Chapter 9 - The Empty Cottage
The next morning, Matthew drove me to Canandaigua Lake.
Nora came separately.
The moment I opened the cottage door, I understood how carefully Andrew had planned his second life.
The living room looked staged.
Not burglarized.
Not damaged.
Staged.
The antique writing desk was gone.
My grandmother’s cedar chest was gone.
Three paintings were gone.
The blue china my mother had given me after my grandmother died was gone.
Even the brass lamp that had sat beside the fireplace since I was a child had disappeared.
On the kitchen counter, however, sat two wine glasses.
One had a lipstick stain on the rim.
Serena’s presence had replaced pieces of my family.
I stood there until Nora touched my shoulder.
“Photograph everything.”
So I did.
Room by room.
Drawer by drawer.
Tom, the caretaker, arrived with his maintenance notebook.
Andrew had told him I wanted the cottage “modernized.”
He claimed we were preparing it for a possible sale.
I had never authorized a sale.
Tom showed us emails.
They had come from an address almost identical to mine.
Only one character was different.
The same trick used on the preliminary banking application.
The messages gave Andrew permission to remove “outdated personal items.”
I had written none of them.
Nora’s expression became colder with every page.
“Forward these to me.”
Tom nodded.
Then he remembered something.
“There was a realtor.”
I turned.
“What realtor?”
“Woman from a lake agency.”
“When?”
“Maybe three weeks ago.”
“Did she come inside?”
“Yes.”
My pulse accelerated.
Within an hour, Nora had contacted the agency.
The realtor, Patricia Wells, sounded horrified.
Andrew had introduced himself as the primary owner.
He told her his wife was a medical professional too busy to attend.
He provided copies of documents.
The realtor had prepared a preliminary market analysis.
She had not listed the property because one required authorization remained unsigned.
Mine.
Monday again.
Andrew had planned to get me to sign multiple papers.
The home equity documents.
Possibly cottage documents.
He had been constructing an entire financial exit while convincing Serena we were virtually divorced.
We inspected the bedroom last.
One closet contained women’s clothing.
Serena had already admitted keeping things there.
That hurt.
But it was not the worst discovery.
Inside the bedside drawer was a yellow legal pad.
Andrew had written a list.
Bank.
Cottage.
Claire leaves.
Mom stays.
Signatures.
Move Serena after Labor Day.
At the bottom, underlined twice, were four words.
Do not let Claire lawyer up.
Nora stared at it.
“That part did not go according to plan.”
I almost smiled.
Then Matthew called from downstairs.
“Claire, you need to see this.”
We found him beside the fireplace.
He had removed a loose panel behind the wood box.
Inside was a small lockbox.
The key was taped underneath.
I opened it.
There were cash receipts.
Pawn slips.
And photographs of several items missing from the cottage.
My grandmother’s jewelry appeared on one receipt.
Sold.
Another receipt showed a diamond bracelet I had believed was inside my home safe.
Sold.
May you like
Then I reached a receipt dated four months earlier.
At the top was Lorraine’s name.
