Chương 5
“And the forged signatures?”
His face went pale.
“What forged signatures?”
I watched him carefully.
“My father’s.”
Blake stared at me.
“And mine.”
He sat back.
“No.”
“Is that surprise or practice?”
“Daniel, I didn’t forge your signature.”
“I didn’t ask whether you did.”
“You were about to.”
“I’m asking who did.”
“I don’t know.”
“You texted me that Mom started this.”
“Moving money.”
“Then how did she authorize it?”
“I thought Thomas had signed the forms.”
“He says he didn’t.”
Blake’s eyes dropped.
The fingers around his cup tightened.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re doing the same thing Vanessa did this morning.”
“What thing?”
“Looking scared before saying nothing.”
He glanced toward the window.
“Patricia kept forms.”
“What forms?”
“Signed authorizations.”
My stomach tightened.
“Dad says they weren’t signed.”
“I saw signatures.”
“Where?”
“In his study.”
“When?”
“After he came home from rehab.”
“Who showed them to you?”
Blake hesitated.
That was enough.
“My mother.”
“She said Thomas had signed paperwork ahead of time because his hand was getting worse.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ten?”
“Maybe.”
“Fifty?”
“No.”
“You used them?”
“No.”
“Vanessa?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I don’t know.”
His voice rose, and a woman two tables over looked up.
Blake lowered it again.
“I saw Patricia filling in one form.”
“With what?”
“An amount.”
“For your house?”
“I think so.”
“You think so?”
“I walked in halfway through.”
“And you didn’t ask?”
“She told me Thomas had approved it.”
“And you believed her.”
“I wanted to.”
At least that sounded true.
“What about North Bay?”
He closed his eyes.
There it was.
I leaned forward.
“Philip Grainger.”
“He did work for Whitmore.”
“I know.”
“He also invoiced more than the work was worth.”
“How much more?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you receive any of it?”
“No.”
“Vanessa?”
“No.”
“My mother?”
He shook his head.
“Then where did it go?”
“Philip paid contractors.”
I stared at him.
“At your house.”
“Yes.”
The room seemed suddenly too warm.
“So you used a logistics consultant to hide renovation costs.”
“Not exactly.”
“Try making it more exact.”
“Patricia said it was easier if the company paid North Bay and North Bay settled certain invoices.”
“Easier.”
“I know.”
“That is an extraordinary word for fraud.”
“Don’t call it that.”
“What would you prefer?”
“I don’t know.”
Blake looked genuinely miserable now.
“That’s the problem.”
I sat back and watched him.
“Why tell me?”
“Because Vanessa is losing it.”
“She should be.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
“She came to my apartment this morning demanding her cards.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
He looked toward the front door as if expecting her to appear.
“She found out your father was reviewing the accounts last week.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try again.”
“She found a letter from Eleanor’s office.”
“In Dad’s study?”
“Yes.”
“Why was she in there?”
“She goes in there all the time.”
“So she knew before dinner.”
“Yes.”
The shove came back to me.
Vanessa above me.
The empty chair.
Her anger when I sat in Dad’s place.
“What did the letter say?”
“That auditors were requesting documents.”
“Did she know Dad changed the trust?”
“No.”
“Then last night she thought she still had access.”
“Yes.”
“She humiliated me in front of everyone while she knew someone was reviewing missing money.”
Blake swallowed.
“She was scared.”
“That does not help her.”
“I’m not asking it to.”
“What are you asking?”
He looked at me for a long time.
“Don’t destroy her before you know what Patricia made her do.”
I stood.
Blake stood too.
“Daniel.”
“What did my mother make her do?”
“I don’t know where that line is.”
“What line?”
“Between Vanessa doing what Patricia asked and Vanessa figuring out she could benefit from it.”
That was the first honest thing he had said that frightened me.
“Does Vanessa know you’re here?”
“No.”
“Does Mom?”
“No.”
“Philip?”
His eyes shifted.
“Blake.”
“He knows people are asking questions.”
“How?”
“I called him.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
I laughed once because otherwise I might have grabbed him.
“You warned the man whose company received two hundred thousand dollars in questionable payments.”
“He’s my friend.”
“He’s evidence.”
“He’s a person.”
“And you just gave him time to protect himself.”
Blake’s face hardened.
“You think everybody sees this the way you do.”
“How do I see it?”
“Like a ledger.”
I stepped closer.
“You’re telling me that while my father was relearning how to hold a fork, money was being routed through his company to pay for your renovation.”
His anger disappeared.
“That’s fair.”
“No, it isn’t.”
I picked up my folder.
“Do not call Philip again.”
“You don’t get to order me around.”
“You’re right.”
I headed for the door.
“But Eleanor can explain what happens if records disappear after an internal review begins.”
That stopped him.
I left without looking back.
My rideshare had barely crossed into Newton when Vanessa called again.
This time I answered.
“What?”
Her breathing was ragged.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Because Mom locked herself in Dad’s study.”
I sat upright.
“What happened?”
“I confronted her.”
“About what?”
“The transfers.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“How do you know about those?”
“Blake told me.”
Of course he had.
“Is Dad with her?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“Upstairs.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s furious.”
“What did you say to Mom?”
“I asked where the money went.”
“You know where some of it went.”
Silence.
“Vanessa.”
“I didn’t know where it came from.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“I thought Dad agreed.”
“So did Blake.”
“He talked to you?”
“We’ll discuss that later.”
“Daniel, she has Dad’s shredder running.”
Every muscle in my body went cold.
“What?”
“The shredder in the study.”
I leaned toward the driver.
“Can you go faster?”
He glanced at me in the mirror.
“I can go legally faster.”
“Please do that.”
I put the phone back to my ear.
“Vanessa, listen carefully.”
“I am.”
“Do not break the door.”
May you like
“I already tried.”
“Of course you did.”
