Chapter 9 - The Father's Story)
Claire thought she had become impossible to surprise.
She was wrong.
Robert sat in the interview room while Bell stood across from him.
Claire watched from behind the glass.
Sophie remained with another agent elsewhere in the building.
Margaret had been separated from Robert.
For the first time, husband and wife could not coordinate their stories.
Bell placed the photograph of Daniel on the table.
"You said you were going to meet your son."
Robert looked at it.
"Yes."
"You knew he survived."
"I learned later."
"When?"
"Seven weeks after the funeral."
"How?"
"He contacted me."
Claire closed her eyes.
Robert had known for over a year.
Bell continued.
"Why didn't you tell Claire?"
"Daniel ordered me not to."
"Robert," Bell said quietly, "your credibility is not strong enough for that sentence."
Robert smiled.
"Then listen to the recording."
"What recording?"
"My watch."
Bell stared.
Robert had been searched.
The watch was already in evidence.
An analyst retrieved its storage.
There were three audio files.
The newest was from that morning.
Robert's voice:
"I'm here."
Another male voice:
"Did Bell get Orion?"
Robert:
"Yes."
Male voice:
"Then don't go home."
Robert:
"I need to get Margaret."
Male voice:
"Margaret made her choice."
Robert:
"And Sophie?"
Silence.
Then:
"Keep Claire with Bell until I contact you."
The recording ended.
Claire's hands became cold.
The second voice was distorted.
But familiar.
Painfully familiar.
Daniel.
Bell played it again.
Then again.
Claire knew the rhythm of his speech.
The slight pause before Sophie's name.
It sounded like her husband.
Bell entered the observation room.
"You don't have to listen again."
"Is it him?"
"We need voice analysis."
"It's him."
Bell did not contradict her.
Claire looked through the glass.
"Robert has been speaking to Daniel."
"Apparently."
"So who's lying now?"
"Possibly everyone."
Claire laughed without humor.
"Helpful."
Bell returned to the interview.
"Where were you supposed to meet Daniel?"
Robert looked toward the mirrored glass.
"He knew Claire would be watching."
Bell said nothing.
Robert continued.
"Claire, Daniel told me you would find the storage unit."
She could hear him through the speaker.
Robert stared directly at the glass.
"He said once you did, you would start asking the right questions."
Claire entered the room before Bell could stop her.
"What right questions?"
Robert looked at her.
"The first is why Daniel chose me."
"You stole from our daughter."
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Claire stopped.
Robert did not deny it.
"I moved money."
"Why?"
"Because I was told to."
"By whom?"
Robert looked at Bell.
"No."
Claire leaned toward him.
"You don't get to protect anyone anymore."
Robert's face hardened.
"You think I'm protecting them?"
"Then what are you doing?"
"Protecting Sophie."
Claire almost struck the table.
"Margaret stole her dog and threatened her."
"I didn't know about the dinner."
"But you watched."
Robert looked away.
That was answer enough.
Claire felt disgust.
"You watched an eleven-year-old believe her puppy had been killed."
Robert whispered, "Margaret went too far."
"You sat there."
"I needed to know what Sophie remembered."
Claire stared.
"The key."
"The ledger."
"You were using her."
"Yes."
Another immediate admission.
It was somehow worse than denial.
Bell sat.
"Start at the beginning."
Robert was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke.
Twenty-three years earlier, Hart Fiduciary Services began handling probate accounts for a network of law firms.
One firm referred unusually large numbers of cases.
Clients with no nearby relatives.
Children with inherited property.
Families dealing with sudden deaths.
Robert eventually discovered that some identities continued to be used after estates were supposedly closed.
He confronted the law firm.
Instead of ending the relationship, he joined it.
At first, he told himself it was paperwork.
Then shell companies.
Then diverted trusts.
Then forged guardianships.
By the time Daniel joined the company, Robert was trapped.
"Trapped?" Claire said. "You were wealthy."
Robert met her eyes.
"Both can be true."
"Not the way you mean it."
He accepted that.
Daniel discovered irregularities two years before his death.
He confronted Robert.
Robert lied.
Daniel kept digging.
Eventually he found the red ledger.
"Who runs it?" Bell asked.
Robert did not answer.
Bell leaned forward.
"You don't leave this room until you give me something better."
Robert looked at Claire.
"Daniel calls them the Circle."
Bell's expression did not change.
"Names."
"I never knew all of them."
"Names you knew."
Robert hesitated.
Then he whispered.
"Judge Malcolm Reeves."
Bell became still.
Claire noticed.
"Who is that?"
Bell did not answer.
Robert smiled grimly.
"Now you understand."
Bell stood.
Robert continued.
"Reeves approved dozens of guardianships connected to our accounts. His daughter works in federal contracting. His brother spent twenty years in financial crimes."
Claire looked at Bell.
"Why does that matter?"
Bell stared at Robert.
Robert answered for him.
"Because Marcus Bell spent twelve years working for Malcolm Reeves."
The room went silent.
Claire slowly turned toward Bell.
"Is that true?"
May you like
Bell's face gave nothing away.
Then he said, "Yes."
