Chapter 9 - THE MEETING
Nathan showed the message to Diane and the police.
The address led to an empty office building on the edge of town. Nathan agreed to meet Peter there while officers waited nearby. He hated leaving the girls again, even for an hour. Rachel told them where he was going and when he expected to return.
“Will you call?” Emma asked.
“Yes. I’ll call when I get there.”
He did.
Peter waited on the second floor, standing beside Claire’s wooden letter box. He wore the same calm expression he used in board meetings.
“You brought people,” Peter said.
Nathan stayed near the doorway. “Of course I did.”
“I figured. The box is yours.”
“Then step away from it.”
Peter ran a hand across the lid. “You know, I spent years keeping your life running. Every flight, every account, every call you didn’t want to take.”
“You moved money from my daughters’ trust.”
“I moved money where I thought you’d never notice.”
Nathan said nothing.
Peter’s smile faded. “Vanessa was easier. She wanted parties. I paid for them. I told her the girls could stay out of sight while I handled the household.”
“She fed them moldy bread.”
“I wasn’t there last night.”
“You knew enough to use their house.”
Peter looked toward the windows. “I’m giving back the letters. I want one thing from you. Tell the company I acted alone with the accounts, and leave Vanessa out of it.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows where the rest of the money went.”
The office door opened behind Nathan. Two officers stepped in.
Peter did not run. He put both hands where they could see them.
As they took him downstairs, he turned back.
“Ask Vanessa about the safe in the nursery.”
Nathan brought the letter box home to Rachel’s house. He checked the envelopes before putting it on a high shelf. All sixty were there.
Then he called Vanessa.
For a long time, she did not answer. When she finally picked up, Nathan asked about the nursery safe.
May you like
Her voice dropped.
“I can explain what’s inside,” she said. “But the girls must never see it.”
