Chapter 8 - THE DEAD DRIVER
The driver had not killed himself.
Toxicology found a sedative.
The gun was wiped.
Somebody wanted the oldest available witness gone.
Owen checked estate logs.
Preston Hale visited Margaret at 2:15 a.m.
Three hours before Lily was put in the trash bin.
Margaret claimed they discussed wedding documents.
There was no wedding.
Only the marriage they planned for Daniel and Caroline after Maya disappeared.
"You had a replacement wife scheduled before you removed my actual wife."
Margaret snapped.
"Caroline is appropriate."
"Say what you mean."
She did.
She said Maya did not look like the Carter women.
Did not come from the right people.
Would never represent the family properly.
The racism was no longer hidden inside words like appropriate.
"Get out."
"You cannot remove me from my own estate."
"Actually, Arthur transferred the residence into the descendant trust before he died."
"And Lily is the senior descendant of Julian's branch."
The house Margaret treated as hers was partly controlled by the child she had thrown away.
Maya did not smile.
There was nothing funny about it.
Then Ortiz obtained Preston's office search warrant.
Inside a safe were two medical files.
JULIAN BROOKS.
LILY CARTER.
Julian's file contained prescription records he never received.
Lily's contained a proposed psychiatric evaluation for Maya and a pediatric safety report blaming Maya for "repeated environmental neglect."
All drafted before the trash-bin incident.
The lie existed before the event.
DANIEL CARTER - SUCCESSION.
It contained a life insurance policy.
Beneficiary:
Carter-Whitmore Family Foundation.
Effective date:
Saturday.
"Saturday is when Dad wanted me to announce the engagement."
"There is no engagement."
Rachel's face hardened.
"The policy assumes there will be one."
Then Owen noticed a medication order attached to the file.
Daniel's allergy medication.
New dosage.
May you like
Triple his normal amount.
Scheduled to begin Friday night.
