Chapter 9 - MARILYN'S VERSION
Marilyn Mercer called Laura fourteen times.
Laura finally answered with Melissa present.
“Laura.”
Marilyn sounded wounded.
“You have completely misunderstood my son.”
“I found forty-one thousand dollars from Ava’s trust in your account.”
Silence.
Then.
“Dean said it was reimbursement.”
“For what?”
“Helping.”
Laura nearly laughed.
“Helping with what?”
“Ava.”
“I watched her.”
“I bought things.”
“Forty-one thousand dollars?”
Marilyn’s voice hardened.
“You have always counted money like love.”
“No.”
“Dean counted Ava’s money like his.”
Marilyn began crying.
She said Dean had told her Laura intended to divorce him and move away.
He said Laura planned to prevent contact.
He said he needed money to prepare.
“How long did you believe that?”
Laura asked.
“A year.”
“Did you ever ask me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Dean said you would lie.”
There it was.
The perfect system.
Tell each person the other cannot be trusted.
Then become the only interpreter between them.
Marilyn eventually agreed to cooperate with the financial investigation.
Not from courage at first.
Because she realized she might face liability.
Motives did not have to be noble to become useful.
She returned most of the money.
Then she gave investigators emails.
One changed the case.
DEAN:
Need one more documented injury with Laura present.
After that I can file.
MARILYN:
Don’t do anything stupid.
DEAN:
I’m not doing anything.
Kids fall.
Laura stared at the message.
May you like
No explicit confession.
But the intent behind the accident file was becoming impossible to ignore.
