Chapter 7 - The Burner Phone
The phone had no passcode.
Maybe they thought hiding it was enough.
It contained only seven contacts, all saved as initials.
M.
O.
JR.
BANK.
NOTARY.
I opened the messages between M and O.
Mauricio and Ofelia.
The first one I read made my hands shake.
SHE'LL SIGN IF SHE THINKS IT'S JUST THE MOVE-OUT INVENTORY.
Ofelia had replied:
MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T READ EVERY PAGE LIKE HER FATHER USED TO.
Another message was dated two weeks earlier.
IF SHE REFUSES, USE THE DIVORCE THREAT. SHE ALWAYS BACKS DOWN WHEN YOU MAKE HER FEEL GUILTY.
Camila swore under her breath.
Ofelia stood across the room, watching us.
"Those could have been written by anyone," she said.
"On your phone?"
"Not mine."
The next thread was with JR.
Javier Rivas.
Mauricio had written:
THE APARTMENT IS CLEAN. TITLE IS SEPARATE PROPERTY BUT WE HAVE A WAY AROUND IT.
Rivas replied:
I DON'T CARE HOW. I WANT SECURITY BY FRIDAY.
Then came the message that made my stomach drop.
IF SHE STILL WON'T SIGN, BRING THE OTHER PAPERS. THE NOTARY STAMP IS READY.
Elena told me not to touch anything else.
We photographed the screen, powered the phone off, and placed it in an evidence bag.
Ofelia laughed.
"You think a cheap phone is going to destroy my son?"
"No," I said. "He did that himself."
Her smile disappeared.
As we left, the property manager stopped me in the lobby.
"There's something else," he said. "Your husband came here last week. He removed a piece of furniture from storage."
"What furniture?"
May you like
He showed me the inventory log.
My father's old desk.
