Chương 6
Just fragments.
Contracts delayed.
Material costs.
A hospital job that paid late.
A warehouse client that went bankrupt owing him nearly eighty thousand dollars.
He had borrowed against the house to keep payroll going.
Then against the business line.
Then credit cards.
Brenda had found out after one of the cards declined at a grocery store.
“I kept thinking the next job would fix it,” he said.
“That’s usually how trouble gets bigger.”
He gave me a tired look.
“Thanks.”
“I wasn’t trying to be clever.”
“I know.”
He sat on the arm of the sofa.
For the first time all morning, he looked embarrassed instead of angry.
“Shawn said we could start over here.”
“With my property.”
“He said it was Hannah’s.”
“Eventually.”
“I know that now.”
“No, Greg.”
I folded my arms.
“You knew that before.”
He looked at me.
“You knew I was alive.”
His face tightened.
There it was.
The thing neither of us could make softer.
He stood again and picked up the box.
“I’ll get our stuff out.”
“That would be good.”
At the door, he stopped.
“I didn’t ask because I thought you’d say no.”
“Yes.”
“And I was tired of hearing no from banks.”
“That isn’t my fault.”
“I know.”
He carried the box outside.
I stayed in the cabin.
The kitchen smelled faintly of cardboard and the lemon cleaner Susan used because she hated anything floral.
Someone had put a toaster on the counter.
A new one.
Black plastic.
Cheap.
It looked absurd beside Susan’s old enamel bread box.
I unplugged it even though it was not plugged in.
Then I stood there holding the cord.
I had spent three years protecting the cabin from change as if grief were a preservation project.
I had repaired the dock boards but not replaced the curtains.
I had cleaned the gutters but left Susan’s raincoat on its hook.
I told myself I was maintaining the property.
The truth was less flattering.
I had been afraid that changing anything would prove she was not coming back.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Evelyn.
Do not leave until we speak.
I called her.
She answered on the first ring.
“I heard back from Celeste Warren.”
I leaned against the counter.
“And?”
“She says she did not notarize the deed.”
A cold pressure settled behind my ribs.
“Is she sure?”
“Very.”
“Then somebody copied her seal.”
“Possibly.”
“What else?”
“She recognized the document format.”
I waited.
“Walter, Peachtree Settlement Partners prepared a legitimate deed for another transaction involving a Miller Family Trust last year.”
I frowned.
“Mine?”
“No.”
“A different Miller?”
“Yes.”
“So what?”
“The forged deed appears to have been created from one of their templates.”
I stared at Susan’s coffee mug hanging above the sink.
“Can they tell who accessed it?”
“They’re checking.”
“Does Daniel work there?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Daniel what?”
“Daniel Price.”
The name meant nothing until Evelyn added, “He’s an escrow officer.”
Then I saw him.
Christmas two years ago.
A photograph on Shawn’s phone.
Three men standing beside a golf cart.
Shawn had held it up while complaining that Daniel cheated at every sport involving a scorecard.
“What does he say?”
“I haven’t spoken to him.”
“Why not?”
“Because his supervisor told me he left work unexpectedly this morning.”
I closed my eyes.
“That seems bad.”
“It seems relevant.”
“Did he leave with Shawn?”
“We don’t know.”
I heard movement outside and looked through the window.
Miller was walking quickly toward the porch.
His phone was still in his hand.
“Evelyn, I need to go.”
“Call me as soon as you can.”
I stepped outside.
Miller’s expression had changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that everybody stopped moving.
“What happened?” I asked.
He looked at Greg first.
“Your son Eric has been contacted.”
Greg let out a breath.
“Good.”
“He is not at the trailer.”
“Okay.”
“He says Shawn called him at approximately eight fifteen this morning.”
Brenda stood beside the U-Haul with both hands clasped at her waist.
“What did he want?”
Miller looked at the notes on his phone.
“Shawn asked whether the trailer was empty this week.”
Greg swore softly.
“And Eric?”
“Said he believed it was.”
Miller continued.
“Eric then received a text about forty minutes ago.”
“What did it say?” I asked.
The deputy looked directly at me.
“It said, Tell Dad I’m sorry.”
Brenda made a sound and sat down hard on the loading ramp.
Greg’s face drained of color.
Miller immediately raised a hand.
“Do not assume what that means.”
“What else can it mean?” Brenda whispered.
“A lot of things.”
“Did Eric call him?”
“Repeatedly.”
“No answer?”
“No.”
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was Hannah.
I almost ignored it.
Then I saw the message preview.
I opened it.
Dad, he left me a voicemail.
I called her immediately.
She answered without speaking.
“Hannah.”
“I didn’t hear it before.”
“Send it to the deputy.”
“I already did.”
Miller’s phone chimed.
He checked the screen.
“What did Shawn say?” I asked.
Hannah took a breath that shook all the way through.
“He said he was sorry.”
The same words.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“He said none of this was supposed to happen.”
I looked at Greg.
His eyes were fixed on the ground.
Hannah continued.
“He said the cabin was supposed to solve everything.”
My mouth went dry.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he say where he was?”
“No.”
Miller held up a finger and started playing the voicemail through his phone.
Shawn’s voice came out low and uneven.
There was road noise behind him.
“Hannah, I messed up.”
A long pause.
“I thought I could fix it before anybody knew.”
Another pause.
“You need to know I never meant to hurt your dad.”
Greg closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
“I was going to put everything back.”
I looked at Miller.
May you like
His expression sharpened.
Then Shawn said, “Daniel said we had until September.”
