Chapter 9 - THE CALL MARGARET SHOULDN’T HAVE MADE
Detective Mason was still standing in the doorway.
He turned.
“Who was that?”
“Margaret.”
“What did she say?”
I repeated it.
He came back immediately.
The hospital traced the call.
Prepaid phone.
Purchased for cash.
But Margaret had made another mistake.
She called from a gas station two miles from the hospital.
Security cameras captured her entering the store.
Buying the prepaid phone.
Walking outside.
Making one call.
Throwing the phone into a trash bin.
By midnight, police recovered it.
At 1:20 A.M., Margaret Carter was taken into custody for questioning.
Brandon called my room thirty minutes later.
I did not answer.
He left a voicemail.
“Claire.”
His voice shook.
“I know you’re scared.”
I stared at the phone.
“I’m scared too.”
Then came the sentence that proved he still believed this could be repaired.
“I love you.”
I deleted nothing.
Every voicemail went to Detective Mason.
The next morning, Dana arrived.
She hugged me carefully.
Then she cried.
“I told you to leave.”
“I know.”
“I almost lost you.”
“I know.”
She sat beside my bed.
“Do you want the good news or bad news?”
“Good.”
“The backup completed.”
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
I closed my eyes.
“And the bad?”
“Brandon emptied two accounts yesterday morning.”
“How much?”
“Four point six million.”
“Where?”
“We’re tracing it.”
I looked toward her.
“Zurich?”
“Possibly.”
“Rebecca?”
Dana hesitated.
“What?”
“Rebecca Lane contacted me.”
I stared at her.
“How?”
“She found my number in Brandon’s email.”
“Why?”
“She says she wants protection.”
“From Brandon?”
“From Margaret.”
I almost laughed.
“Get in line.”
Dana lowered her voice.
“She also says the child isn’t Brandon’s only secret.”
My pain seemed to disappear for a moment.
“What does that mean?”
“She wouldn’t say over the phone.”
“When is she coming?”
“She wants to meet police.”
“Good.”
Dana looked at me carefully.
“She says she has something from Margaret.”
“What?”
“A handwritten ledger.”
My heart began beating faster.
“What’s in it?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
Dana swallowed.
“People who received money.”
I waited.
May you like
Then she said.
“One of them is a judge.”
