Chapter 8 - PATRICIA'S PARTNER
Detective Brooks obtained permission to search Richard's property.
By noon, they found the first piece of evidence.
A locked filing cabinet.
Inside were copies of Emily's medical records.
Prenatal appointments.
Ultrasound reports.
Prescription information.
Even the date of her expected delivery.
Cole stared at the files.
“Why did he have these?”
Brooks didn't answer.
Not yet.
Then they found a second folder.
CAROL BENNETT.
Addresses.
Employment records.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
Twenty years of surveillance.
Carol sat down when she saw it.
“He watched me.”
Emily looked sick.
Brooks continued searching.
Behind the cabinet was a small safe.
Inside were three flash drives.
The first contained copies of old hospital records.
The second contained footage from Cole and Emily's house.
The third changed the investigation.
There were recordings of Richard arguing with Patricia.
The final recording had been made eight months earlier.
Patricia's voice was unmistakable.
“You promised this would never come back to us.”
Richard answered.
“Carol hired someone.”
“Then stop her.”
“I tried.”
“You always try.”
Patricia sounded furious.
“That's why we're still cleaning up your mistakes twenty-eight years later.”
Richard lowered his voice.
“Emily is pregnant.”
Silence.
Then Patricia laughed.
“That makes things easier.”
Cole stopped the recording.
Emily stared at him.
“Play it.”
“Emily.”
“Play it.”
He did.
Richard's voice returned.
“Don't even think about it.”
Patricia answered.
“You're the trustee.”
“She is my daughter.”
“Biologically, she's Carol's.”
“She is my daughter.”
Patricia laughed again.
“You didn't care about biology when you took her.”
Then came a sound.
A door closing.
A third voice entered the recording.
Male.
Unknown.
“Are we doing this or not?”
Cole looked toward Brooks.
“Who is that?”
She shook her head.
The recording continued.
Patricia said one name.
“Victor.”
Emily whispered.
“Victor Shaw.”
Cole looked at her.
“You know him?”
“My father's attorney.”
Brooks immediately stood.
Within an hour, they had enough to start asking questions.
Victor Shaw had represented Richard for seventeen years.
He had also drafted the trust amendments.
More importantly, he had handled Patricia Hale's estate after her death.
Brooks called his office.
No answer.
They went there.
Empty.
His assistant hadn't seen him since the previous evening.
Then Ruiz called.
Victor's car had been located at a private airfield.
Cole's stomach dropped.
Emily looked at him.
“He's running.”
Brooks grabbed her coat.
“Maybe.”
Cole looked toward the recording.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
“He isn't running from us.”
Brooks frowned.
“What makes you think that?”
Cole replayed Richard's warning.
Take Emily somewhere safe.
Then he looked at the hidden-camera footage.
“He knows we found something.”
Emily stared at him.
May you like
Cole's expression hardened.
“And if Victor knows too, he isn't leaving until he gets whatever he thinks can still protect him.”
