Chapter 8 - The House by the River

The police opened an investigation into the wedding assault after Priya provided the unedited recording and witness contact information. Detective Marisol Vega took my statement without being impressed by the Whitmore name.

“Do you know where Nora Bell is?” I asked.

“Not yet. If there's evidence of a crime, we'll follow it.”

I wanted to drive every road between here and Virginia. Priya reminded me that getting in the way could make things harder for Nora. Instead, we tracked the legal documents and called Lily.

She came north that afternoon. She had my father's eyes and his habit of pressing her lips together before saying something difficult. I couldn't stop looking at her. She noticed.

“It's strange for me too,” she said. “You got his surname. I got his handwriting on birthday cards.”

“I didn't even know those cards existed.”

Lily drank her coffee without sugar. My father had done that too, although it was such a small resemblance that I felt foolish noticing. She asked what he'd been like at home. I told her about the telescope he set up on winter nights and the terrible jokes he told whenever a storm cut the power. She looked down at her cup. 'He never told me those stories,' she said. I realized we had each inherited a different fragment of the same complicated man.

“Neither did Evelyn, until last month.”

Lily explained that Nora had uncovered irregular transfers while preparing for a foundation audit. They believed Evelyn and Vincent had redirected donations intended for housing grants. Nora had approached Grace because Grace was publicly known for her work at the clinic and wasn't employed by the foundation.

“Why not the police?” I asked.

“Mom was collecting proof. She was scared it would disappear.”

Lily's phone rang. A number she didn't recognize. She answered on speaker.

A man's voice said, “Your mother is at the river house. Come alone if you want to see her again.”

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The call ended. Lily sat rigid. Priya photographed the number and immediately passed it to Detective Vega.

Then Lily looked at me. “Ethan, the river house is where my mother used to meet your father.”