Chapter 16 - The Call to a Twelve-Year-Old
Miles took Marcus's phone and played the recording through the conference-room speakers.
Martin's voice was unmistakable.
"Your mother is confused, son. Adults sometimes tell stories when they're scared."
Marcus answered, "Don't call me son."
Martin continued.
"There are papers that belong to me. A little key. If you give them back, your mother keeps her job and nobody goes to court over your family."
"What papers?"
"The ones your father stole."
Marcus said, "My dad is dead."
Then Martin made the mistake that broke him.
"Caleb Bennett wasn't your father."
Grace covered her mouth.
Martin, standing twenty feet away from us now, looked at the carpet.
On the recording, twelve-year-old Marcus went silent for six full seconds.
Then he asked, "Who is?"
Martin replied, "That depends on whether you're smart enough to help me."
The recording ended.
Even Martin's lawyer, who had arrived during playback, looked disturbed.
Police entered moments later.
Martin was not arrested for murder. We did not yet have proof of that.
Vanessa was arrested that night after the recovered video was turned over.
The video called it something else.
I visited Eleanor the next morning.
"It's over," I told her.
My mother shook her head.
"No. Leonard is still free."
Leonard Sterling had not returned home.
His driver had found his car abandoned near Lake Travis.
No return address.
Inside was the missing page nine from Eleanor's draft.
YOU HAVE THE WRONG ORIGINAL.
Beneath it was a photocopy of another share agreement.
This one said Caleb never owned twelve percent.
He owned twenty-four.
May you like
Half of Cross Technologies' early voting block had been taken from him.
And the witness signature at the bottom belonged to Leonard Sterling.
