Chapter 6 - The Evidence in the Walls
Elliot increased security around the estate and arranged for Lucy to stay temporarily with Rebecca's family while the police investigated the attempted break-in.
Lucy protested at first.
“I don't want to leave you.”
“You're not being sent away,” Elliot assured her. “We're taking a short trip to a safe place while the adults fix a problem.”
“Will you come too?”
“Every day.”
He kept his promise.
During the next week, Elliot spent mornings with Lucy and afternoons working with Rebecca and the investigators.
The dining-room footage had already undermined Marissa's account of the broken plate. Now the attempted break-in suggested that someone was willing to intimidate the family to obtain the trust documents.
A forensic examination revealed that the intruder had tried to access the office's secondary storage cabinet.
The cabinet contained no cash, jewelry, or valuable artwork.
It held only old legal records.
The police also recovered a partial fingerprint from a door handle and footage of a vehicle leaving the property. Neither piece of evidence immediately identified the intruder, but both gave investigators new leads.
Meanwhile, the forensic accountant traced the suspicious payments.
A company controlled by Charles Voss had transferred $2.4 million to a consulting business associated with Marissa. The payments were described as fees for inheritance planning, but no legitimate services had been documented.
Another transfer had gone to a company that had provided maintenance for Caroline's vehicle.
That discovery was serious, but it was not conclusive.
The police reopened parts of the original accident investigation and requested the maintenance company's archived records.
Elliot struggled to sleep.
Every new fact raised another question about the woman he had buried and the years he had spent believing that her death was a terrible but ordinary tragedy.
One afternoon, Evelyn Price called Rebecca with news.
She had found a sealed envelope among her personal records.
Caroline had given it to her shortly before the accident and asked her to keep it safe if anything happened.
Evelyn had been afraid to release it because she had received threats after Caroline's death.
Now, after learning about the broken plate and the attempted break-in, she decided it was time.
The envelope contained a handwritten letter and a small digital recorder.
Caroline's letter was brief.
If Elliot ever learns the truth, please tell him I tried to protect him. I was not certain who was responsible for the financial fraud, and I did not want to accuse an innocent person. But I believe someone close to the investigation was passing information to Voss.
The recorder contains a conversation that may explain why.
Rebecca listened to the recording with Elliot and Nathan present.
Caroline's voice was clear.
She was speaking to a man whose identity was initially uncertain.
“You said the account was secure.”
“It was,” the man replied.
“Then how did Voss learn about the transfer?”
“I don't know.”
“You were the only person who had access.”
A long silence followed.
Then the man said, “You need to stop this. You have a baby on the way. You have a husband who doesn't understand what he's involved in.”
“Elliot has nothing to do with this.”
“He will if you keep digging.”
The recording ended.
Nathan looked stunned.
“I recognize that voice.”
“Whose is it?” Elliot asked.
Nathan swallowed.
“Daniel Mercer.”
They found Mercer three days later, living under his middle name in a small town in Vermont.
He agreed to speak only after Rebecca arranged legal representation and confirmed that he would not be pressured to make a public statement.
Mercer admitted that he had once provided information to Charles Voss. He claimed he had done so after Voss threatened to expose his involvement in an unrelated financial violation.
But he denied causing Caroline's accident.
“I made a terrible choice,” Mercer said. “I gave Voss access to documents Caroline was using. I thought he only wanted to protect his clients. By the time I understood what he intended, Caroline was dead.”
“Did you know Marissa?” Elliot asked.
“Yes. She handled communications for Voss. She was the person who told me what to send.”
“Why did you disappear?”
“Because I received a message telling me I would be blamed for everything if I ever spoke.”
Mercer provided emails and financial records. Some supported his account; others required independent verification.
He also identified a former security contractor who had allegedly helped Voss obtain information about Caroline's movements.
The police began interviewing everyone connected to the investigation.
For the first time, Elliot felt that the truth might be within reach.
Then Marissa made her next move.
She requested an emergency hearing, claiming Elliot's behavior had become increasingly paranoid and that Lucy needed protection from his obsession with his late wife's death.
She attached selected messages showing Elliot asking questions about old employees and financial records.
She omitted the threats against Lucy, the attempted break-in, and the evidence of the staged plate incident.
Rebecca read the filing twice.
“She is trying to turn your search for evidence into proof that you're unstable.”
“Can she win?”
“She can create uncertainty. That's why we need to keep our focus on Lucy and let the investigation proceed properly.”
The hearing was scheduled for Friday.
On Thursday night, Lucy called her father from Rebecca's guest room.
“Daddy, I remembered something.”
Elliot sat up straight.
“What is it?”
“The night Marissa showed me Mommy's picture, she was talking on the phone. She said, ‘Once the wedding is over, the girl won't be a problem anymore.’”
Elliot closed his eyes.
May you like
Then Lucy added a detail that made his blood run cold.
“She said the same thing about you.”
