Chapter 4 - The Package Shawn Never Opened)
Shawn thought his mother was confused.
"I don't have anything."
"Yes, you do," Maria said.
"No, Mom."
"Boston Harbor Logistics. Your office."
Shawn stopped.
Maria continued.
"I mailed a package sixteen months ago."
He searched his memory.
His assistant handled dozens of deliveries every day.
"What was on it?"
"Your name."
"Who sent it?"
"I didn't put our return address."
"Why?"
"Garrett watched the mail."
Shawn sat down.
"How did you send it?"
Maria smiled faintly.
"Mrs. Parker."
Their neighbor.
Eighty year old Helen Parker had lived two houses away for thirty years.
"She mailed it for you?"
Maria nodded.
"Inside was a blue Christmas tin."
Shawn suddenly remembered.
A blue metal tin had arrived at his office the previous year with no note.
He assumed it was from a vendor.
Inside were homemade sugar cookies.
His staff ate them.
"Mom."
He stood so quickly his chair scraped the floor.
"What did you put in the tin?"
"A flash drive."
His stomach dropped.
"I gave the cookies away."
Maria actually laughed.
A small, tired laugh.
"I knew you would."
"What?"
"The drive wasn't inside with the cookies."
She looked at Don.
"It was taped beneath the bottom."
Shawn called his office immediately.
The building was closed for Christmas, but his operations director, Malik Thompson, agreed to meet him.
Two hours later Shawn stood in a storage room full of corporate gifts.
His assistant had kept several reusable tins.
They searched shelves.
Nothing.
Then Malik remembered the blue one.
"I took it home."
Shawn stared.
"You what?"
"My daughter collects tins."
Twenty minutes later they were driving through snow toward Malik's apartment.
The blue Christmas tin sat on a bookshelf in his daughter's room.
Shawn turned it upside down.
There was tape residue.
No drive.
His heart sank.
Malik's daughter, twelve year old Nia, stood in the doorway.
"There was a little black thing underneath."
Shawn turned.
"What happened to it?"
"I gave it to Dad."
Malik frowned.
"You did?"
"You said it was a computer thing."
Malik searched his office drawer.
There it was.
A plain black flash drive.
Sixteen months after Maria risked everything to send it, Shawn finally held the evidence in his hand.
Detective Brooks arranged for digital forensic specialists to examine it.
The contents were larger than anyone expected.
Daniel Reeves had copied internal accounting records from Garrett's firm.
There were transfers from elderly clients.
Forged authorization forms.
Fake investment statements.
Audio files.
Emails.
Lists of accounts.
And one folder labeled MILLER.
Inside were copies of Shawn's monthly transfers.
Photographs of Don's signature being practiced on blank sheets.
Drafts of medical affidavits.
A spreadsheet calculated the potential value of the Easton property after rezoning.
At the bottom of that spreadsheet was a line:
Projected family control value after guardianship approval: 12.8 million.
Shawn stared at the screen.
Detective Brooks said, "This isn't just financial abuse. This may be organized fraud involving multiple victims."
"Where is Garrett?"
"We're looking."
"He's had almost a day."
"He can't disappear easily."
Shawn thought of the wealthy clients Garrett served.
"He has money."
"Money leaves tracks."
The drive contained something else.
A recording.
Daniel Reeves had apparently made it during a meeting with Garrett.
Garrett's voice was unmistakable.
"If Don signs willingly, fine. If he doesn't, Brenda signs once the competency ruling is done."
Daniel asked, "And Shawn?"
Garrett laughed.
"Shawn thinks money solves everything. As long as the old people keep sounding happy on the phone, he'll keep transferring it."
Shawn paused the audio.
He stood and walked away.
For years he had considered himself responsible.
Dependable.
Generous.
Garrett had understood his weakness more accurately than Shawn did.
Money had become a substitute for presence.
He had never asked to video call when Brenda said the internet was unreliable.
He had never questioned why his mother stopped answering directly.
He had accepted forwarded messages.
He had accepted excuses.
Because accepting them was convenient.
Detective Brooks approached.
"This wasn't your fault."
Shawn looked at her.
"I made it easy."
"That's different."
He did not answer.
The recording continued.
Daniel said, "Brenda isn't going to keep cooperating."
Garrett responded, "Brenda cooperates when she's frightened."
Then Daniel said something that changed the investigation.
"What about the original Easton deed?"
Garrett answered.
"Maria has it."
"Where?"
"I don't know yet."
"What if she sends it to Shawn?"
A pause.
Then Garrett said, "She won't."
"Why?"
"Because by the time this is finished, Shawn won't believe anything his parents tell him."
The recording ended.
Shawn called the hospital.
Maria answered.
"Mom, where is the deed?"
Silence.
"Is it with me too?"
"No."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you on the phone."
"Garrett is gone."
"That's why I can't tell you."
Shawn frowned.
"You think he can hear us?"
"I think Garrett spent three years making sure we never knew when he was listening."
The line went quiet.
Then Maria whispered, "Come tomorrow."
Before Shawn could respond, someone knocked on his office door.
Malik entered.
His expression was tense.
"There's a woman downstairs asking for you."
"Who?"
"She says her husband worked for Garrett Vale."
Shawn's heart slowed.
"Daniel Reeves?"
Malik nodded.
"She says Daniel isn't missing."
Shawn stared at him.
"Then where is he?"
May you like
Malik looked back toward the hallway.
"According to her, he's been hiding from Garrett for eighteen months."
