Chương 6
Registered agent: Michael Carter.
Address: a mailbox center on South Avenue.
Daniel sat back.
Elena whispered, “Four months.”
He nodded.
This had not happened because Michael panicked three weeks ago.
Michael had prepared.
The thought hurt in a different way.
Four months earlier Daniel and Michael had eaten burgers in Daniel’s backyard while Lily ran through a sprinkler.
Michael had complained about commercial construction slowing down.
Daniel had given him two thousand dollars.
Not a loan.
Not officially.
Just money.
Michael had protested for almost thirty seconds before taking it.
Daniel opened his banking app and found the transfer.
He remembered the note he had typed.
For materials.
He had done that so Elena would not ask questions.
Elena looked over his shoulder.
“What’s that?”
Daniel locked the screen.
“Nothing.”
She stared at him.
He unlocked it again.
“I gave Michael two grand.”
“When?”
“April.”
“Why?”
“He was short.”
“You told me the transmission job was more expensive than expected.”
Daniel said nothing.
Elena walked to the window.
“I was putting groceries on a credit card.”
“I know.”
“No, you know now.”
“I knew then.”
She turned.
“You gave your brother two thousand dollars while we were carrying eight thousand on cards.”
“I thought he’d pay it back.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“Did you ask?”
“No.”
She laughed without humor.
“Of course not.”
Lily looked up from the bed.
“Are you fighting?”
Elena immediately changed.
“No, sweetheart.”
Daniel said, “A little.”
Elena looked at him.
He shrugged.
Lily considered that.
“About Uncle Michael?”
“Yes.”
“Is he bad?”
Neither parent answered quickly enough.
Lily pulled the blanket around her legs.
Daniel moved to sit beside her.
“Your uncle did something very wrong.”
“Because he hates us?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Daniel looked at Elena.
“I don’t know yet.”
Lily thought about that.
“Can people do bad stuff if they don’t hate you?”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“Yes.”
It was the only honest answer he had.
At noon Elena received a call from Margaret.
She stepped into the bathroom to take it.
Daniel could hear only fragments.
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Six nights.”
“I know.”
When she came out, her face was white.
“What happened?”
“I’m suspended.”
“For how long?”
“Pending review.”
Daniel stood.
“Give me her number.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
“She can’t punish you for being homeless.”
“She can punish me for violating policy.”
“You were keeping our daughter safe.”
“In a restricted medical storage area.”
“You didn’t steal anything.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“The point is I could lose my job.”
Daniel stopped.
Elena sat on the edge of the bed.
Lily had gone quiet again.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“I’ll fix it.”
Elena looked at him.
There was such exhaustion in her expression that the sentence died between them.
He sat beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
She rubbed both hands over her face.
“I know you are.”
This time it did not sound like forgiveness.
Judith Alvarez’s office occupied the second floor above a pharmacy.
The waiting room contained three chairs, a dead plant, and a framed photograph of Judith shaking hands with someone Daniel did not recognize.
Judith was smaller than he expected, probably sixty, silver hair cut close to her jaw.
She examined the forged deed without greeting them.
“This signature yours?”
“No.”
“Sure?”
Daniel frowned.
“Yes.”
“You’d be amazed.”
She turned to Elena.
“You saw him sign it?”
“No.”
“Were you asked to?”
“No.”
Judith read for another minute.
Then she said, “Your brother didn’t foreclose on you.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What?”
“The lender is threatening foreclosure against North Ridge because North Ridge pledged property it claimed to own. Different thing.”
“So we’re safe.”
Judith looked at him.
“No.”
Daniel sat back.
“If the deed is forged, North Ridge never legally acquired your interest. That does not mean the mess disappears by saying the word forged. You need the recorded deed challenged. The lender will protect its money. Your brother will protect himself. There may be title insurance, there may not. There may be other documents. There may be criminal conduct. None of that gets solved this afternoon.”
Elena asked, “Can we go home?”
Judith looked at her.
“Not yet.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“It’s my house.”
“And if there’s a confrontation and somebody calls police again, you want the cleanest possible facts. Right now you have a recorded deed saying otherwise.”
“It’s fake.”
“I believe you. A courtroom is not built around my personal belief.”
Daniel looked away.
Judith tapped the signature page.
“Where were you on this date?”
“Indiana.”
“Proof?”
“Payroll. Hotel receipts. Maybe jobsite records. I had an urgent care visit.”
“Good.”
She looked at the notary line.
“Know this name?”
Daniel read it.
Marsha Bell.
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
Judith made a note.
“Do you know where your brother could have gotten a signature sample?”
Daniel started to say no.
Then stopped.
Judith noticed.
“What?”
“My father’s estate.”
“Explain.”
“Michael handled most of it.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“You signed documents?”
“A lot.”
“Where are they?”
“Some at the house.”
“Where?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Metal box in the basement.”
“Who knows?”
“Michael.”
Judith leaned back.
“Anything else he had access to?”
“My phone account.”
Elena looked at him sharply.
Daniel explained the old business plan.
Judith’s expression became less bored.
“Document that.”
“How?”
“Carrier records. Account changes. Replacement SIM request. Whatever they’ll provide.”
Daniel nodded.
Judith closed the file.
“I can represent you.”
“How much?”
“Five-thousand-dollar retainer.”
Daniel stared at her.
Elena inhaled slowly.
Judith continued before either spoke.
“I know.”
“We don’t have five thousand.”
“I assumed.”
“Then why tell us?”
“Because that’s the number.”
Daniel looked at Elena.
Judith said, “I can start with two if you sign an engagement agreement and payment plan. But understand this could become expensive.”
Daniel laughed once.
“We have two nights in a motel.”
Judith’s face softened slightly.
“Do you have family?”
Elena said, “Not local.”
“Friends?”
Neither answered.
May you like
Judith nodded as if she had expected that too.
“Call your mortgage company. Tell them there is a recorded fraudulent transfer under dispute. Ask what they require. Call your homeowner’s insurer. Do not invent details. Do not accuse everybody of conspiracy. Just report the facts.”
