Chapter 10 - The Desperate Deal
By Tuesday afternoon, the crematorium had completed its work.
I picked up the simple, black plastic urn containing Aaron’s ashes, walked out to my car, and placed it unceremoniously on the passenger floorboard. There was no poetry in it. No grand orchestral music. Just three pounds of gray ash representing eleven wasted years.
As I pulled out of the parking facility, a silver sedan swerved into my path, cutting me off.
Elena jumped out of the driver’s side.
Her mascara was smeared across her pale face, her hair tangled in the wind. She ran to my driver-side window and banged on the glass with both fists, desperate and frantic.
I cracked the window two inches, keeping the door locked. “Move your car, Elena, or I’ll ram it.”
“Claire, please! Stop! You don’t understand!” she begged, gasping for breath. “They’re locking me out! Denise and Craig went to the apartment this morning with a locksmith! They took Aaron’s safe, his watch collection, and all the cash from the bedroom!”
“Take it up with the police,” I said coldly. “It’s your apartment, isn't it?”
“The lease was in Aaron’s name! The landlord is terminating it because of the death!” Tears streamed down her cheeks, pooling at her chin. “The life insurance claim got flagged! The insurance company won’t pay out because Aaron died under suspicious circumstances pending the toxicology report!”
My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “What did you say?”
“The toxicology report,” Elena whispered, her voice trembling violently as she pressed her forehead against the glass. “Aaron didn't have a normal heart attack, Claire. The doctors at the hospital didn't tell you everything because Craig intercepted the medical examiner.”
“Elena, back away from my car.”
“He wasn't sick!” she cried out, her eyes wild with panic. “The night he died, Craig came over to the apartment around eight o'clock. Craig brought him a sports drink from the gym. Aaron drank it, and forty minutes later, his heart gave out! Craig told me to call 911 and say it was sudden cardiac arrest from running!”
May you like
My heart hammered against my ribs like a battering ram. “Why would Craig do that?”
Elena swallowed hard, her chest heaving. “Because Aaron wasn't going to give Craig the logistics company shares. Aaron was going to cash them out to buy our house. Craig knew Aaron was broke, Claire. Craig knew you were the only one with any real money!”
