Chapter 5 - NINE DAYS EARLIER
I called the bank’s fraud department from George’s study and wrote down every answer.
The transfer had been made online from my account. The bank representative said someone had entered the correct password and a one-time code sent to my phone.
“My phone was with me at my sister’s house,” I said.
“Do you share access to your messages with another device?”
I thought of the tablet in my kitchen. Matthew had set it up for me the year before so I could see family photos on a larger screen. I had left it charging on the counter when I went to Louise’s.
I asked the bank to secure my account and investigate the transfer. Then I called Helen.
“Don’t accuse anyone until we know where it went,” she said. “Save the records. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
Matthew knocked on the study door twenty minutes later.
“Did the bank call you?” I asked.
He stopped.
That was all the answer I needed.
“Why did you take $8,400?”
“I was going to pay it back.”
“What did you use it for?”
He sat in George’s chair without asking. I hated how much that small thing bothered me.
“Our back rent. Moving costs. Some bills.”
“You had my number.”
“I know.”
“You were in my house. You used my tablet. You took money from my savings.”
Tears stood in his eyes. “Jess thought if we could get settled, I could tell you everything after Christmas.”
“Jess thought. What did you think?”
“I thought I could fix it before you found out.”
I wanted to reach across the desk and comfort him. I wanted to shake him. Both feelings made my chest ache.
“You need to give me records of where the money went,” I said. “Every dollar.”
“I will.”
“And you still have to leave.”
His face fell. “Even after I told you?”
“Especially after you told me.”
Jessica appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
Matthew looked at me. “I told her about the transfer.”
Her expression hardened. “You said we were handling it together.”
“We should have told Mom.”
“You told me it was your inheritance,” she snapped.
The room went still.
Matthew stood. “I never said the money was mine now.”
“You said she’d leave it to you.”
I looked from one of them to the other. “That was enough for you?”
Jessica folded her arms. “I knew you’d turn this into a crime.”
“I’m trying to find out what happened.”
Matthew’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and declined the call.
A second later, mine rang.
The number was unfamiliar. I answered on speaker.
“Mrs. Ellison?” a man said. “This is Daniel at Hearthstone. I’m calling to confirm our appointment tomorrow to discuss your home sale.”
May you like
Jessica reached for my phone.
I stepped away. “What appointment?”
