Chapter 6 - MY MOTHER HAD A PARTNER
I watched the kiss three times.
Not because I wanted to.
Because my brain refused to accept it.
Charles Fenwick was sixty-three.
My mother was sixty-one.
He had been married for thirty-eight years.
He had vacationed with my parents.
He had attended Christmas dinners at our house.
My father trusted him.
Apparently too much.
Marcus closed the laptop.
“We need Detective Ruiz.”
“No.”
“Austin.”
“I want to watch the rest first.”
“That may not be smart.”
“Neither was trusting my family.”
We continued.
The footage showed Fenwick visiting the house seven times over six weeks.
Always while I was away.
Sometimes Carla joined them.
Sometimes Mom and Fenwick were alone in my study for hours.
One recording had audio.
Carla paced near my desk.
“What if Austin finds out before the hearing?”
Fenwick sounded bored.
“He won’t.”
“He notices everything.”
Mom laughed.
“My son notices business. He doesn’t notice people.”
That hurt because it was partly true.
Fenwick poured himself whiskey from my cabinet.
“The wife is the real problem.”
I stopped breathing.
Mom replied, “I’m handling her.”
“How?”
“The medication keeps her foggy.”
Carla laughed.
“She walked into the pantry yesterday and forgot why she was there.”
My stomach turned.
On the recording, Fenwick didn’t laugh.
He looked annoyed.
“Don’t overdose her. We need her alive.”
I shut the laptop so hard Marcus jumped.
I stood.
The hospital hallway blurred.
“Austin.”
I walked toward the bathroom.
Marcus followed.
“I need a minute.”
“You need a lawyer and about ten detectives.”
I slammed both hands against the sink.
“They were drugging my pregnant wife in my house.”
“I know.”
“And I was shaking Fenwick’s hand at board meetings.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Self-hatred is useless right now.”
I looked at him through the mirror.
“What is useful?”
“Evidence.”
So we gave Ruiz everything.
She watched the clip once.
Then immediately called someone.
Within an hour, warrants were being prepared.
Fenwick’s office.
His home.
Several financial entities.
Raymond Pike’s office.
Ruiz warned me not to contact anyone.
I agreed.
Then my phone rang.
Fenwick.
Marcus shook his head.
“Don’t answer.”
I answered.
“Charles.”
“Austin.”
His voice was warm.
Almost fatherly.
“I heard there was some family trouble last night.”
“You heard quickly.”
“Your mother called my wife.”
Lie.
Mom was in custody.
Unless she had called before being arrested.
“I’m sorry about Irene.”
I said nothing.
Fenwick continued.
“Margaret can be impulsive.”
“Impulsive.”
“Yes.”
“She beat my pregnant wife.”
Silence.
Then he sighed.
“Austin, families do terrible things under financial stress.”
“What financial stress?”
Another pause.
“You should come see me.”
“Why?”
“Because there are things your father did before he died that you don’t understand.”
I felt my pulse quicken.
“What things?”
“Come alone.”
“Charles—”
“And don’t involve the police.”
Then he said the sentence that changed the entire case.
“Your father knew your mother was taking money.”
I stood completely still.
Fenwick lowered his voice.
“He was going to expose her.”
The line went dead.
Marcus stared at me.
“What did he say?”
I looked toward Irene’s room.
“He said Dad knew.”
“About the theft?”
“Yes.”
Marcus frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Why?”
“Because your father died five years ago.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
If Mom had been stealing before Dad died, this conspiracy hadn’t started months ago.
It had started years ago.
And suddenly I remembered the last argument I ever heard between my parents.
Dad shouting inside his study.
Mom crying.
May you like
Then something breaking.
Three days later, my father died in what everyone called a heart attack.
