Chapter 9 - The Shredder
I called the police before I called David.
Officer Malik Chen met me at the house twenty-two minutes later.
By then Angela was gone.
David opened the door in sweatpants and acted offended.
“This is my home too.”
“The office contains my personal legal records,” I said.
“You’re really bringing cops into this?”
“You brought forged court papers into it.”
His face changed.
Officer Chen noticed.
“What papers?”
David looked at me.
“Rebecca is under stress.”
I almost smiled.
“You should save that line for Monday.”
The shredder basket was half full.
Chen would not let me dig through it until he photographed the room.
Then we spread the strips across the desk.
Most were copies.
One piece carried the words MESA RIDGE OPTION.
Another showed $750,000.
A third showed a wiring destination.
RED OAK PROJECT SERVICES.
Angela’s shell company.
David folded his arms.
“You don’t understand the transaction.”
“Then explain it.”
“It was temporary financing.”
“Using my land?”
“Our land.”
“No.”
The word came out flat.
“My mother’s land. My trust. My name.”
His jaw tightened.
“For eighteen years I paid for this marriage too.”
“And for seventeen years you paid for Tyler.”
Everything stopped.
David’s eyes widened.
I had not planned to say it.
But once it was out, I was glad.
He sat down slowly.
“Who told you?”
That was his second confession without saying the words.
Officer Chen looked between us.
“Who is Tyler?”
“My best friend’s son,” I said. “And apparently my husband’s.”
David covered his face.
Then Chen’s radio crackled.
A patrol unit had stopped Angela three blocks away.
May you like
In her trunk they had found a portable document scanner, two notary seals, and a locked metal cash box.
The cash box had my mother’s name engraved on it.
