Chapter 4
I called Noah immediately.
This time, he answered.
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Is your mother there?”
“Packing.”
I could hear a drawer closing in the background.
“Noah, listen carefully. Are you safe right now?”
He took a breath.
“I think so.”
“Do you know where she plans to go?”
“She won’t tell me.”
A woman’s voice sounded behind him.
“Who are you talking to?”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen, resisting the urge to drive straight there and force my way through every unanswered question.
Andrea answered when I called her.
I told her what Noah had said.
“If you believe a child may be pressured to leave during an active assessment, tell the caseworker now,” she said. “And notify the investigator about the financial documents.”
I did both.
By then, the trustee had identified a second pending request. It had not been paid.
This one was for thirty-two thousand dollars.
The stated purpose was advance payment for the same program.
The program’s listed address belonged to a mailbox service.
I felt sick.
Vanessa had been planning more.
I sent the new information to the investigator assigned after the trust office’s report. Detective Hollis asked me to bring the original documents in the next morning.
When I mentioned Vanessa packing and Noah’s message, he told me he would coordinate with the child protection team.
I went back to the kitchen.
Lily was drawing with her good hand.
The lines were uneven, but she had made a house.
Four windows.
A tree.
Three people standing outside.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Me. You. Grandma.”
I sat beside her.
She stared at the empty side of the page.
“Is Noah in trouble?”
“I don’t know everything yet.”
“He helped her look.”
My stomach tightened.
“For the box?”
Lily nodded.
“She told him I stole money from her.”
“Did he know what was inside?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What happened before you fell?”
Lily put down her pencil.
I waited.
“She came in while I was reading Mom’s letter. She saw the box and started yelling.”
“Where did you find it?”
“In the guest-room closet. Behind the suitcases.”
I pictured that closet.
Vanessa used it.
Nobody else did.
“I saw the ribbon when I was looking for my old backpack,” Lily said. “I knew it was Mom’s.”
She had carried it to her room before Vanessa noticed.
When Vanessa demanded it back, Lily slid it beneath her bed.
Noah had been told to lift the mattress and help search.
Lily tried to move past them.
Vanessa grabbed her wrist.
“She said I was making her do it,” Lily whispered.
I breathed through the anger before speaking.
“She chose what she did.”
“Do I have to tell it again?”
“Some people will need to ask you questions. We’ll make sure you have support.”
She looked down.
“I don’t want everybody looking at me.”
“I understand.”
“You don’t have to tell your friends.”
“I won’t.”
At seven-thirty, my phone rang.
The caseworker, Ms. Lewis, had gone to the house with another worker and a police officer.
Vanessa was there.
So was Noah.
They had spoken to him separately.
His father had been contacted.
I knew Terrence only through school pickups and brief conversations. Vanessa described him as unreliable.
Now I wondered how many stories I had accepted because they were easier than checking.
“Is Noah okay?” I asked.
“He is with his father tonight,” Ms. Lewis said. “We are continuing the assessment.”
Something loosened in my chest.
Not relief exactly.
One less child left alone in that house.
Twenty minutes later, Terrence called.
“Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Noah gave me your number.”
His voice sounded strained.
“He wants to talk to you. I’m beside him.”
Noah came on the line.
“I’m sorry.”
“Tell me what you know.”
“I helped her make the tutoring paper.”
I closed my eyes.
“What paper?”
“The invoice.”
Terrence said quietly, “Keep going, son.”
Noah’s voice cracked.
“She told me it was for a reimbursement. She said you already knew.”
“What did you do?”
“Put the logo on it. Changed the dates. She told me what to type.”
“Do you still have it?”
“On my laptop.”
“Don’t delete anything.”
“I won’t.”
Then he said something that made the room tilt.
“She made me sign your name on the school form.”
I stood and walked into the hallway so Lily would not hear.
“Why?”
“She said you were too busy. She said family helped each other.”
“And yesterday?”
He started crying.
“I thought Lily took something Mom needed. Then Lily said it belonged to her mother, and Mom got really mad.”
I pressed my hand against the wall.
“Did you see her grab Lily?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
His answer hurt because it was honest.
“I stood there.”
Behind him, Terrence said, “We’re going to tell the truth now.”
Noah tried to speak again.
At first, I could not understand him.
Then the words came clearly.
“There’s another folder, Marcus.”
May you like
“Where?”
“In the garage. And it has your mother’s name on it.”
