Chapter 4: The Empty Accounts
By sunrise, my mother’s accounts had been frozen.
We were too late to stop every transfer.
Over the previous seven months, nearly four million dollars had been moved through a network of consulting companies, property accounts, and charitable foundations.
Most of the withdrawals were disguised as medical expenses.
One invoice claimed my mother had received private neurological treatment in Switzerland.
She had never left Massachusetts.
Another showed payments to an in-home rehabilitation company.
The address belonged to an abandoned warehouse in Providence.
The company was owned by a holding corporation.
That corporation was controlled by Daniel.
Celeste had used my mother’s credit cards to purchase jewelry, designer clothing, and furniture.
But those expenses were small compared with the property transactions.
My mother’s Concord home had been transferred to a trust called Ashford Heritage Holdings.
The signature appeared to be hers.
It was not.
The notary stamp belonged to a man named Peter Lawson, a former employee at Daniel’s firm.
Peter had disappeared three weeks earlier.
His apartment was empty.
His phone had been disconnected.
His car was found at Logan Airport.
Rebecca studied the records in silence.
“He ran,” I said.
“Or someone made it look like he ran.”
“You think Daniel killed him?”
“I think we should avoid theories until we have facts.”
Detective Bennett entered the conference room carrying a tablet.
“We found Celeste’s second phone.”
“Where?”
“Inside a bag of frozen vegetables.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
Celeste had hidden the phone in the basement freezer, wrapped in plastic.
The device contained messages between her and Daniel.
Most were careful.
A few were not.
One message from Celeste read:
Evelyn refused again. Rosa keeps watching.
Daniel had replied:
Then give Rosa a reason to quit.
Another conversation referred to Peter Lawson.
Celeste: Peter wants more money.
Daniel: He has already been paid.
Celeste: He says the signatures are too risky.
Daniel: I will handle him.
The last message mentioning Peter had been sent six days earlier.
Daniel: Lawson is no longer a problem.
Rebecca read the line twice.
“That could mean anything,” Detective Bennett said.
“It could,” Rebecca agreed. “But we need to find him.”
My phone rang.
It was Rosa.
Her voice sounded weak.
“Mr. Hale, someone came to my apartment.”
I stood.
“Are you there now?”
“No. My sister went to get clothes for me. The door was open. Everything had been searched.”
“Was anything stolen?”
“My old phone.”
The room became silent.
“Did the phone contain recordings?” Rebecca asked.
I put Rosa on speaker.
“Yes,” Rosa answered. “I recorded Mrs. Hale and Mr. Daniel several times.”
“Were the recordings backed up?”
“I sent them to an email account.”
“Can you access it?”
“I think so.”
“Do not try from the hospital network,” Rebecca said. “Someone may be monitoring your account. We’ll bring you a secure device.”
Rosa hesitated.
“There is something else.”
“What?” I asked.
“Mr. Daniel offered me money two months ago.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
“To do what?”
“To leave your mother alone in the house for one night.”
My skin turned cold.
“What night?”
“The night before Evelyn was supposed to sign the guardianship papers.”
“What did he say would happen?”
“He said I didn’t need to know.”
“And what did you do?”
“I told him no.”
May you like
Rosa’s voice broke.
“The next morning, someone loosened the bolts on my car tires.”
