Chương 9
Greg stared at me.
Then Miller came back.
His face had changed again.
“Deputies in Monroe County located the trailer.”
Brenda stood immediately.
“Is he there?”
“They found a vehicle registered to Shawn parked outside.”
Greg took one step forward.
“And Shawn?”
Miller held up a hand.
“They have not made contact yet.”
“Why not?”
“The trailer is locked.”
Brenda whispered, “Oh God.”
Miller continued.
“They are establishing a perimeter and trying to reach him by phone.”
“Is Eric there?” Greg asked.
“No.”
“Good.”
I looked at Miller.
“Did they see anyone inside?”
“One deputy reported movement through a window.”
Brenda grabbed Greg’s arm.
He let her.
Miller’s phone rang again.
He answered, said his name, listened for several seconds, and turned away from us.
His posture became very still.
Then he said, “Understood.”
When he ended the call, none of us asked.
We waited.
He looked at Greg first.
“They made verbal contact.”
Brenda covered her mouth.
“Is he okay?”
“He is alive.”
Greg exhaled so hard his shoulders dropped.
“What did he say?”
Miller looked at me.
“He says he will come out.”
Relief moved through everyone too early.
Then Miller added, “But he wants to speak to Walter first.”
Miller did not hand me the phone.
He held it at chest level and said, “You are not obligated to speak with him.”
Greg stepped forward.
“Let me talk to him.”
“No.”
“He’s my son.”
“And he asked for Walter.”
Greg looked at me.
There was anger in his face, but underneath it was fear so naked that I almost looked away.
Brenda said, “Walter, please.”
I hated the word please right then.
It made everything sound like a favor.
Miller said, “The deputies there want him calm and outside.”
“What does he have in there?”
“They don’t know.”
“Weapons?”
“Eric told them there may be hunting rifles stored in a locked cabinet.”
Brenda closed her eyes.
Greg swore under his breath.
Miller continued.
“They have no indication Shawn has accessed them.”
“No indication isn’t the same thing.”
“No.”
I looked toward the cabin.
Susan’s raincoat moved slightly on its hook because the front door was open.
For three years, I had avoided touching that coat because I could still remember how she used to complain about the sleeves being too short.
Now I was standing thirty feet away deciding whether to speak to a man who had apparently used her dead signature as a financial tool.
“Put him on.”
Miller studied me.
“If he tries to manipulate you into making promises, do not make them.”
“I know.”
“If he asks you to interfere with law enforcement, do not agree.”
“I know.”
“If you feel yourself getting angry, stop talking.”
“That one may be harder.”
Miller nodded.
“At least you know.”
He contacted the Tennessee deputy, and a minute later a new voice came through his phone.
“This is Sergeant Hale.”
Miller identified himself and told him I was present.
Hale said they were going to patch the call through indirectly so Shawn would not have my personal number displayed.
Then there was silence.
A long one.
I could hear insects from somewhere near the trailer through the open connection.
Finally Shawn said, “Walter?”
His voice sounded smaller than it ever had at my dinner table.
“I’m here.”
He breathed out.
“Is Hannah with you?”
“No.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s scared.”
“I know.”
“No, Shawn, I don’t think you do.”
Miller lifted one finger.
I stopped.
Shawn said, “I need you to listen before you decide what happened.”
I nearly laughed.
“Somebody signed Susan’s name.”
“I know.”
“Somebody signed mine.”
“I know.”
“Somebody put a mortgage on my cabin.”
He did not answer.
“Three hundred eighty thousand dollars.”
“I know.”
Brenda made a broken sound behind me.
Greg looked at the ground.
I said, “Did you do it?”
Shawn inhaled.
“Not the way you think.”
That sentence made my hands shake.
Miller saw it and pointed toward the porch chair.
I sat down.
“What way do I think?”
“That I just stole your property.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Then he added, “I was trying to borrow against it temporarily.”
I looked at Miller.
He gave nothing away.
“You cannot temporarily borrow against somebody else’s house.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“How it sounds?”
“I was going to fix it.”
“With what?”
“The deal.”
“What deal?”
Shawn went quiet.
I heard somebody on his end tell him to keep his hands visible.
His breathing changed.
Then he said, “Daniel had a buyer.”
“For the cabin?”
“No.”
“For what?”
“A commercial property.”
I waited.
He continued reluctantly.
“Small retail center in Gainesville.”
“You own a retail center?”
“No.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“I had an interest in a deal.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means there were investors.”
“Were you one of them?”
“Yes.”
“With whose money?”
Silence.
“Shawn.”
“Mine.”
“Eric’s?”
He did not answer.
“Your brother loaned you thirty thousand dollars.”
“I was paying him back.”
“With what?”
“I had money coming.”
“You always have money coming.”
That slipped out before I could stop it.
There was a pause on the line.
When Shawn answered, his voice had hardened.
“You never liked me.”
Greg looked up sharply.
I almost said something cruel.
Instead I looked at Miller.
He shook his head once.
“Whether I liked you has nothing to do with forged documents.”
“I didn’t forge Susan’s signature.”
“Who did?”
“Daniel handled the paperwork.”
That was not an answer.
“Who signed her name?”
“I don’t know.”
“You used a deed with her signature on it.”
“I didn’t see the final version until after it recorded.”
“Did you know she was listed as signing?”
“I knew the trust needed more than one signature.”
I stood up without realizing I had moved.
Miller put a hand out but did not touch me.
“You knew she was dead.”
“Yes.”
“So when you saw her signature, what did you think had happened?”
May you like
Shawn said nothing.
“Say it.”
