Chapter 4
And Margaret would eventually tell her everything.
“She kept me on a leash with information,” Carolyn said. “Every time I threatened to leave, she gave me one more piece.”
“Why didn’t you go to police?” Daniel asked.
“Because what did I have? Old cash receipts? Half a story? A birth certificate with no proof of how I ended up with Evelyn? Margaret told me Laura had abandoned me and Thomas had d/i/ed.”
“But you knew I was your brother.”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“And you said nothing.”
“I wanted to tell you a thousand times.”
“You came to Christmas.”
“I know.”
“You stood beside me at my wedding.”
“I know.”
“You knew.”
Carolyn began crying.
“Yes.”
Daniel turned away.
I watched his shoulders shake.
He had lost a son.
Found a sister.
Discovered his father was not his father.
Learned his biological father might still be alive.
Grief had opened one door, and behind it seemed to be an entire house filled with lies.
“Why did you take the ledger?” I asked.
Carolyn went silent.
Then:
“Because Margaret was going to destroy it.”
“How did you know?”
“I overheard her speaking to Leonard Pierce earlier that day. She told him she had records that could never be found if the family turned against her.”
“That was before dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell Daniel?”
“I tried.”
Daniel turned back.
“What?”
“I called you at 6:17.”
Daniel pulled out his phone.
He searched.
There it was.
One missed call from Carolyn.
“I was driving,” he whispered.
“I left a message.”
He checked voicemail.
Nothing.
“Margaret knew my phone password,” Carolyn said. “I think she deleted it when I arrived.”
She had planned to retrieve the ledger, photograph it, replace it and send the evidence anonymously to police.
But when she entered the study, she heard Margaret shouting in the kitchen.
Then she heard me scream.
Carolyn froze.
By the time she reached the hallway, paramedics were arriving.
She panicked.
She took the ledger and left.
“Why Denver?” Detective Morris asked after we transferred the call to her.
“To meet Thomas.”
“How did you locate him?”
“He located me.”
That was the next shock.
May you like
Thomas Brennan had been watching Margaret too.
For decades.
