Chapter 3 - the man in the photograph)
Gavin Pike was easier to find than Robert expected.
Men who committed financial fraud often disappeared behind shell companies and rented offices.
Gavin simply opened a tax-preparation business under his middle name.
Eleanor found the address.
Robert went there alone.
The building stood beside a tire shop on Birch Street.
Robert parked across the road.
He did not go inside.
His doctor had warned him that stress could trigger another cardiac episode.
Robert ignored most medical advice, but he was not foolish enough to confront a stranger connected to forged documents without knowing what he was walking into.
So he waited.
At 2:17 p.m., Gavin Pike walked out.
Tall.
Thinning blond hair.
Tan jacket.
He lit a cigarette.
Robert took a photograph from inside his car.
At 2:25, another vehicle arrived.
Vanessa stepped out.
Robert forgot to breathe.
His daughter crossed the sidewalk.
Gavin dropped his cigarette.
He opened the office door for her.
Robert raised his phone.
His hands were shaking.
He took three photographs.
In the first, Vanessa was walking toward Gavin.
In the second, they were speaking.
In the third, Gavin handed Vanessa a brown document envelope.
Robert stared at the screen.
He wanted to believe there was another explanation.
Taxes.
Business paperwork.
A surprise.
Anything.
Then Daniel arrived.
He did not park outside.
He drove around the back of the building.
Robert waited.
Twenty-eight minutes later, Vanessa came out alone.
Gavin followed.
Daniel did not appear.
Robert drove home.
He did not remember most of the trip.
Margaret was in the garden when he returned.
She was kneeling beside the white rose bushes they had planted for their fortieth wedding anniversary.
Robert stood behind the window and watched her.
His entire life was in that garden.
Margaret.
The house.
The roses.
The woman who had believed in him when Hayes Home Supply was one rented warehouse and a checking account with eighty dollars in it.
He thought about telling her everything.
He almost did.
Then Vanessa called.
Robert answered from the study.
"Dad?"
"Yes."
"You sound tired."
"I am."
"You shouldn't be driving."
Robert looked at the photographs on his phone.
"Probably not."
"Daniel and I can help with things, you know."
"I'm aware."
"Mom said you're working on estate paperwork."
Robert said nothing.
Vanessa continued.
"I don't want you stressing yourself out."
"That's thoughtful."
"We just want to make sure everything is organized."
"Everything?"
"Accounts. Insurance. The house."
Robert's expression went still.
"The house?"
"In case Mom ever needs long-term care."
"Your mother is healthier than you are."
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"You know what I mean."
"No. Explain it."
Silence.
Then Vanessa sighed.
"Why are you being difficult?"
Robert looked at the photograph again.
"Maybe I'm old."
"Dad."
"Old people get difficult."
"That's not funny."
"I wasn't joking."
He ended the call.
Five minutes later, Daniel called.
Robert let it ring.
That night, Margaret noticed he barely ate.
"You hate the chicken?"
"No."
"You've moved the same carrot around your plate for ten minutes."
Robert put down his fork.
"Maggie."
She looked up.
For one second, he nearly told her.
Then the doorbell rang.
It was Grace Cole.
Vanessa and Daniel's seventeen-year-old daughter.
Grace entered carrying a backpack.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
Margaret smiled.
"Of course."
Robert noticed something in her face.
"Everything all right?"
Grace shrugged.
"Mom and Dad are fighting."
"About what?"
"Money."
Robert's hand stopped on the table.
Margaret frowned.
"Again?"
Grace nodded.
"Dad said something about Friday."
"What about Friday?" Robert asked.
Grace looked uncomfortable.
"I don't know."
"Think."
Margaret gave Robert a warning look.
"Don't interrogate her."
"I'm not."
Grace stared at the table.
"I heard Dad say, 'If Pike doesn't get paid Friday, we're finished.'"
Robert felt cold.
Margaret looked confused.
"Who's Pike?"
Grace shook her head.
"I don't know."
Robert did.
Grace added, "Then Mom said, 'My father has enough money to fix it.'"
Margaret laughed softly.
"Your mother says dramatic things when she's angry."
Robert did not laugh.
Grace looked at him.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes?"
"Are you going to give them money?"
Robert answered immediately.
"No."
Grace seemed relieved.
That frightened him too.
Later, after Margaret went upstairs, Robert sat with Grace in the living room.
"Have your parents asked you to sign anything lately?"
She blinked.
"No."
"Have they asked you for your Social Security number?"
Grace's face changed.
"Mom said she needed it for a college account."
"When?"
"Last week."
Robert closed his eyes.
The fraud was spreading.
He looked at his granddaughter.
"Grace, listen carefully."
"Okay."
"If your parents give you paperwork, you bring it to me or Grandma before you sign it."
"Why?"
"Because adults can make bad decisions."
"Are Mom and Dad in trouble?"
Robert looked toward the staircase.
He chose his words carefully.
"I think they are scared."
"Of what?"
Robert looked at her.
"Consequences."
The next morning Robert called Eleanor.
"Add Grace."
"To what?"
"Everything we are protecting."
Eleanor understood immediately.
Robert continued.
"And I want someone to identify exactly what Gavin Pike is doing for them."
"I know an investigator."
"Use him."
"Robert, this is getting expensive."
"I have money."
"I know."
May you like
Robert stared at the photograph of Vanessa and Gavin.
"Apparently, that's the problem."
