Chương 6
“What can we do?”
“First, no confrontation. No threats. No posting anything online. Do not edit or copy recordings unnecessarily. Preserve the original device. We’ll make a forensic working copy if needed.”
Margaret glanced at the USB.
Naomi noticed.
“Mrs. Bennett, how were the recordings made?”
“Phone. Sometimes a small recorder.”
“Were you present in the conversations?”
“Yes, except two voicemails.”
“Good. We’ll still look at applicable law before using any recording.”
Laura felt herself relaxing by millimeters.
Procedure did that to her.
A list of things not to do was almost comforting.
Naomi examined the trust.
Then the deed.
Then the power of attorney.
Her face remained neutral until she reached a notarization page.
“Who is Patricia Sloan?”
Margaret frowned.
“I don’t know.”
“She notarized the deed transferring the house to Bennett Residential Holdings.”
Laura said, “Maybe someone at Daniel’s office?”
Margaret shook her head.
“He doesn’t have an office.”
Naomi looked at them.
“What does your son do?”
Laura answered before Margaret could.
“Depends on the year.”
Margaret shot her a look.
Naomi did not smile.
“What does he do currently?”
“Property consulting,” Margaret said.
Laura added, “Which can mean anything.”
Naomi turned back to the documents.
“Did you sign this deed in front of Patricia Sloan?”
Margaret leaned closer.
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you sign the paper you thought was an insurance correction?”
“At Daniel’s kitchen table.”
“Who was present?”
“Daniel. His girlfriend came in once.”
“Name?”
“Erin Walsh.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
Naomi tapped the notarization.
“That matters.”
She searched a state database.
Patricia Sloan was a commissioned notary.
The listed business address belonged to a title services company twenty miles away.
Naomi wrote the name down.
Then she searched property records.
The trust-to-LLC deed had been recorded four months earlier, despite being dated six months earlier.
No subsequent deed appeared yet.
“That does not mean there wasn’t a closing yesterday,” Naomi said. “But I’m not seeing a new owner in the public record right now.”
Laura looked at Margaret.
“So Daniel may have lied about the sale.”
“Possibly.”
Margaret’s expression did not brighten.
“He packed my clothes.”
Naomi nodded slowly.
“Which suggests he wanted you out for a reason.”
She asked for Daniel’s number.
Then she called him.
Laura’s body tightened immediately.
Naomi put the call on speaker only after receiving Margaret’s permission.
Daniel answered.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Bennett, my name is Naomi Reyes. I represent your mother, Margaret Bennett, regarding the property on Glenwood Avenue.”
A pause.
Then Daniel said, “You represent her as of when?”
“This morning.”
“I don’t consent to being recorded.”
Naomi said, “We are not recording this call.”
Laura glanced at Margaret.
Daniel continued, “My mother has been confused about some financial matters.”
Margaret’s nostrils flared.
Naomi’s expression remained unchanged.
“I’d like copies of the sale documents and any accounting connected to transactions involving the property.”
“You can ask.”
“I am.”
“I’ll have my lawyer contact you.”
“Please do. I’d also like confirmation that your mother’s belongings remain secure inside the home.”
“They do.”
“And access for her to retrieve medication and personal property.”
“The property belongs to someone else now.”
“To whom?”
“That information will be available through the appropriate channels.”
Naomi glanced at her notes.
“Was there a closing yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“What title company?”
“My attorney will contact you.”
“What sale price?”
“My attorney will contact you.”
Naomi’s voice did not change.
“Your mother says she was not informed of the transaction, did not authorize a sale, and was removed from the property yesterday.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“That’s not true.”
“What part?”
“All of it.”
Margaret leaned toward the phone.
“Daniel.”
He went silent.
Margaret said, “Where are my thyroid pills?”
For some reason, that question seemed to affect him more than the legal ones.
“Mom.”
“Where are they?”
“In your bathroom.”
“I know where I kept them. How do I get them?”
“I can bring them.”
“No.”
“You can’t go into the house.”
Margaret’s fingers tightened on the arm of her chair.
Naomi asked, “Why not?”
Daniel exhaled.
“The buyer takes possession today.”
“At what time?”
“My attorney will—”
“No,” Margaret said.
Her voice was not loud.
Everyone stopped.
She leaned closer to the phone.
“You keep saying attorney because you don’t want to answer. What is the buyer’s name?”
Daniel did not respond.
Margaret continued.
“What is the buyer’s name?”
“I have to go.”
“Is there a buyer?”
The line disconnected.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then Naomi removed her glasses.
“That was useful.”
Laura looked at her mother.
Margaret sat very still.
“What now?” Laura asked.
Naomi replaced her glasses.
“Now we verify everything we can before we decide which fire to put out first.”
The pharmacy issued an emergency supply of Margaret’s thyroid medication after confirming the prescription.
At noon, Naomi called.
The title company associated with Patricia Sloan had no record of a closing on Margaret’s property.
Worse for Daniel, Patricia Sloan had stopped working there eight months earlier.
Naomi had not yet reached her directly.
By two, another record appeared.
Not a deed.
A mortgage.
Bennett Residential Holdings LLC had borrowed three hundred and twenty thousand dollars against the property three months earlier from a private lender.
Laura read Naomi’s email twice.
The house was worth perhaps six hundred thousand.
Margaret owed nothing on it.
Daniel had not merely transferred the house.
He had leveraged it.
“What does that mean?” Margaret asked.
They were sitting in Laura’s kitchen eating grilled cheese because neither had remembered lunch until after one.
“It means his company borrowed against the house.”
“How?”
“That’s what Naomi is finding out.”
“Can the lender take it?”
“I don’t know.”
Margaret put down half her sandwich.
Laura watched her.
“Eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Neither am I.”
“Then why are you eating?”
“Because apparently I’m your prison warden now.”
Margaret gave her a displeased look.
Then she picked up the sandwich.
Laura’s phone rang.
Daniel.
She let it ring.
Margaret looked at the screen.
“Answer.”
“No.”
May you like
“Why?”
“Because the lawyer said no confrontation.”
