Chapter 6 - What Happened Before the Funeral
Daniel's father, Robert Carter, had died two years earlier after what everyone believed was a sudden heart attack.
He had been sixty-three.
Healthy enough to play tennis three days a week.
Healthy enough to call Daniel the night before his death and say, "We need to talk about Vanessa."
Daniel had forgotten that detail until Emily repeated Rachel's words.
Then the memory came back all at once.
"He called me," Daniel said. "I was in Chicago. He said it couldn't wait."
"Did you talk to him?"
"I told him I'd be home the next night."
He looked sick.
"He died before I got there."
Detective Ruiz did not jump to conclusions.
"A suspicious statement doesn't make a suspicious death," he said. "We need records."
Rachel agreed to meet them in the parking lot of a busy coffee shop.
She arrived wearing sunglasses and carrying a thick envelope.
"I worked for Vanessa for three years," she said. "Personal assistant. Everything from travel to bills to private appointments."
She handed the envelope to Ruiz.
Inside were printed bank statements.
Daniel scanned the numbers.
Millions had moved from trust accounts into shell companies with names he had never seen.
"These signatures..." he said.
"Some are yours," Rachel replied. "But you didn't sign them."
Daniel looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because Vanessa practiced your signature on legal pads. Graham helped her match the documents."
Emily felt her stomach twist.
Rachel pulled out one final page.
It was a photocopy of a handwritten note.
Robert Carter's handwriting.
Daniel recognized it immediately.
It read:
DANIEL - DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING VANESSA OR GRAHAM BRING YOU. THE ACCOUNTS DO NOT MATCH. I HAVE COPIES. IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, CHECK THE BLUE BOX.
Daniel stared at the page.
"Blue box?"
Rachel nodded. "Vanessa looked for it after he died. She never found it."
Emily asked, "Where would your father hide something like that?"
Daniel's face slowly changed.
He looked at Emily.
"The house."
"What about it?"
"My father built this house. He had a locked compartment behind the wine cellar wall."
Ruiz stood.
"Then nobody goes there alone."
But Daniel was already reaching for his coat.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived with two officers.
The wine cellar looked untouched.
Daniel pressed a hidden latch behind a wooden panel.
The wall opened.
Inside was an empty shelf.
No blue box.
May you like
Only one thing remained.
A fresh burgundy thread caught on a nail.
