Chapter 4 - The Call to Grandma Lorraine
Lucas called Natalie immediately.
"What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it says on the page."
"Why would anyone create a guardianship arrangement triggered by me not returning from a business trip?"
"I don't know."
"Is it legitimate?"
"Parts of it appear improperly executed."
"That's not what I asked."
"I'm not going to tell you more until I've verified the source."
Lucas rubbed his forehead.
"Could Sabrina do this without me?"
"Not lawfully in the way this document seems to suggest."
"Then why does it exist?"
"That's what we need to establish."
Lucas looked at Gracie.
She was watching cartoons with the volume low.
"Natalie, somebody photographed my daughter through her bedroom window."
"What?"
He sent the photograph.
Natalie called him back thirty seconds later.
"Contact the authorities handling the matter. Now."
"I already preserved everything."
"Good. And don't go home alone."
Lucas didn't.
That afternoon, investigators spoke separately with him and Gracie.
Lucas didn't coach her.
He didn't tell her what to say.
He sat outside and waited.
When Gracie emerged, she immediately reached for his hand.
"Can we get ice cream?"
Lucas nearly cried.
"Absolutely."
They went to a small shop three blocks away.
Gracie chose strawberry.
Lucas ordered coffee.
Halfway through her cone, she asked, "Dad, why did Grandma say you weren't coming home?"
Lucas set down his cup.
"When did she say that?"
"The day before you came home."
"Who was she talking to?"
"Mom."
"What exactly did she say?"
Gracie stared at her ice cream.
"She said maybe it would be easier if you stayed away."
Lucas said nothing.
"Then Mom cried."
That surprised him.
"Sabrina cried?"
Gracie nodded.
"Mom said, 'I can't do this anymore.'"
Lucas's anger suddenly gained another dimension.
Fear.
Not fear of Sabrina.
Fear that he didn't understand what was happening.
Maybe Sabrina wasn't the only person driving this.
Maybe Lorraine had been pushing her.
Maybe the mysterious man mattered.
That evening, Lorraine called again.
Lucas answered.
"Where is my granddaughter?"
"Safe."
"You need to bring her home."
"No."
"You cannot keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Punishing Sabrina."
"This isn't about punishment."
"You've always done this, Lucas."
He frowned.
"Done what?"
"Acted like everything could be solved by collecting facts."
"Facts are useful."
"Families aren't courtrooms."
"Then stop talking like you're defending yourself."
Silence.
Lucas continued.
"Who was the man in my house three weeks ago?"
Lorraine didn't answer.
"Dark jacket. Glasses. Carrying a folder."
Still nothing.
"Who was he?"
Lorraine's voice dropped.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
Lucas stood.
"Then explain it."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"You need to stop digging."
Lucas almost laughed.
"You told the wrong father that."
"Lucas."
"Who was he?"
Lorraine whispered a name.
"Peter Vale."
Lucas waited.
Nothing.
"Who is Peter Vale?"
"An old acquaintance."
"What was he doing in my daughter's bedroom?"
"He wasn't."
"I have a photograph."
Lorraine inhaled sharply.
That was all Lucas needed.
She hadn't known about the photograph.
"Where did you get it?"
"Why does that matter?"
"Lucas, listen to me. Mrs. Gable doesn't understand what she saw."
"You know about the envelope."
Another silence.
Lucas stood completely still.
"Did you send it?"
"No."
"Did Sabrina?"
"No."
"Then who did?"
Lorraine's answer came slowly.
"Probably Peter."
Lucas's grip tightened around the phone.
"Why?"
"Because he wants everyone frightened."
"Why?"
"So nobody asks where the paperwork came from."
Lucas felt the puzzle shift again.
"What paperwork?"
"You already know."
"The guardianship packet?"
Lorraine didn't answer.
"Why does it say the arrangement begins if I don't return from Pittsburgh?"
"Because that wasn't the original document."
Lucas froze.
"What?"
"Someone changed it."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then tell me the truth."
Lorraine started crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
The exhausted crying of someone whose secret had become heavier than she could carry.
"I thought I was helping Sabrina."
"How?"
"She was overwhelmed."
"By Gracie?"
"By everything."
Lucas waited.
"She told me your marriage was failing. She said you were constantly traveling. She said she was afraid you'd leave and take Gracie."
"So you created guardianship papers?"
"Temporary papers."
"Without telling me?"
"They were never supposed to be used unless both of you agreed."
"Then Peter Vale changed them?"
"I think so."
"Why?"
Lorraine didn't answer.
"Why, Lorraine?"
"Because Sabrina owed him money."
Lucas stared ahead.
"What?"
"Not gambling. Nothing like that."
"Then what?"
"She invested."
"In what?"
"A development project."
"How much?"
Lorraine named the amount.
Lucas sat down.
It was enormous.
"Where did she get that kind of money?"
Another silence.
Lucas suddenly knew.
"From us?"
"Lucas—"
"Did she take money from our accounts?"
"She believed she'd replace it before you noticed."
His stomach turned.
"Peter arranged the investment?"
"Yes."
"And it failed?"
"Yes."
"Then what does Gracie have to do with any of this?"
Lorraine began crying harder.
"I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
"I swear."
Lucas heard movement on Lorraine's end.
A door.
Then Lorraine stopped speaking.
"Who just came in?"
No answer.
"Lorraine?"
A man's voice sounded faintly in the background.
"Give me the phone."
Lucas stood.
"Lorraine, who's there?"
The line went dead.
Lucas immediately called back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
He contacted the appropriate authorities and reported what had happened.
Then he called Mrs. Gable.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Lucas's unease deepened.
He opened the security application connected to Mrs. Gable's camera—the temporary access she had given him earlier.
Her front porch was empty.
Then movement appeared at the edge of the frame.
A man in a dark jacket approached her door.
Glasses.
Folder under one arm.
Peter Vale.
He raised his hand and knocked.
The door opened.
May you like
But Mrs. Gable wasn't the person standing behind it.
Sabrina was.
