Chương 8
Instead she said, “You should be.”
Then left.
Margaret did not sleep.
At four in the morning she made coffee and forgot to drink it.
At six she stood in the shower until the water went cold.
At seven thirty Richard called.
She ignored him.
Claire called ten minutes later.
Margaret answered.
“Did you find her?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“And?”
“She’s alive.”
Claire breathed out.
Margaret sat at her kitchen table.
“She’s sick.”
“How sick?”
“Very.”
“I’m sorry.”
Margaret rubbed her forehead.
“Thank you.”
“Richard came home.”
Margaret waited.
“He slept in the guest room,” Claire said.
“All right.”
“I asked him if there were other things.”
“Other things?”
“Other lies.”
Margaret looked at the untouched coffee.
“What did he say?”
“He said yes.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
Claire laughed softly.
“At least he’s improving.”
“What lies?”
“He won’t tell me until he talks to Evelyn.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I told him I’m staying with my sister.”
“Good.”
Claire was silent.
Then she said, “Margaret?”
“Yes?”
“Did he help her steal the money?”
“I don’t know.”
“He says he didn’t.”
“Richard says many things.”
“I know.”
Margaret heard Claire breathe.
“I need to know what I’m married to.”
Margaret understood that sentence better than she wanted to.
“I’m meeting Evelyn’s lawyer at ten.”
“Can I come?”
“No.”
Claire was quiet.
Margaret softened.
“Not yet.”
“All right.”
At ten, Margaret sat beside Evelyn in a conference room on Madison Avenue while Dana Kaplan explained that resurrecting a legally dead woman created legal problems that could not be solved through confession alone.
Dana was in her fifties, wore red glasses, and had the controlled impatience of someone who billed by the hour because time genuinely annoyed her.
“The immediate issue,” Dana said, “is identity.”
Margaret said, “The immediate issue is fraud.”
Dana looked at her.
“For prosecutors, perhaps. For Evelyn, identity comes first because until the legal record acknowledges she is alive, every other filing becomes more complicated.”
Evelyn coughed into a tissue.
Margaret watched her.
The cough lasted too long.
Dana waited.
When Evelyn finished, she took a sip of water.
“Sorry.”
“No need,” Dana said.
Margaret looked at Dana.
“What happens if she goes to the police today?”
“They will likely detain her while establishing identity.”
“Likely?”
“Yes.”
“Arrest?”
“Possibly.”
“For what?”
Dana folded her hands.
“Potential financial crimes. False statements. Identity fraud. Obstruction. Depending on what evidence exists regarding the crash, additional exposure.”
Margaret glanced at Evelyn.
Evelyn looked at the table.
“What about Laura Bennett?” Margaret asked.
Dana’s expression became careful.
“That is the most serious uncertainty.”
“The accident killed her.”
“Yes.”
“Evelyn was driving.”
“Yes.”
“Speeding.”
“Yes.”
Dana nodded.
“Then why uncertainty?”
“Because criminal liability depends on evidence, statutes, the original investigation, and what can still be proven twelve years later.”
Margaret almost laughed.
“Proven.”
Dana met her eyes.
“That word will matter.”
Evelyn said, “I’m not trying to avoid consequences.”
Dana turned.
“You hired me specifically so you would understand consequences before walking into them.”
“I know.”
“Then let me do my job.”
Margaret watched them.
“How long have you represented her?”
“Seven months.”
Margaret looked at Evelyn.
“You’ve been planning this seven months?”
“Yes.”
“And you called Richard yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Why wait?”
Evelyn rubbed her thumb against the tissue.
“I wanted the medical results first.”
Margaret looked at Dana.
“What else?”
Dana hesitated.
“Richard’s involvement.”
Margaret became still.
“What about it?”
Evelyn looked at Dana.
Dana looked back.
Margaret hated the silent exchange.
“What?”
Evelyn said, “Richard knew about the money before the accident.”
Margaret stared.
“He told me he found out after.”
“He lied.”
“Obviously.”
“He didn’t know how much.”
“How much did he know?”
“That I had moved funds.”
“For gambling?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“He helped me replace some of it.”
Margaret leaned back.
“With his money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Four hundred thousand.”
Margaret stared.
“Why?”
Evelyn laughed faintly.
“Because he loved me.”
“Apparently love made everyone very stupid.”
“Yes.”
Dana said, “There’s more.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Of course there is.”
Dana opened a file.
“Two weeks before the accident, Richard transferred six hundred thousand dollars into an account controlled by Evelyn.”
Margaret frowned.
“Another six?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn looked at her hands.
Margaret waited.
Finally Evelyn said, “I told him it would make the problem disappear.”
“But?”
“It didn’t.”
“Where did the money go?”
“I paid back part of what I’d taken.”
“Part?”
“Yes.”
“Then where did the rest come from?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Margaret understood.
“You stole more.”
“Yes.”
Margaret stood and walked to the window.
Traffic moved far below.
Dana allowed the silence.
Evelyn said, “I kept chasing the hole.”
Margaret turned.
“Stop making it sound accidental.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. Chasing the hole. Moving funds. Making mistakes. You stole money.”
“I stole money.”
“You lied.”
“I lied.”
“You killed someone.”
Evelyn’s face tightened.
“I caused the accident.”
Margaret stared.
“Now you want precision.”
Evelyn looked away.
Margaret returned to the table.
“What did Richard do after he found out you were alive?”
Evelyn took a breath.
“He got me documents.”
Dana interrupted.
“Allegedly.”
Margaret looked at her.
Dana shrugged.
“I’m a lawyer.”
Evelyn almost smiled.
“He got me cash, a birth certificate belonging to a woman who died as an infant, and contact information for someone in Chicago.”
Margaret felt sick.
“Richard told me he only gave you thirty thousand.”
“He gave me thirty at first.”
“And later?”
“Another eighty.”
“Documents?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know what they were for?”
“Yes.”
Margaret stood again.
Dana said, “Margaret.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re pacing.”
“I pace.”
“No, you march.”
Margaret looked at her.
Dana removed her red glasses.
“I need both of you functional.”
Margaret sat.
She disliked Dana more because she was right.
“What happens to Richard?” Margaret asked.
Dana looked at Evelyn.
“Depends what Evelyn says.”
Margaret stared at her sister.
Evelyn’s voice was quiet.
“I’m telling everything.”
At noon Richard arrived without being invited.
May you like
Dana refused to let him into the conference room.
He waited in reception.
