Part 9
Nora stopped several feet away.
“You told me not to call.”
“I changed my mind.”
Marianne looked toward Julian. “Alone.”
Julian went to the lobby seating area.
Nora sat across from her.
Marianne slid a phone over the table.
On the screen was a message from Beth Renner sent at two fourteen that morning.
I FOUND THE DRIVE. HE SAYS IT’S JUST OLD TAX FILES. MOM, WHY IS DAD’S NAME ON THE FOLDER?
Nora read it twice.
“What happened after this?”
“Nothing. She stopped answering.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I called the Walworth County sheriff’s office. They sent a deputy to the house. Grant told him Beth had left.”
“Did she?”
“Her car is still there.”
Nora’s pulse climbed.
“Have they opened a missing-person report?”
“They said she is an adult and there is no evidence of danger.”
“Grant assaulted me last night.”
“I told them.”
“What did they say?”
“That Chicago is outside their jurisdiction.”
Nora pushed the phone back. “We need a lawyer in Wisconsin.”
“I called the estate attorney. He said Beth may be trying to pressure me.”
“For what?”
“Money.”
“Does she do that?”
“No.”
“Then why would he say it?”
“Because Grant called him first.”
Nora stood.
Marianne looked up. “Where are you going?”
“To get someone who knows what to do.”
Daniel did not answer his phone.
His managing partner’s assistant said he was still in the conflict meeting and could not be interrupted. Nora left a message with no details.
Julian joined them.
When Nora showed him Beth’s text, he read it without speaking.
“I’ll call Grant,” he said.
“No,” Nora and Marianne said together.
Julian looked at both women.
Nora said, “He wants to know what we know.”
“We need to locate Beth.”
“Without warning him.”
Julian took out his phone. “Our outside counsel has a Wisconsin office.”
Marianne pressed her fingers against the paper cup until the lid bent.
“She went there because of me.”
“No,” Nora said.
“I told her Paul had left a note. She said she could check the company archives without making it official.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
Nora stared at her.
“You said she wanted everything buried.”
“She did. Then she saw me burn Paul’s papers.”
“What papers?”
“Old calendars. Receipts. Nothing important.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know what was in my own fireplace.”
“Did Paul keep passwords?”
Marianne looked away.
“What did you burn?”
“A notebook.”
Nora sat again.
“What kind of notebook?”
“He wrote down numbers. Password hints. Names of boats. I thought it was nonsense.”
“Did Beth see it?”
“She took photographs before I burned it.”
Julian ended his call. “Counsel is contacting the sheriff’s office and seeking an emergency welfare check based on the message and the vehicle.”
Marianne’s face did not change.
“What if Grant has already moved her?” she asked.
No one answered.
At ten twenty-three, Beth called her mother.
Marianne put the phone on speaker.
“I’m fine,” Beth said before anyone spoke.
Her voice was fast and too bright.
“Where are you?” Marianne asked.
“Driving home.”
“Put on video.”
“Mom.”
“Put on video.”
A pause.
The video connected.
Beth’s face appeared close to the screen. She was in the passenger seat of a moving car. Sunlight flickered across her features through trees.
“Who’s driving?” Nora asked.
Beth’s eyes shifted.
“Who is that?”
“Nora Vale.”
Beth ended the video.
Marianne called back. No answer.
Julian said, “Did you recognize the car?”
“No.”
“The background?”
“Trees.”
Nora had seen something else.
“Her seat belt was crossing from the wrong side.”
Julian frowned.
“She was in the driver’s seat,” Nora said. “The video was mirrored.”
“Then why pretend she was a passenger?”
“Because someone was beside her.”
Marianne called again.
This time Beth answered without video.
“Stop,” she said. “I told you I’m fine.”
Nora leaned toward the phone. “Did you take the drive?”
Silence.
Then Beth said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Did Grant ask you to delete anything?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you your father caused the Saint Alder alteration?”
Beth’s breath changed.
Marianne closed her eyes.
Nora continued. “That’s what he told you, isn’t it?”
“He said Dad handled the archive.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“My father did things I didn’t know about.”
“So did Grant.”
“You don’t have proof.”
“Neither does Grant. But he has you alone in a car repeating his version.”
“I’m not alone.”
“Who is with you?”
The line went silent except for road noise.
A man’s voice said something in the background.
Grant.
Beth ended the call.
Julian’s face tightened.
“He is violating the terms of his suspension by contacting an employee regarding company records.”
Nora stared at him. “That is your concern?”
“It is the concern I can act on immediately.”
He called Amara.
Within fifteen minutes, Mercer Urban’s lawyers instructed Beth to preserve all company property and cease communication with Grant. The sheriff’s office confirmed her vehicle had left the Lake Geneva property. Traffic cameras placed it heading south toward Illinois.
Then Grant called Nora.
She answered.
“Where is Beth?”
“Good morning to you too.”
“Where is she?”
“Going home.”
“Why are you with her?”
“She asked me for a ride.”
“Her car is at the house.”
“It wouldn’t start.”
“Put her on.”
“She doesn’t want to speak to you.”
Nora looked at Marianne.
“Grant, the company has instructed her not to communicate with you.”
“I don’t work for the company today, apparently.”
“You still owe duties as an officer.”
“You sound like a lawyer now.”
“I learned from yours.”
His voice hardened. “You have no idea what you’re disturbing.”
“I know what you’re afraid of.”
“You think this is about one file?”
Nora said nothing.
He laughed softly.
“There. That pause. You’ve always mistaken not knowing for moral clarity.”
“What else is it about?”
“Ask Julian why he needed Saint Alder open before the occupancy deadline.”
Nora looked across the lobby.
Julian had turned away to speak with counsel.
May you like
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you should stop treating my uncle like the old man who finally found his conscience.”
