Chapter 5 - the darkness lasted only eleven seconds)
"Nobody move."
Robert's voice came from somewhere near the head of the table.
Emily stood perfectly still.
The Christmas tree lights had gone dark along with the chandelier.
Only weak moonlight entered through the windows.
She could hear breathing.
Shoes scraping against hardwood.
Someone whispering.
Then a door opened.
"Daniel?" Emily called.
"I'm here."
"Margaret?"
No answer.
Emily reached for the table where the envelope had been.
Her hand found empty polished wood.
The documents were gone.
"Robert."
"I know."
A light appeared.
Rachel's phone.
Then another.
Claire's.
Daniel activated his flashlight.
The emergency lighting flickered on several seconds later.
Eleven seconds.
That was all.
Eleven seconds had transformed the room.
Robert stood beside his chair.
Daniel was near the sideboard.
Claire and Rachel remained by the table.
Margaret was gone.
So was her handbag.
Robert walked toward the dining room door.
It was open.
"Margaret."
No response.
Daniel swore.
Robert turned.
"Where is the breaker panel?"
"Basement."
"I didn't ask where the electricity comes into the house. I asked where the internal controls are."
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
"There is a smart home panel in my office."
Emily stared at him.
"Someone upstairs could shut down the first floor lights?"
"Yes."
Rachel lifted her phone.
"And cameras?"
Daniel hesitated.
Emily felt cold.
"What cameras?"
"Exterior security."
"Can they be shut off from your office?"
"Yes."
Robert headed toward the stairs.
Emily followed.
Daniel caught up.
"She wouldn't."
Emily looked at him.
"Your mother slapped both of us tonight."
He had no reply.
They reached the office.
The drawer remained open.
The computer monitor glowed.
Daniel touched the mouse.
A control dashboard appeared.
DINING ROOM LIGHTS: MANUAL OFF.
Robert leaned closer.
"What time?"
9:27:14 PM.
Exactly when the envelope opened.
Emily turned toward Daniel.
"Who has access?"
"My account."
"Only you?"
"And my mother."
Robert laughed once without humor.
"Of course."
Emily moved toward the hallway.
"Where would she go?"
Daniel looked toward the far end of the second floor.
"My mother's suite."
Margaret maintained a bedroom in the house despite living with Robert at their townhouse downtown.
Emily had always found it strange.
Margaret claimed the room was for holidays.
Now Emily wondered what else it was for.
They crossed the hall.
Door locked.
Robert knocked.
"Margaret."
Silence.
He knocked harder.
"Open the door."
A sound came from inside.
A drawer closing.
Robert tried the handle again.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Mom."
No response.
Emily noticed a thin strip of light beneath the door.
Robert said, "If you destroy those documents, I swear to God."
Margaret's voice finally came through.
"They were stolen from me first."
Emily stepped closer.
"By my mother?"
Silence.
"Margaret."
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Margaret stood inside.
Her handbag rested on the bed.
The certified packet lay beside it.
Unburned.
Untorn.
Robert pushed past her and grabbed the papers.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Margaret stared at Emily.
"No. I finally understand exactly how far this woman intends to go."
Emily almost smiled.
"This woman."
"You have turned my husband against me. My son against me."
Daniel said, "Mom, stop."
She spun toward him.
"You stop."
Her voice cracked.
Everyone went quiet.
Margaret pointed at Emily.
"Do you know what your mother did to this family?"
Emily stepped into the room.
"Tell me."
Margaret's eyes filled with something that was not quite sadness.
"She threatened to take everything."
"Everything she owned?"
"Everything Robert built."
Robert said, "With her money."
Margaret turned.
"You built it."
"With her money."
"She gave you an investment."
"Which I failed to properly protect."
"Because you were my husband."
"That wasn't a reason. It was an excuse."
Margaret's face twisted.
For decades, she had apparently carried a version of the past in which Clara Bennett had invaded something that belonged to her.
Emily asked, "Why did my mother withdraw her claim?"
Margaret's eyes shifted.
Robert answered.
"That's what the trust agreement may explain."
He looked down at the pages.
Then frowned.
"What?"
Emily approached.
Robert flipped through the packet.
County certification.
Bank records.
Correspondence.
Trust agreement.
But something was missing.
"The original deed copy," he said.
Daniel looked through the stack.
"It was there downstairs."
Robert stared at Margaret.
She smiled faintly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Emily looked at the bed.
Handbag.
Blanket.
Pillows.
Then she noticed the fireplace.
Margaret's bedroom contained a decorative gas fireplace.
No ashes.
Nothing burned.
But beside it stood a tall ceramic Christmas arrangement.
Emily walked toward it.
Margaret moved suddenly.
"Don't touch that."
Everyone turned.
Emily reached behind the ceramic container.
Her fingers found paper.
She pulled out a folded document.
Margaret's face went rigid.
Robert whispered, "Jesus."
Emily opened it.
It was a photocopy of an older deed.
Clara Bennett's name.
Robert Hartwell's name.
But Margaret's name was absent.
Emily looked up.
"You weren't an owner."
Margaret's lips pressed together.
Robert read over Emily's shoulder.
"No."
He sounded stunned.
"I wasn't."
Emily turned.
"What?"
Robert pointed to the date.
"Look."
Emily did.
The deed was dated several months before Robert and Margaret's marriage.
Robert stared at the document as though seeing his own past for the first time.
"This wasn't the copy I remember."
Margaret said, "Because it was never valid."
Robert ignored her.
Emily looked at the legal description.
Then one phrase caught her attention.
SUBJECT TO BENEFICIAL INTEREST AGREEMENT ATTACHED AS SCHEDULE B.
She flipped the page.
No attachment.
"Where is Schedule B?"
Robert looked through the certified packet.
Nothing.
Margaret sat on the edge of the bed.
For the first time that night, she looked almost relieved.
"You don't have it."
Robert stared at her.
"You've seen it."
Margaret smiled.
"I didn't say that."
Emily understood immediately.
Everything they possessed tonight pointed toward the same missing document.
A document Clara had apparently fought over.
A document Margaret feared.
A document Robert had never seen.
Emily folded the deed.
"Then we find Schedule B."
Margaret's smile widened.
"You won't."
"Why?"
May you like
Margaret looked directly into Emily's eyes.
"Because your mother made sure nobody would."
