Chapter 6 - THE OTHER PAGE
“What did she take?” Daniel asked.
Lily frowned, trying to remember. “A picture. The one with Grandpa and the lady from the store.”
Daniel knew the photograph. His father stood outside the first Mercer House showroom with a woman named Ruth Bell, who had helped him run it for nearly twenty years.
It seemed like an odd thing for Caroline to want.
“Did she say why?”
“No. She put it in her purse.”
Lily’s eyes grew heavy again. Daniel kissed her forehead and let her sleep.
In the hallway, Bennett was finishing her interview with Caroline. Daniel waited until Caroline left before telling the detective what Lily had said.
“Do you know why that photo matters?” Bennett asked.
“Not yet.”
Naomi answered Daniel’s call at one in the morning. She knew Ruth Bell. Ruth had retired years ago, but Naomi found her number in an old company directory.
Daniel waited until dawn to call.
Ruth picked up on the second ring. “Daniel? Is your dad all right?”
“He died eight years ago, Ruth.”
Silence. Then, softly, “Of course. I’m sorry. I saw your name and thought of the old days.”
Daniel told her about the photograph.
“Your father and I took plenty,” Ruth said. “Which one?”
“The one outside the first store.”
“Is there writing on the back?”
Daniel didn’t know. He had never removed it from the album.
Ruth breathed in sharply. “Come see me today.”
By morning, Caroline had given a statement to the hotel and to several guests. Lily had been excited, she said. Lily had run up the stairs despite being told to slow down.
Daniel’s phone filled with messages asking how Lily was. A few asked, carefully, whether he was sure about Caroline.
Naomi came to the hospital carrying a copy of another document. Victor had filed a request for the Monday board meeting at 11:06 p.m., less than an hour after Lily’s fall.
“He attached a doctor’s letter,” she said.
“What doctor?”
Naomi showed him.
The letter claimed Daniel had been showing signs of confusion, unpredictable anger, and paranoia. It recommended that the board consider temporary leadership during his evaluation.
At the bottom was the name of Daniel’s family physician.
Daniel called her office. She answered from home, furious.
“I didn’t write that letter,” she said. “And I can prove I wasn’t even in the country when it was signed.”
Naomi looked at the document again.
May you like
Someone had prepared to take Daniel’s company before Lily fell.
And after she fell, they had moved the meeting up.
