Chapter 8 - the camera ethan forgot)
The video began at 11:43 p.m.
Grace had installed a small security camera inside a decorative clock in Ethan's home office.
The image was grainy but clear enough.
Ethan entered first.
Captain Raymond Doyle followed.
Then Charles Carrington.
Robert stopped the video.
Nobody spoke.
Three men.
Together.
The night was six weeks before Grace died.
Robert pressed play.
The camera recorded without sound for the first thirty seconds.
Then audio activated.
Ethan poured drinks.
Charles paced near the desk.
Doyle shut the curtains.
Their conversation was fragmented because Ethan played music in the room.
But several sentences were unmistakable.
Charles said:
"She has copies."
Ethan answered:
"I'll handle Grace."
Doyle said:
"You said that last month."
Charles turned toward Ethan.
"If she turns the financial records over, all of us have exposure."
Robert's hands shook.
Martin paused the recording.
"This is conspiracy evidence."
"To commit murder?"
"Not yet."
They continued.
Ethan complained that Grace was watching him.
Doyle said he could monitor whether she contacted police.
Charles said the trust needed to be handled before "the family situation changed."
Then Ethan asked a question.
"What about the girls?"
Charles answered:
"If you keep them, the trust stays simple."
Ethan laughed.
"I'm not raising three kids alone."
Charles looked at him.
"Then make sure custody becomes contested."
Robert felt sick.
The plan had existed before Grace died.
But the most important section came three minutes later.
Ethan asked:
"And Bell?"
Charles replied:
"Bell handles his part. You don't contact him again."
Doyle said:
"No direct communication."
The video ended shortly after.
Detective Jennings watched the file twice.
Then she called the district attorney.
By midnight, warrants were being prepared.
But Charles moved first.
His office was empty when investigators arrived.
His home was empty too.
Lydia could not reach him.
Captain Doyle was already missing.
Dr. Nathan Bell had disappeared from his apartment.
Three men connected to Grace's fear were now running.
Only Ethan remained.
Police went to his home.
He was gone.
Vanessa was gone too.
Robert immediately checked the girls' rooms.
All three were safe.
He doubled the security around the house.
At two in the morning, Sophia came downstairs.
"You think Dad will come here."
Robert did not lie.
"Maybe."
"He's not brave."
Robert looked at her.
"What makes you say that?"
"He always makes other people do things."
Sophia had noticed what the adults had missed.
Ethan had participated.
But someone else had designed the system.
The money.
The insurance.
The trust.
The corrupt police connection.
Dr. Bell.
Charles understood all of those worlds.
Ethan understood only himself.
Robert suddenly remembered Charles's warning.
Be careful with Lydia.
Maybe it was not merely an attempt to redirect suspicion.
Maybe Charles believed Lydia possessed something dangerous.
Robert called her.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
He drove to Lydia's house with Detective Jennings.
The front door was open.
Inside, furniture had been overturned.
A lamp was broken.
Gardenias lay scattered across the floor.
"Lydia?"
No answer.
Jennings drew her weapon.
They searched the house.
Empty.
In the kitchen, Robert found Lydia's phone beneath a chair.
The last outgoing call had been made twenty-three minutes earlier.
To Sophia.
Robert immediately called his granddaughter.
She answered.
"Grandpa?"
"Did Lydia call you?"
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
Sophia hesitated.
"She said she was sorry."
"What else?"
"She said Mom gave her something the night she died."
Robert's heart pounded.
"What?"
"She wouldn't tell me."
"Anything else?"
Sophia's voice became frightened.
"She said Uncle Charles had found out."
Robert looked toward the open back door.
A car had left tire marks in the wet grass.
May you like
Lydia had finally admitted she still possessed something Grace gave her.
And Charles had come to collect it.
