Chapter 4 - SOMEBODY WAS WATCHING
Daniel locked every door in the house.
Claire called the private investigator.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
“What’s his name?” Daniel asked.
“Evan Brooks.”
“How long have you used him?”
“Two months.”
“You trust him?”
“I trusted him enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Claire shot him a look.
“You think I’m enjoying this?”
“I think I found out in one day that my brother may have stolen seven million dollars and my wife has been running her own investigation behind my back.”
“I was trying to get proof.”
“You should have come to me.”
“And what would you have done?”
Daniel opened his mouth.
Claire stepped closer.
“What would you have done, Daniel?”
He didn’t answer.
“You would have called Marcus.”
“I would have asked him questions.”
“Exactly.”
“He’s my brother.”
“And that is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
The words landed hard.
Daniel looked away.
Claire’s voice softened.
“You always think you can fix him.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is.”
She counted on her fingers.
“The DUI when he was twenty-five. The gambling debt at thirty. The employee complaint in Denver. The fake expense reports.”
Daniel stared at her.
“He paid that money back.”
“Because your father forced him to.”
“You don’t know everything.”
“I know you’ve spent fifteen years cleaning up his messes.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
Claire pushed the folder toward him.
“And this mess is bigger.”
Daniel called Elena.
Within an hour, she and Thomas were sitting in the Caldwell kitchen.
Elena reviewed Claire’s records.
“You did good work.”
Claire gave her a tired look.
“I’d prefer to have been wrong.”
Thomas pointed to a company name.
“Northline Ventures.”
Claire nodded.
“Marcus owns twenty percent through another LLC.”
Thomas looked at Daniel.
“You know about that?”
“No.”
Elena flipped pages.
“And Summit Ridge?”
“No.”
“Blue Harbor Holdings?”
“No.”
Thomas leaned back.
“Then your brother has been building a private network.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“How long?”
“At least eighteen months.”
Claire went quiet.
Elena noticed.
“What?”
Claire stared at a line in her notes.
“Evan found something two days ago.”
“What?”
“He said one of the shell companies was paying a Sterling employee every month.”
“Who?”
“He wouldn’t tell me over the phone.”
“Why not?”
“He said he wanted to verify it.”
Elena reached for her phone.
“We need to locate him.”
Twenty minutes later, Elena stood by the window.
Her expression had changed.
“What?”
She looked at Claire.
“Your investigator’s car was found this morning.”
Claire stood slowly.
“Where?”
“Near Gary, Indiana.”
Daniel felt his skin go cold.
“Was he in it?”
“No.”
Claire exhaled.
Then Elena added, “But there was blood on the driver’s seat.”
Nobody spoke.
Daniel looked at Claire.
She looked terrified.
His phone buzzed.
Marcus.
Daniel almost ignored it.
Then Marcus texted.
DINNER TONIGHT?
May you like
JUST YOU AND ME.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CLAIRE.
