We returned to the hotel the next morning.
Derek was not there.
Rachel called him.
No answer.
Again.
Still nothing.
The investigator tried his number.
Straight to voicemail.
I looked at the chair where he had sat the previous afternoon.
“He knew.”
Rachel looked at me.
“Maybe.”
“Marcus specifically told me to ask about Derek.”
“That doesn't prove Derek was involved.”
“No.”
“But it proves Marcus was concerned about him.”
I nodded.
The investigators searched Derek's business records.
Nothing immediately connected him to the accident.
Then they found a payment.
Six thousand dollars.
Transferred from 6619.
The date was three days after Marcus died.
Recipient:
Harlan Advisory.
I stared at the screen.
“That's Derek.”
“Yes.”
“Did he mention receiving money?”
“No.”
The investigator looked at the transaction.
“This transfer may be important.”
“May be?”
“We need to establish what it was for.”
Rachel asked, “Can you trace the payment description?”
The officer enlarged the record.
A short note appeared.
CONSULTING — FINAL SETTLEMENT.
I felt cold.
“Settlement for what?”
“We don't know yet.”
I remembered Derek saying he had never received money from Cal after Marcus's death.
He had said he only knew the payments continued.
But there it was.
Six thousand dollars.
Three days after Marcus died.
From an account carrying my name.
I called Derek again.
No answer.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered cautiously.
“Hello?”
A man's voice spoke.
“Don't trust Harlan.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knew Marcus.”
“What happened to him?”
“You already know.”
“I know he died.”
“You don't know why.”
“Tell me.”
The caller breathed slowly.
“Because he was going to expose everyone.”
“Who?”
“Cal. Derek. Others.”
“Who are you?”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Rachel watched me.
“What did he say?”
I told her.
The investigator immediately began tracing the call.
No useful location.
A prepaid number.
Nothing else.
The next file on the flash drive contained photographs.
One showed Cal and Derek outside an office.
Another showed Marcus entering a building.
A third showed Margaret speaking with Derek.
The date was five years earlier.
Margaret had told me she barely knew him.
Apparently that wasn't true.
The final photograph was different.
It showed Derek and Cal standing beside a black Ford Explorer.
The same vehicle Cal had owned.
The date was the day before Marcus died.
I stared at it.
“Where was this taken?”
The investigator enlarged the background.
A hotel sign.
Cincinnati.
My hands went cold.
Derek had been in Cincinnati.
He had never told us that.
Rachel called him again.
This time he answered.
“Hello?”
“Derek,” Rachel said.
Silence.
“You need to explain why you were in Cincinnati the day before Marcus died.”
Another silence.
“I can explain.”
“Then explain.”
“I didn't meet Marcus.”
“You met Cal.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He asked me to come.”
“For what?”
“I don't want to discuss it over the phone.”
“You need to.”
“I'll meet you.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“No.”
Rachel's voice hardened.
“Now.”
He hung up.
The investigators found him two hours later.
Not at his home.
At a storage facility.
He had a suitcase.
Inside were files.
Cash.
And a second phone.
He was brought in for questioning.
I wasn't there.
Rachel called me afterward.
“He admitted meeting Cal.”
“What else?”
“He admitted being in Cincinnati.”
“Why?”
“He says Cal called him because Marcus was threatening to expose the company.”
“Did he meet Marcus?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then he lied yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Rachel paused.
“Derek says Marcus was alive when he left.”
“Did Cal stay?”
“Yes.”
“With Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“What did they argue about?”
“The account.”
“6619.”
“Yes.”
“Was I mentioned?”
“Repeatedly.”
I felt sick.
“What did Marcus want?”
“He wanted the money returned.”
“And Cal?”
“He wanted the records destroyed.”
“What did Derek do?”
“He says he left.”
“Before the accident?”
“Yes.”
“Then why hide it?”
Rachel was quiet.
“Because Derek had been paid.”
The six thousand dollars.
Three days after Marcus's death.
“Did he admit what it was for?”
“He called it a consulting fee.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Rachel continued.
“But there’s more.”
“What?”
“Derek says he wasn't the person who received the largest payments.”
“Who was?”
“He doesn't know.”
“Then why does he matter?”
“Because he says he can identify the unknown man from the Cincinnati meeting.”
My pulse quickened.
“Who?”
“He says the man was connected to the investor group.”
“Name?”
“Derek claims it was Victor Hale.”
I didn't recognize the name.
Rachel explained.
“Victor was one of the original financial backers behind the investment structure.”
“Was he involved with Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Cal?”
“Yes.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“New York.”
I sat down.
“How much money was involved?”
Rachel didn't answer immediately.
“Enough to explain why people have been lying for years.”
That wasn't enough.
“How much?”
“Over a million.”
I felt the air leave my lungs.
The eleven thousand dollars from my bonus.
The eighteen thousand six hundred fifty from the joint account.
The forty-three thousand in credit.
The hidden company.
The payments.
All of it was part of something much larger.
My marriage had been one piece of a financial structure I hadn't even known existed.
Then Rachel said:
“Victor has agreed to speak.”
We flew the next morning.
Victor Hale met us in a private office.
He was older than I expected.
White hair.
Sharp eyes.
A cane resting against his chair.
He looked at me for a long moment.
“You're Josie.”
“Yes.”
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For not asking more questions.”
“About Cal?”
“About the company.”
He gestured toward the chair.
“Sit.”
I did.
Victor looked at Rachel.
“I'll tell you what I know.”
“Start with Marcus.”
Victor nodded.
“Marcus discovered that investor funds were being moved through shell accounts.”
“Who was moving them?”
“Cal handled the transfers.”
“Who ordered them?”
Victor paused.
“That is harder.”
“Why?”
“Because the instructions came through intermediaries.”
“Derek?”
“Sometimes.”
“Who else?”
Victor leaned back.
“A man named Adrian Cross.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who was he?”
“An attorney.”
“Was he connected to Cal?”
“Indirectly.”
“Marcus?”
“Directly.”
“Was Adrian in Cincinnati?”
Victor nodded.
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
“The unknown man.”
“Yes.”
“Did he meet Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Did Cal know him?”
“Yes.”
“Did Derek?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Derek say he didn't know who the man was?”
Victor smiled without humor.
“Because Derek was protecting himself.”
“What did Adrian want?”
“Marcus's records.”
“Why?”
“Because they could expose the entire network.”
“And my identity?”
Victor looked at me.
“Your identity was one of the mechanisms used to move money without attracting attention.”
I swallowed.
“Did Adrian know?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He approved some of the transfers.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Can you prove that?”
Victor nodded.
“I have copies.”
He opened a folder.
There were emails.
Payment instructions.
Company records.
One message stood out.
Use Kincaid's wife for the next transfer.
I stared at it.
“My name wasn't even written.”
Victor shook his head.
“They didn't need it.”
“They knew who it meant.”
“Yes.”
“Who wrote that?”
“Adrian.”
The room went silent.
Victor continued.
“Cal was supposed to move the money.”
“And Marcus?”
“Marcus objected.”
“That's why he was going to expose them.”
“Yes.”
“Did Marcus know Cal planned to use my name?”
“He knew.”
“Did he try to stop him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he contact me?”
Victor looked down.
“He tried.”
“When?”
“Before his death.”
“How?”
“Several times.”
I remembered the unknown message.
The package.
The letter.
The evidence that had somehow taken six years to reach me.
“Why didn't I receive anything?”
Victor looked at Rachel.
Rachel understood.
“Someone intercepted it.”
Victor nodded.
“Who?”
“Adrian.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“Because if you learned the truth, the money trail would become much easier to follow.”
I looked at the documents.
“What happened in Cincinnati?”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Marcus confronted Cal.”
“Then Adrian arrived.”
“Yes.”
“Derek?”
“Already there.”
I felt cold.
“So three men were there.”
“Yes.”
“And Marcus died afterward.”
Victor nodded.
“What happened?”
“Marcus demanded his files.”
“Did he threaten them?”
“Yes.”
“What did Adrian do?”
Victor paused.
“He told Marcus the only way out was to cooperate.”
“Cooperate with what?”
“Signing documents.”
“What documents?”
“Documents transferring control of certain accounts.”
“Did Marcus sign?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“An argument.”
“Then the accident.”
Victor looked at me.
“Not exactly.”
I waited.
“Marcus left the building alive.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He walked out.”
“Then what happened?”
Victor shook his head.
“That is what no one can explain.”
I remembered Derek's claim.
Marcus had been alive.
Cal had been with him.
Adrian had been there.
Derek had been there.
Then Marcus died.
“Who followed him?”
Victor looked at me.
“Cal.”
My heart stopped.
“Are you certain?”
“No.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because Marcus called me afterward.”
“From his phone?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About twenty minutes after he left the building.”
“What did he say?”
Victor's voice lowered.
“He said, ‘If anything happens, look at Josie's account.’”
I closed my eyes.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“He knew they were using me.”
“Yes.”
“Did he say Cal was following him?”
“No.”
“Then who was?”
Victor shook his head.
“I don't know.”
The investigators later compared phone records.
Cal's phone had moved in the same direction as Marcus's vehicle.
Derek's phone had remained near the hotel.
Adrian's phone had been turned off.
For twenty-three minutes.
The same twenty-three minutes Marcus had been speaking with Derek.
Then the investigators found another piece.
A traffic camera.
It showed Marcus's car leaving Cincinnati.
A second vehicle followed.
Black.
The image wasn't clear enough to identify the driver.
But the license plate was partially visible.
The first four characters matched Cal's old registration.
My hands shook.
“Could it have been his Explorer?”
“Yes.”
“But he says he left Marcus alive.”
“He may have.”
“Then who was driving?”
“We don't know.”
I looked at Rachel.
There was still one missing piece.
The vehicle had been sold shortly after the accident.
The buyer's name was buried in the records.
The investigator found it.
Adrian Cross.
I stared at the name.
The attorney had purchased Cal's damaged vehicle.
Why?
Because it contained evidence?
Because he had driven it?
Or because he wanted it destroyed?
Then the police found something inside the old vehicle records.
A repair invoice.
Front bumper.
Headlight assembly.
Windshield damage.
And one handwritten note:
Driver's side blood.
The room went silent.
I looked at Rachel.
“Whose blood?”
The investigator shook his head.
“Testing was never completed.”
“Why?”
“Because the vehicle was sold before the investigation could be expanded.”
I closed my eyes.
Cal had said he didn't know how the vehicle was damaged.
Margaret had seen the damage.
Derek had seen the vehicle.
Adrian had bought it.
And Marcus had died.
The story had become too large for any single lie to contain.
That evening, Cal called from his attorney's office.
I answered.
“What do you want?”
“I heard you met Victor.”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn't have.”
“Why?”
“Because he lies.”
“Everyone seems to.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Silence.
“What happened in Cincinnati?”
He breathed slowly.
“I told you.”
“No. You told me what you wanted me to believe.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Who was driving the car that followed Marcus?”
Silence.
I knew.
“You know.”
“I don't.”
“Was it you?”
“No.”
“Was it Adrian?”
Another silence.
“Cal.”
“I wasn't driving.”
I believed that might be true.
But then he said:
“I saw who was.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if I do, you're in danger.”
“I'm already in danger.”
He said nothing.
“Cal.”
Finally he whispered:
“It was someone you know.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Someone I knew.
Someone connected to the family.
Someone close enough to move through my life without raising suspicion.
I looked toward the photograph from Christmas dinner.
Margaret.
Eric.
Cal.
And me.
One of them knew far more than they had admitted.
And I suddenly remembered something Eric had said.
He had signed a document at Margaret's house.
Three years earlier.
He had believed I had guaranteed a loan.
What if he had been used too?
What if the person Cal refused to name had been sitting at that table all along?
Click Here to continue read next: PART9: The Person Cal Refused to Name Was Sitting at Our Christmas Table, and Eric’s Forgotten Document Finally Explained Why
The Christmas Toast That Made Me Realize My Husband Had Been Spending More Than Money
Part 8 of 16
