Part 11
He resented Ruth for seeing it.
“Did you remove the acknowledgment from the basket today?” he asked.
“No.”
“Did Claire enter your room?”
“No.”
“I came upstairs for towels,” Claire said. “I didn’t come in here.”
Daniel faced Veronica.
She pulled the loose belt of her robe tighter.
“I searched the room last week,” she said. “Not today.”
“How did you get in last week?”
“The window.”
Ruth looked toward it.
“It was locked.”
“Not then.”
The window opened onto a narrow balcony running along the east wing. Veronica’s former room was two doors away.
“You climbed across the balcony?” Claire asked.
“I walked.”
“You were supposed to have left.”
“I had not yet returned the west-wing key.”
Daniel remembered requesting it. Veronica said she had lost it. He had changed the exterior lock but not the balcony doors.
“What did you take?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“What did you photograph?”
Veronica hesitated.
“Her calendar.”
Ruth looked at her.
“Why?”
“To see when Daniel was away.”
Claire stared. “You planned this.”
“I planned to enter the office when no one was home.”
“I was home.”
“I did not know that.”
“You emailed me.”
“I emailed you after I saw your car.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“How long were you outside?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Did you enter Ruth’s room today?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No.”
“Did you take the acknowledgment last week?”
“I never found it.”
Ruth lifted the sewing basket tray and examined it as though the paper might have adhered to the underside. A loose thread caught on her ring.
Claire went to the dresser.
“What did it look like?”
“Two cream pages,” Ruth said. “Folded in half. Howard signed the second page. I wrote the date on the back.”
Claire opened the top drawer.
Daniel said, “Don’t search her things.”
“The document is missing.”
“That doesn’t remove her privacy.”
Ruth gave him a tired look. “It has been removed already.”
Claire closed the drawer.
Daniel checked beneath the bed, behind the dresser, and inside the closet. He found no paper. Veronica stood near the door with her arms folded. The role reversal was not lost on him; she watched while he searched the room she had already violated.
Ruth picked up the calendar from her bedside table.
A page had been torn from the back.
“What was there?” Daniel asked.
“Telephone numbers. A grocery list.”
“Anything about the acknowledgment?”
“No.”
Veronica’s eyes moved toward the wastebasket.
Daniel followed the glance.
He lifted the basket.
Beneath a tissue and an empty tea packet lay a torn strip of cream paper.
Ruth stood.
Daniel removed it.
The handwriting was Ruth’s.
11 pages returned to D.M. Final statement retained per H.V.
The strip appeared to have been torn from the back of the acknowledgment.
“This was attached?” Daniel asked.
Ruth took it.
“Yes.”
“When did you tear it off?”
“I didn’t.”
Claire stepped closer. “Someone removed the note from the acknowledgment and left it here.”
Veronica shook her head.
“Too obvious.”
Daniel looked at her. “You would know.”
“Yes.”
The answer was immediate.
Ruth sat again and read the strip.
“The tear is fresh,” she said. “The paper has not yellowed at the edge.”
Claire looked toward the open door.
“Could it still be in the house?”
“It must be,” Daniel said.
Veronica gave a small shrug. “Unless someone took it outside.”
“The gate camera will show anyone who left.”
“If the recorder worked.”
Daniel went to the balcony door. The latch was closed but not locked. He opened it.
Cold air entered the room.
The balcony ran above the lake-facing terrace. Wet leaves had blown into the corners after the previous night’s rain. Near the railing, a faint black mark crossed the stone.
Daniel crouched.
A shoe print.
Narrow heel. Small sole.
He looked at Veronica’s gold shoes.
She followed his gaze.
“I told you I came across last week.”
“The stone was washed clean last night.”
“I came this morning.”
Ruth stared at her.
Veronica’s face changed.
Not guilt. Calculation interrupted.
“You said you entered today,” Daniel said.
“No. I said I entered last week.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I found the acknowledgment this morning.”
Claire inhaled sharply.
Daniel stepped onto the balcony.
“Where is it?”
“I left it where it was.”
Ruth stood. “No.”
“I read it and put it back.”
“You tore off my note.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it showed Daniel had received the amendment.”
“He already admitted that.”
“He had not admitted it this morning.”
Daniel held up the torn strip.
“You threw this in the basket.”
“I meant to take it.”
“But you left it.”
“I heard Ruth in the hall.”
Ruth touched the doorframe.
“I came up at eleven. I saw the balcony curtain move.”
“You told me the window was open because of the wind.”
“I believed it was.”
Daniel looked at Veronica.
“You had the acknowledgment in your hands.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the condition.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the page was not in the vase.”
“Yes.”
Claire stared at her. “Then why did you fire?”
Veronica’s control finally broke.
“Because I thought Ruth had moved it.”
“You just said you put it back.”
“I did.”
“Then why would she move it?”
“Because she knew I had been in the room.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“I did not know that.”
Claire stepped forward.
Daniel extended an arm, but she moved around it.
“You knew the acknowledgment was real,” she said. “You knew it proved you had lied about the money. You came downstairs, told me Dad had hidden everything, and helped me break into his office.”
“I needed the amendment.”
“You had seen it before.”
“I needed the original.”
“Why?”
“Because no one believes photographs anymore.”
“You wanted to take it before the police or attorneys saw the acknowledgment.”
Veronica shook her head.
Claire’s voice sharpened.
“You wanted the document that helped you and the document that hurt you gone.”
May you like
“No.”
“You cut the cable before Ruth came into the office. You planned to take both and leave.”
