Chapter 4 - The Stranger in My Garage
I stared at Denise.
"What did you just say?"
She blinked, realizing she'd spoken aloud.
"Nothing."
I stepped toward her.
"You said Maya wasn't supposed to be home."
Denise crossed her arms.
"You're twisting my words."
Maya moved closer to me.
"No, Dad. That's exactly what she said."
Tasha looked frightened.
For the first time, I realized there might be someone else involved.
Someone who'd seen Alicia's documents.
Someone who knew about the investment account.
And someone Denise had allowed into my home.
I looked at my wife.
"Who was the man in my garage?"
She didn't answer.
I repeated the question.
"Who was he?"
Denise's jaw tightened.
"A friend."
"What friend?"
"Someone who helps with financial matters."
I stared at her.
"You brought a stranger into my house to examine my dead wife's financial records?"
"He was helping me understand our options."
"Our options?"
She nodded.
I felt my anger rising again.
"Those accounts aren't family spending money. They're Maya's inheritance."
Denise turned away.
"I am tired of having this conversation."
I stepped in front of her.
"We're not finished."
She glared at me.
"Then call your lawyer. I'm not answering another question."
I did exactly that.
Evelyn listened carefully while I explained what Maya had seen.
"Can your daughter describe the man?" she asked.
I turned to Maya.
"He was tall," she said. "Maybe fifty. He had a gray beard and wore a dark green jacket."
"Did you hear a name?"
Maya thought.
"Denise called him Calvin."
Evelyn went silent.
"Calvin what?"
"I don't know," Maya answered.
A long pause followed.
Then Evelyn spoke.
"Marcus, I need you to check something. Does Denise have any association with a financial consultant named Calvin Price?"
I looked toward Denise.
Her expression changed instantly.
I didn't need her to answer.
"She knows him," I said.
Evelyn exhaled.
"Then this may be more serious than I thought."
"Why?"
"Calvin Price used to operate a private financial advisory service. Several years ago, he was accused in a civil case of misleading clients about investment transfers."
My stomach tightened.
"Was he convicted?"
"The civil case settled. I don't know whether any criminal charges were filed."
I looked at Denise.
"How do you know him?"
She said nothing.
Evelyn continued.
"Preserve everything. I'm contacting a colleague who handles financial fraud."
After the call, Denise reached for her purse.
"I'm leaving."
I stepped aside.
I wasn't going to stop her.
But I wasn't going to let her take important evidence either.
"Leave any documents belonging to Maya or Alicia."
Denise laughed bitterly.
"You don't own me, Marcus."
"No. And you don't own my daughter's money."
She grabbed her keys.
Tasha followed her toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Mom, where are we going?"
"My condo."
Tasha hesitated.
"Is that safe?"
Denise spun around.
"Of course it is."
I watched Tasha's face.
She looked more frightened than angry.
And suddenly I wondered how much she actually knew.
"Tasha," I said.
She turned.
"If someone helped your mother forge financial documents, you need to tell the truth before this gets worse."
Denise shouted, "Don't speak to her!"
Tasha flinched.
That reaction was familiar.
Maya had flinched the same way.
For a moment, I saw both girls differently.
One was sixteen.
The other twenty.
Both had spent years living under Denise's control.
But Tasha was still responsible for what she'd accepted.
And there was more I needed to know.
"Did you sign anything involving Maya's money?" I asked.
Tasha's eyes filled.
"Mom told me it was okay."
"That isn't what I asked."
She swallowed.
"Yes."
Denise grabbed her wrist.
"We're leaving."
They walked out.
A moment later, Denise's car pulled away.
I stood in the hallway until the sound disappeared.
Then Maya spoke.
"Dad?"
I turned.
She was hugging herself.
"Is she coming back?"
I looked at her carefully.
"Would you feel safe if she did?"
Maya's answer came immediately.
"No."
That settled it.
I called a locksmith to change the exterior locks. I arranged for Denise to collect personal belongings later under supervision.
Then I called the police nonemergency line and reported the suspected theft and document forgery.
Two officers arrived that evening.
I gave them copies of the sale agreement, bank receipts, account statements, and Maya's account of what had happened.
Officer Daniels listened without interrupting.
When Maya finished, he gently asked whether she had personally signed the vehicle sale paperwork.
"No, sir."
"Did you give your stepmother permission to sell the vehicle?"
"No."
"And did you know about the account withdrawal?"
Maya shook her head.
"I didn't even know she could get into that account."
Officer Daniels wrote something down.
Then he looked at me.
"Mr. Williams, we're going to document the report and refer the financial records for further investigation."
"Will my daughter get her money back?"
"We'll need to investigate. The bank's fraud process may help, but I can't promise an outcome."
I appreciated that he didn't make promises.
I'd heard enough empty ones.
After the officers left, I made Maya dinner.
She barely touched it.
We sat at the kitchen table.
The house felt strangely quiet.
Then she looked at me.
"Dad, why did you marry her?"
The question hit hard.
I thought about the lonely years after Alicia died.
How Denise seemed warm when we first met.
How she brought laughter into the house.
How she told me Maya needed another woman to talk to.
And how desperately I'd wanted to believe we could become a family.
"I thought she loved us," I said.
Maya lowered her eyes.
"She never loved me."
I reached across the table.
"I'm beginning to understand that."
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice spoke.
"Mr. Williams?"
"Yes."
"My name is Calvin Price."
I sat up.
My hand tightened around the phone.
"What do you want?"
He lowered his voice.
"I understand you've discovered some unusual transfers."
I stood.
"How did you get my number?"
"That doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
He paused.
"Denise made certain promises. Those promises involved your daughter's accounts."
I felt a chill.
"What promises?"
Calvin sighed.
"She told me you had agreed to use the investment funds to settle a private debt."
"I agreed to nothing."
Silence.
Then he said something that turned my stomach.
"Then you need to know Denise hasn't been telling you the truth about who actually owns that condominium."
I gripped the edge of the table.
"What are you talking about?"
His answer was quiet.
"The condo isn't the real problem, Marcus."
May you like
I heard papers moving.
"Your house is."
