Chapter 5
Monica Fields didn't want to meet in public.
She asked us to come to her sister's house in a quiet neighborhood outside the city.
Samuel drove.
I sat beside him.
Alicia remained in the back seat holding Grace's letter.
I had asked her again whether she wanted to stay home.
She shook her head.
"Daddy, I'm not six anymore."
I looked at her in the rearview mirror.
"I know."
She smiled sadly.
"But I still need you."
I swallowed.
"And you'll always have me."
We arrived just after ten.
Monica opened the door before we knocked.
She was a small woman with tired eyes.
When she saw Alicia, she covered her mouth.
"Oh, my goodness."
Alicia looked nervous.
Monica began crying.
"You look so much like your mother."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Thank you for meeting us."
She nodded.
"Come inside."
We sat in a modest living room.
Monica's sister brought water.
Then she left us alone.
Monica folded her hands.
"I should have spoken to you years ago."
I shook my head.
"Tell me what you know."
She looked toward Alicia.
"Your mother was my friend."
Alicia leaned forward.
"Really?"
Monica nodded.
"She helped me when I first started working at the district."
She smiled through tears.
"She was patient. Kind. And she never let anyone make me feel foolish for asking questions."
I closed my eyes.
That sounded exactly like Grace.
Monica continued.
"We worked in accounts payable."
I nodded.
"Grace told me about some problems."
"Yes."
Monica reached for a folder.
"We noticed invoices from Whitmore Educational Supply."
My stomach tightened.
"Richard's company."
She nodded.
"The district was paying for equipment that wasn't arriving."
Samuel leaned forward.
"How did you verify that?"
"We compared purchase orders with inventory records and delivery logs."
I thought of my own work.
The missing cleaning machines.
The delayed supplies.
The strange explanations.
Monica continued.
"Grace found the first major discrepancy."
"How much?"
"Nearly ninety thousand dollars."
I stared at her.
She nodded.
"And that was only one quarter."
My heart pounded.
"We started reviewing older invoices."
"What did you find?"
"Payments going back years."
Samuel took notes.
Monica opened another folder.
"Some delivery receipts had forged signatures."
I leaned forward.
"Mine?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry."
I looked down.
For years, someone had used my name to make fraudulent purchases appear legitimate.
And Grace had been trying to uncover it.
Monica continued.
"We reported our concerns internally."
"To whom?"
"The finance director."
"What happened?"
"He told us we misunderstood the accounting system."
Samuel frowned.
"Did he document your complaint?"
"We never saw a written response."
Monica looked down.
"Then things changed."
My chest tightened.
"How?"
"Grace started receiving strange phone calls."
I closed my eyes.
"She didn't tell me."
Monica looked sad.
"She didn't want you to worry."
Alicia squeezed my hand.
Monica continued.
"One evening, Grace told me someone had followed her home."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Who?"
"She didn't know."
I thought of the black SUV.
The gas station.
The witness.
Monica wiped her eyes.
"She wanted to go to the state auditor."
"Did you agree?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you go together?"
Her voice broke.
"Because I was afraid."
I looked at her.
She began crying.
"My husband had just lost his job. We had two children. I couldn't afford to lose mine."
I felt anger and sadness twist together.
"Did Grace pressure you?"
Monica shook her head.
"No. She told me she understood."
Tears filled her eyes.
"She said she'd handle it."
I covered my face.
My wife had walked toward danger alone because she didn't want anyone else hurt.
Alicia began crying quietly.
Monica reached for her hand.
"Your mother was brave."
Alicia nodded.
"I know."
Then Monica took out a sealed envelope.
"Grace gave me this the day before she died."
My breath caught.
"What is it?"
"Copies of the documents she planned to deliver."
I stared at the envelope.
"Why didn't you give them to police?"
Monica lowered her eyes.
"After the accident, I received a threatening letter."
Samuel leaned forward.
"Do you still have it?"
She nodded.
"I kept everything."
She opened another folder.
Inside was a photocopy of a handwritten note.
KEEP QUIET IF YOU WANT YOUR FAMILY SAFE.
I felt sick.
Monica continued.
"I resigned. I moved. I tried to forget."
I looked at her.
"But you couldn't."
She shook her head.
"No."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she looked directly at me.
"Arthur, there's something else."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Grace believed Diane was managing part of the scheme."
I stared at her.
"Diane?"
Monica nodded.
"Richard owned the company, but Diane handled certain payments."
I remembered Diane's expensive clothes.
Her jewelry.
Her constant need to prove she was better than everyone else.
Monica continued.
"Grace found transfers connected to a private foundation Diane operated."
Samuel leaned forward.
"What foundation?"
"The Whitmore Family Education Fund."
I frowned.
I had heard of it.
The foundation sponsored academic events.
It funded scholarships.
It donated supplies to schools.
Diane often appeared in newspapers holding oversized checks.
Monica looked at Alicia.
"Your mother believed some of the foundation's money came from inflated district payments."
My chest tightened.
The woman who mocked my uniform had built a reputation for generosity while my wife was investigating suspicious money connected to her family's business.
I looked at Samuel.
"Can this be proven?"
He nodded carefully.
"With the right records and proper investigation, possibly."
Monica continued.
"Grace was also worried about something else."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"She thought Richard was planning to blame you if the fraud was discovered."
My stomach dropped.
"Me?"
Monica nodded.
"Your signature appeared on delivery forms."
I stared at the floor.
"And because I was the janitor, people might believe I was responsible for missing supplies."
"Exactly."
I closed my eyes.
Grace had been trying to protect me.
She had been trying to protect Alicia.
And she had been trying to expose people who believed their money made them untouchable.
Monica reached across the table.
"Arthur, I'm sorry."
I looked at her.
"For what?"
"For not helping her sooner."
I swallowed.
"We can't change what happened."
She began crying.
"But we can tell the truth now."
I nodded.
"Yes."
Samuel collected copies of the documents with Monica's permission.
He explained that the originals needed to be handled carefully if they were going to be used in an official investigation.
Monica agreed.
Before we left, she looked at Alicia.
"Your mother talked about you every day."
Alicia smiled through tears.
"What did she say?"
Monica laughed softly.
"That you were going to change the world."
Alicia began crying.
I put my arm around her.
Monica continued.
"She said you were smarter than both your parents combined."
I laughed through my tears.
"That sounds like Grace."
Alicia smiled.
For a moment, the room felt warm.
Almost peaceful.
Then Samuel's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
I watched him listen.
Then he stepped into the hallway.
When he returned, his face was serious.
"Arthur, we need to leave."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
He looked toward Monica.
"Someone broke into Patricia Green's office."
Monica gasped.
Samuel continued.
"Her files were searched."
I stood.
"Is she hurt?"
"She's safe."
I exhaled.
"But the documents she recovered are missing."
I looked at the envelope in Samuel's hand.
The copies Monica had kept.
Then I looked toward Alicia.
She was holding Grace's letter tightly.
Samuel lowered his voice.
"Arthur, whoever did this may know we're reopening the case."
My heart began pounding.
May you like
For twelve years, I had tried to protect my daughter from the pain of losing her mother.
Now I realized I might have to protect her from the people who had helped keep the truth buried.
