Chương 6
“At nine this morning, your mother initiated a wire transfer for seventy-five thousand dollars to an account in the Cayman Islands.”
Mitchell stared at him.
“Whose account?”
“A corporate account controlled by a consultant named Evan Rusk.”
The name meant nothing.
“He was the real estate broker?”
“No. The man who introduced your parents to the buyer.”
“The man in the kitchen?”
“We don’t know.”
“What does he consult on?”
“Asset privacy, high-risk transactions, debt restructuring. His website uses several nouns and no verbs.”
Under other circumstances, Mitchell might have smiled.
“Is he under investigation?”
“Yes.”
“For this?”
“For several things.”
She looked toward the transfer case holding her weapon.
“Why did my mother send him money this morning?”
“That,” Crawford said, “is one of the reasons the seizure warrants were executed today.”
Mitchell left the building at 5:48 carrying her personal purse, the beige evidence folder, and a cardboard property receipt for everything she was no longer permitted to carry.
The evening heat had softened. Commuter traffic filled the road beyond the federal complex. People drove home with groceries, children, dry cleaning, and arguments that would remain private.
Mitchell sat in her car without starting it.
Her phone showed seventeen missed calls.
Six from Rachel.
Four from Aunt Marjorie.
Three from Elaine.
Two from Robert.
One from an unknown number.
One from Daniel.
She opened Daniel’s message first.
I need to know whether Rachel is going to be charged. She says you won’t tell her anything.
Mitchell typed, I cannot discuss an active investigation.
She deleted it.
She typed, I don’t know.
That was true. She sent it.
Rachel called again before Mitchell could set the phone down.
Mitchell answered.
For a moment, neither sister spoke.
In the background on Rachel’s end, a cabinet door closed.
“Are you at Mom and Dad’s?” Mitchell asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My things are here.”
“You live with Daniel.”
“I did this morning.”
Mitchell closed her eyes.
“Did he end it?”
“He said he needs space.”
“That isn’t the same.”
“Please don’t manage the wording.”
Mitchell looked through the windshield at a woman in medical scrubs eating crackers beside a parked car.
“All right.”
Rachel exhaled. “The marshals took Dad’s laptop and Mom’s tablet.”
“They were listed.”
“They put stickers on the Lexus.”
“It may have been purchased with sale proceeds.”
“It was. Mom traded in the Volvo and paid cash for the rest.”
“How much did they keep?”
“I don’t know.”
“Rachel.”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“How much approximately?”
“Mom said they put two hundred into investments, paid off the mortgage here, gave me one-sixty, bought the car, and kept the rest for taxes.”
“The mortgage was paid off?”
“Yes.”
Mitchell knew the house in McLean. She knew the brass umbrella stand by the door, the upstairs bathroom faucet that squealed, and the exact patch of driveway Robert had repoured after losing an argument with a tree root.
It was worth more than a million dollars.
Her parents had taken her house and used it to protect theirs.
“Did you enter my apartment in March?” Mitchell asked.
Rachel’s silence changed shape.
“Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“Did you open the fireproof box?”
“I was looking for the warranty for your coffee machine.”
“My coffee machine.”
“Mom wanted the model number.”
“Why?”
“She said she was thinking of buying one.”
“You opened a locked box for a coffee-machine warranty.”
“The key was taped underneath.”
Mitchell pressed her palm to her forehead.
“Did you copy anything?”
“No.”
“Did Mom?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were there.”
“I was cooking. Dad was watching basketball. Mom was wandering around criticizing your closets.”
“Did she go into the bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“I didn’t time her.”
“Did she have papers when she came out?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Try.”
“I have been trying all day.”
Rachel’s voice broke on the last word. Not into tears. Into anger.
Mitchell lowered her hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me they were selling the house?”
“Because I didn’t know until it was almost done.”
“How almost?”
“A week before closing.”
“And you took one hundred and forty thousand dollars.”
“After.”
“You asked about the dead notary.”
“At the bank, after Mom transferred the money.”
“Then why did you keep it?”
Rachel made a small sound that might have been a laugh.
“Because I had twelve thousand dollars in credit-card debt, Daniel and I had already put down deposits we couldn’t afford, and Mom said the date issue was clerical. Because I wanted to believe that for one time in our lives they were giving me something without comparing me to you.”
Mitchell’s grip tightened around the phone.
“I never asked them to compare us.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“That isn’t my fault.”
“I know.”
The immediate agreement unsettled her.
Rachel continued, quieter. “It still happened.”
Traffic moved beyond the parking lot. Brake lights brightened in red lines.
“What did Evan Rusk promise Mom?” Mitchell asked.
Rachel did not answer.
“You know his name.”
“I heard it today.”
“From whom?”
“Dad.”
“What did he say?”
“He said Evan told them the house had complicated title risks and the buyer was doing them a favor by closing quickly.”
“The buyer paid eight hundred and fifty for a house worth at least one point one.”
“I know that now.”
“Did Rusk meet them at Wycliffe Street?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he attend the dinner at my apartment?”
“No.”
“Did Mom take documents from my box?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you copy my key?”
A longer pause.
“Yes.”
Mitchell stared at the dashboard.
“Why?”
“Mom asked me to.”
“When?”
“The night of the dinner.”
“And you did it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said you were impossible in emergencies.”
Mitchell’s throat tightened, but her voice remained level.
“Where is the copy?”
“Mom had it.”
“Had?”
“She gave it to Dad before they went to the house.”
“Who went with them?”
“I don’t know.”
Mitchell leaned forward until her forehead nearly touched the steering wheel.
May you like
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I wasn’t invited to the crimes, Mitchell. I was just invited to spend the money.”
