Chapter 4
Daniel wanted to call the police immediately.
I agreed.
Whatever Martin had done, the photograph frightened me.
Within an hour, two detectives were sitting in my kitchen.
Detective Nora Ellis did most of the talking.
Her partner, Detective James Cole, examined the photograph and email.
“Do you know where this was taken?” Ellis asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Did Mr. Hale have enemies?”
“Apparently he had secrets.”
Daniel explained the transfers, the loans, Lauren’s company, and the trust documents.
Ellis listened without interrupting.
Then she looked at me.
“Mrs. Caldwell, did Lauren ever threaten you before last night?”
“No.”
That was technically true.
But something bothered me.
“She did say strange things.”
“What kind of things?”
I thought back.
“She kept asking about my will.”
Daniel looked at me.
“When?”
“Several times.”
Ellis leaned forward.
“What specifically?”
“She asked whether Daniel inherited everything automatically.”
The kitchen became silent.
I continued.
“She said she was only curious because you two were getting married.”
Daniel looked sick.
“She asked me that too.”
Detective Cole stopped writing.
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“What did she ask?”
“Whether Mom’s company shares transferred directly to me after death.”
Ellis and Cole exchanged a glance.
My skin prickled.
“There’s something else,” I said.
Daniel turned toward me.
“After my eye surgery, Lauren insisted I stay at her apartment for two nights.”
“You never told me that.”
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Mom.”
“I was fine.”
Except I suddenly remembered something.
A medication bottle.
Lauren bringing me pills.
Me sleeping far longer than usual.
My stomach twisted.
Detective Ellis noticed.
“What are you remembering?”
“Lauren gave me medication.”
“What medication?”
“I thought it was what the surgeon prescribed.”
Daniel stood.
“She handled your medicine?”
“She said I was confused from the anesthesia.”
His face drained.
“Do you still have the bottle?”
I nodded slowly.
“Maybe.”
I searched the bathroom cabinet.
At the back, behind old bandages, I found it.
Detective Ellis put on gloves.
The label had my name.
But Daniel frowned.
“That isn’t your pharmacy.”
He was right.
I had used the same neighborhood pharmacy for fifteen years.
This label came from somewhere across the city.
Ellis sealed it into an evidence bag.
“We’ll test the contents.”
Daniel looked furious.
“You think she drugged my mother?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“I want a restraining order.”
Ellis nodded.
“That may be appropriate.”
After the detectives left, Daniel called an attorney named Rebecca Shaw.
She arrived before noon.
Rebecca was around fifty, sharp-eyed, calm, and completely unimpressed by wealth.
She spread the trust documents across my kitchen table.
“This is messy,” she said.
Daniel’s face fell.
“Can it be voided?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled.
Rebecca lifted one finger.
“I said can, not will.”
She looked at me.
“Margaret, your impaired vision, medication, and Lauren’s alleged misrepresentation help enormously.”
“What about the marriage?”
Daniel asked.
Rebecca’s expression became complicated.
“The ceremony occurred. The license was signed. Whether annulment is available depends on what we can prove regarding fraud.”
“Fraud?”
“If Lauren entered the marriage primarily to obtain financial benefit through deliberate deception, we have options.”
Daniel gave a humorless laugh.
“Eight million dollars in fraudulent loans seems like a start.”
Rebecca nodded.
“It does.”
Her phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen.
Then at Daniel.
“I ran Lauren’s business entity while driving here.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“And?”
“LKM Holdings has another officer.”
“Martin?”
“No.”
Rebecca turned the phone toward us.
The name on the screen meant nothing to me.
Charles Mercer.
Daniel went still.
“Her father.”
Rebecca nodded.
The room seemed to shrink.
Lauren’s father had stood in the ballroom and told Daniel to think carefully.
Now I understood why.
“This wasn’t just Lauren,” I whispered.
“No,” Rebecca said. “It appears organized.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Rebecca told me to answer on speaker.
“Hello?”
Breathing.
Then a man whispered.
“Margaret?”
I recognized the voice.
“Martin?”
Daniel grabbed the edge of the table.
Martin sounded terrified.
“I don’t have much time.”
“Where are you?”
“I made a mistake.”
Daniel leaned toward the phone.
“Martin, tell us where you are.”
“I thought it was financial manipulation. I didn’t know how far Charles would go.”
“Charles Mercer?”
Silence.
Then Martin whispered, “Yes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Martin continued.
“He found me when I tried to take the files.”
“What files?”
“Original ledgers. Emails. Loan instructions.”
“Where are they?”
“I hid copies.”
Rebecca started writing.
“Where?”
Martin breathed heavily.
“Margaret’s garden.”
I stared at the phone.
“My garden?”
“Daniel’s father built a wooden bench beside the roses.”
I knew it.
Thomas had built that bench the summer before he died.
Martin continued.
“Under the left support. There’s a metal box.”
Daniel was already moving toward the back door.
Martin suddenly said, “Wait.”
We stopped.
“Don’t trust anyone at the company.”
“Who else is involved?” Daniel asked.
Martin hesitated.
Then came a loud bang.
Martin gasped.
The line disconnected.
“Martin!”
Nothing.
Daniel called back.
No answer.
Detective Ellis was notified immediately.
While police traced the call, Daniel and I went into the garden with Rebecca.
The roses were still wet from morning dew.
Daniel knelt beside his father’s old bench.
He reached underneath.
His fingers touched metal.
He pulled out a narrow black box.
Inside was a flash drive.
A key.
And a sealed envelope addressed to me.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The note inside was written by Martin.
Margaret,
If you are reading this, I failed to stop them.
Lauren and Charles are not trying only to take Daniel’s company.
They need you declared mentally incompetent before November.
Do not sign anything else.
And most importantly, ask Daniel why Charles Mercer has been paying Dr. Steven Grant.
My knees nearly gave way.
May you like
Dr. Grant was my physician.
The doctor who had recently told Daniel I was beginning to show signs of dementia.
