
Then she said, “That aligns with something we found.”
“What?”
“Delaney Auto has a service record from the Saturday Evelyn had Mark’s car.”
Lucas appeared in the doorway behind us.
He must have heard my voice.
“What does it say?”
I asked.
“The vehicle was brought in for an intermittent brake warning light.”
“By Evelyn?”
“The customer name entered was Mark Mercer.”
“That doesn’t mean he was there.”
“No.”
“Did they remember her?”
“We’re checking.”
Lucas stepped closer.
“What was wrong with the brakes?”
Reyes hesitated.
“The technician documented low brake fluid and recommended further inspection for a possible leak.”
My chest tightened.
“Did they repair it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“The customer declined.”
Lucas gripped the doorframe.
“Grandma declined?”
“We don’t know who physically declined yet.”
“Then what happened?”
“The shop topped off the brake fluid and released the vehicle with a written warning.”
I looked at Mark’s old desk.
“He drove it Monday.”
“Yes.”
“Could low brake fluid make him crash?”
“It can affect braking performance depending on the cause and severity, but I’m not making a mechanical conclusion.”
“What did the crash report say?”
“The vehicle failed to stop at a curve and left the roadway.”
I covered my mouth.
For fourteen months I had pictured Mark driving too fast.
Distracted.
Tired.
Maybe looking at his phone.
I had been angry at him for dying stupidly.
That anger had helped me survive him.
Now it felt like a betrayal.
Lucas whispered, “Did Grandma know the car was dangerous?”
Reyes said, “The shop record indicates the customer was advised not to delay inspection.”
The room went still.
I asked, “Did Mark know?”
“That’s what we’re trying to establish.”
Lucas looked at the documents on the floor.
“What if she never told him?”
Nobody answered.
Reyes asked us to leave the office exactly as it was.
An officer would come by.
Before hanging up, she added, “Claire, there’s one more thing.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What?”
“We confirmed Mark met Grant Holloway Monday afternoon.”
I stared at the email.
“What did he do?”
“I haven’t interviewed Grant yet.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Appointment records.”
“What was the appointment for?”
“A beneficiary change.”
Lucas looked at me.
I could barely speak.
“On what policy?”
Reyes paused.
“Mark had a private life insurance policy for one million dollars.”
I felt Beth sit down behind me.
“Who was the beneficiary?”
“You were originally.”
“Originally?”
“Yes.”
My mouth went dry.
“Who did he change it to?”
“Not a person.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“He changed the beneficiary to a trust.”
“What trust?”
“A trust established for Lucas and Lily.”
Lucas made a sound behind me.
I turned.
His face had lost all color.
Reyes continued.
“The documents indicate Evelyn had previously been named trustee.”
My stomach sank.
“Previously?”
“Mark removed her that day.”
“Who replaced her?”
“You.”
Lucas whispered, “Oh my God.”
I sat down on Mark’s desk chair.
It rolled backward an inch.
“Did Evelyn know?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I won’t invent answers.”
I stared at the photocopy of Lily’s birth certificate.
Then another thought came.
“If Mark removed Evelyn as trustee, she lost control of the money.”
“If the policy paid into the trust, yes.”
“And then he died that night.”
Reyes did not respond.
Lucas stepped into the room.
“And Grandma had already been warned about the brakes.”
“We are not at a conclusion,” Reyes said.
“But you’re thinking it.”
“I’m thinking we need facts.”
Lucas turned away and punched the wall.
His fist hit drywall with a dull crack.
“Lucas!”
He pulled his hand back.
Blood appeared across two knuckles.
Beth grabbed a tissue.
He shoved her hand away.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I said I’m fine.”
I stood.
“Stop saying that.”
He looked at me.
The absurdity of it caught both of us.
I had said the same thing all day.
His mouth twisted.
Then he started crying.
“I called him.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The night Dad died.”
He pressed his injured hand against his chest.
“I called him because I missed the late bus.”
“Lucas.”
“He came because of me.”
“No.”
“He drove that car because I called.”
I crossed the room and grabbed his shoulders.
“No.”
His face crumpled.
“If I’d just waited—”
“No.”
“He wouldn’t have been on that road.”
“And if he’d stayed home, he could have driven it the next morning.”
“But he didn’t.”
May you like
“Because you needed your father.”
“I could’ve gotten a ride.”
