Chapter 13 - Arthur's Last Evening
Arthur Mercer died of a heart attack at seventy-one. I'd believed he was alone when it happened, closing the office after a long day. Ryan said that wasn't true.
"Mom was there," he told me over the phone. "They were fighting about the trust. Dad said Lily would have money for school, health care, whatever she needed. Mom wanted him to put me in charge."
"Did he change anything?"
"No. That's why she hated it."
Arthur's estate papers were finalized months later. His original instructions named Judith as the independent trustee and kept Ryan and Diane from handling the principal. Arthur also left a letter with Judith explaining his choice. Naomi requested a copy through the proper estate channels.
Ryan said Diane had taken a folder of draft changes from Arthur's office after his death. "She said Dad wanted the family to manage its own affairs."
"Did she forge his signature?"
"I never watched her sign it," he said. "I saw the pages afterward."
He was giving me pieces, always stopping just short of admitting what he had done. I could hear a car indicator clicking in the background.
"Where are you?"
"Driving. I need to see Lily."
"Your visit is scheduled for Wednesday. Go through the supervisor."
"You don't understand. Keller called in the debt. Mom says once the court hears those documents, everything will be okay."
"What documents?"
The call ended.
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Twenty minutes later, Lily's daycare director phoned me. A man claiming to be her father was at the front desk demanding to take her home. He carried a copy of the temporary court order, but the line requiring supervised contact had been covered with correction tape.
The director had refused to release her. Ryan was still there, pounding on the locked office door.
