Chapter 15 - The Price of Telling the Truth
I did not meet Camille alone. Helen arranged for us to speak in a public office with a legal professional present. Camille complained when she saw Daniel, but she stayed.
She looked smaller than she had on Christmas Eve. Her beige dress had been replaced by jeans and a plain gray sweater. Her hands trembled around a paper cup.
“You promised to come alone,” she said.
“I promised nothing,” I answered. “You asked for a meeting.”
Camille looked at Helen. “If I give you what I have, will you keep me out of jail?”
“No one here can make that promise,” Helen said. “You should have your own attorney before you disclose anything that could expose you to criminal liability.”
Camille was quiet for a long moment. Then she took a business card and agreed to speak with independent counsel. We waited while arrangements were made.
When we reconvened with her attorney present, Camille handed over a copy of a file index and a thumb drive through the proper channels. She said Peter had created digital versions of signatures, then sent completed forms to Walter for approval. The original files, she claimed, had been saved on a company server.
“Why did you throw soup at Nora?” Daniel asked.
Camille's eyes filled. “I heard her telling Grandma she wanted to see the books. I panicked. I thought if she lost her temper, Dad could say she wasn't stable enough to be involved.”
“You did it while she held Owen,” Daniel said.
“I didn't mean to touch the baby.”
“You aimed at his mother,” I replied. “And you used him because you thought I wouldn't fight back with him in my arms.”
Camille started crying. I felt no urge to comfort her.
“I used to babysit you,” Daniel said. “I used to defend you when Dad called you careless.”
“And you were always the favorite,” she shot back. “I spent my life proving I belonged at that table.”
“You didn't have to hurt people to belong,” I said.
She dropped her gaze. “I know that now.”
When we returned home, a television news alert appeared: the proposed Bellweather sale had been halted by emergency court order.
May you like
But the same report carried a second headline.
Daniel was being investigated in connection with the disputed financing.
