Chapter 2 - The Man Inside My House
Irene froze.
Sarah screamed through the glass.
"Mom, get out!"
The voice behind Irene remained calm.
"Don't make this worse."
Irene recognized it.
Walter Hale.
Her husband's financial adviser.
She turned slowly.
Walter stood at the hallway entrance wearing khaki pants, a pale blue shirt, and the expression of a man arriving early for an appointment.
Except Irene had not invited him.
And Walter was holding Daniel's missing black notebook.
"How did you get inside?"
Walter's gaze dropped toward her phone.
"Put that down."
"No."
"Irene."
"How did you get inside?"
Outside, Dean began pounding the door again.
Walter looked irritated.
"Your daughter has already created enough attention."
Sarah shouted, "Don't listen to him!"
Irene's mind moved faster than her fear.
Walter had told her someone tried to access Daniel's old account.
Walter knew which accounts existed.
Walter knew which transfers had been frozen.
And Walter possessed an item taken from Irene's safe the night she was attacked.
"You've been working with Sarah."
"No."
Sarah screamed, "He's lying!"
Walter's eyes hardened.
"You need to stop talking, Sarah."
That confirmed something.
They knew each other.
More than they should.
Sirens sounded faintly in the distance.
Walter heard them too.
He took one step toward Irene.
"We have very little time."
Irene backed toward the locked door.
"Then start explaining."
Walter lifted the notebook.
"Daniel left information in here that was never meant to be found."
"My husband is dead."
"Yes."
"You handled his estate."
"Some of it."
"What does that mean?"
Walter sighed.
"It means Daniel wasn't as straightforward as you believed."
Sarah struck the glass.
"Mom, don't let him take that notebook!"
Walter turned toward her.
"You've caused enough damage."
"You told me the money was mine!"
Dean stared at Sarah.
"Wait. You know this guy?"
Sarah ignored him.
Walter's composure cracked.
"I told you to wait."
"You told me Dad hid money from me!"
"I told you nothing of the sort."
"You said the trust was fake!"
Irene's eyes moved between them.
Pieces began arranging themselves.
Walter had spoken to Sarah privately.
Sarah believed her father left hidden money.
She attacked Irene and opened the safe.
But Walter wanted the black notebook.
Maybe the cash had only been bait.
"You used her," Irene said.
Walter looked at her.
"Sarah makes her own decisions."
"Did you tell her what was in my safe?"
Silence.
"Did you?"
Walter glanced toward the approaching police lights outside.
"Daniel created an accounting problem years ago."
"What problem?"
"A substantial one."
"How substantial?"
"Millions."
Irene almost laughed because the number sounded absurd.
Daniel had owned a regional construction supply company.
They lived well.
But millions hidden somewhere?
"What are you talking about?"
Walter held up the notebook.
"Daniel tracked private transactions separately."
"Illegal transactions?"
Walter didn't answer.
Irene's stomach tightened.
Sarah shouted through the door.
"He's trying to scare you!"
Walter said, "I'm trying to protect you."
"By breaking into my house?"
"I didn't break in."
That sentence struck her.
"Then how?"
Walter reached into his pocket.
He produced a key.
An old brass key.
Irene recognized the small scratch along its edge.
Daniel's copy.
She had buried Daniel wearing his wedding ring.
But not his keys.
After the funeral, Walter had helped organize Daniel's office.
"You stole that."
Walter looked almost offended.
"I kept it."
"Why?"
"For the same reason Daniel kept the notebook."
"Which is?"
"Insurance."
Police cruisers stopped outside.
Sarah stepped backward from the door.
Dean raised both hands instinctively.
Walter turned toward the hallway.
Irene said, "Don't move."
He looked back.
She held the phone directly toward him.
"You are being recorded."
Walter smiled sadly.
"Then record this too."
He placed the notebook on the hallway table.
"Your husband was preparing to expose someone before he died."
Irene stopped.
"Who?"
Walter looked toward Sarah.
Sarah shook her head desperately.
"Walter, don't."
Irene whispered, "Who?"
Walter's attention returned to her.
"Someone Daniel believed had been stealing from the company for years."
A fist pounded the outside door.
"Police!"
Walter's voice dropped.
"Daniel wrote the name in that notebook."
Irene looked at it.
Sarah screamed, "Mom, don't open it!"
Police ordered Sarah and Dean away from the entrance.
Walter suddenly moved toward the back hall.
Irene grabbed the notebook.
"Stop!"
Walter disappeared around the corner.
Officers entered after Irene unlocked the front door.
Detective Reed arrived minutes later.
They searched every room.
Walter was gone.
The back patio door stood open.
There was no sign of forced entry.
Sarah and Dean sat separately on the curb.
When Reed questioned Sarah, she demanded a lawyer.
Dean did not.
He began talking almost immediately.
He claimed Sarah told him she was receiving an inheritance.
He claimed Sarah invited him to Cabo after "finally getting what her father owed her."
He claimed he knew nothing about Irene being attacked.
Then Reed showed him a photograph from Irene's kitchen after the assault.
Dean looked sick.
"She said her mom fell."
Irene heard that from the porch.
Sarah stared at the pavement.
"Dean," she warned.
He looked at her.
"You told me she fell."
Sarah said nothing.
Reed turned to Irene.
"Can I see the notebook?"
Irene looked down.
The cover was cracked black leather.
Daniel's initials had faded almost completely.
She had seen him use it hundreds of times.
Grocery notes.
Phone numbers.
Measurements.
She had never thought it mattered.
Now Walter had broken into her home for it.
Sarah had attacked her because of it.
And Daniel had apparently hidden something inside it.
Irene opened the first page.
Ordinary figures.
Dates.
Initials.
Pages of small handwritten entries.
Then she reached the back.
One page had been folded twice.
She unfolded it.
There was a list of transfers.
Seven transactions.
Each ended with the same initials.
S.M.
Sarah Mercer.
Irene's heart seemed to stop.
Sarah looked up from the curb.
She knew exactly what Irene had found.
"Mom."
Irene stared at her.
"These are your initials."
Sarah stood.
An officer immediately stopped her.
"Mom, listen to me."
"Why is your name in your father's records?"
"It's not what you think."
"Then tell me what it is."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time since returning, they looked genuine.
"Those weren't payments to me."
"Then who?"
Sarah looked toward Detective Reed.
Then at the surrounding officers.
Finally back at Irene.
"Dad used my name for an account."
Irene's skin went cold.
"Why?"
"Because he was hiding money."
"From whom?"
Sarah swallowed.
"Walter."
Reed stepped closer.
"How do you know that?"
Sarah closed her eyes.
"Because Dad told me three days before he died."
Irene felt the porch tilt beneath her.
"You saw your father three days before he died?"
Sarah nodded.
"You told me you hadn't spoken to him for weeks."
"I lied."
"Why?"
Sarah looked at the notebook.
"Because he made me promise."
"Promise what?"
Before Sarah answered, Reed's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
"Excuse me."
He walked a few feet away.
Irene watched his posture change.
"What is it?" she asked.
Reed ended the call.
His face had become grave.
"Walter Hale's car was found."
"Where?"
"At the marina."
"Was he there?"
Reed hesitated.
"No."
Irene waited.
Reed looked at the notebook in her hands.
"But police found something in the trunk."
He took a breath.
"A photograph of Daniel Mercer."
Sarah went white.
Irene stared at him.
May you like
Reed continued.
"The photograph was taken yesterday."
