Chapter 4 - FOLLOW THE MONEY
By midnight, Detective Collins had two cases.
One concerned Lily.
The other concerned her inheritance.
Anna's family had left almost three million dollars in trust for our daughter. The money was Lily's future - school, medical care, housing. I served as trustee.
The next morning, financial-crimes investigator Ben Alvarez came to the hospital.
"Mr. Reed, look at these."
Fourteen withdrawals.
$18,500.
$27,000.
$41,200.
$84,000.
Each was labeled education, therapy, childcare, or medical consulting.
Each carried my electronic signature.
Each was fake.
Total missing: $612,400.
"How long?" I asked.
"Twenty-one months."
Almost exactly how long Michael had lived in my house.
"He had my passwords," I said. "After Anna died, I couldn't keep track of anything. He helped with bills."
Alvarez turned the screen.
One company appeared repeatedly.
MJM FAMILY SERVICES.
The company was registered to a nominee owner.
Evelyn Hart.
A second document showed a $390,000 line of credit opened against future trust distributions using forged consent.
More than a million dollars was exposed.
Then Anna's estate attorney, Margaret Klein, arrived carrying an old folder.
"Three days before Anna died, she amended Lily's trust."
She slid a page toward me.
Anna had removed Evelyn and Michael from every successor role.
A handwritten note was attached:
IF DANIEL IS EVER ACCUSED OF BEING UNFIT, DO NOT ASSUME THE ACCUSATION IS TRUE.
Below that:
IF THEY COME AFTER LILY, FOLLOW THE MONEY.
My phone rang before I could speak.
Police had found Michael's car at the airport.
May you like
The driver's door was open.
There was blood on the steering wheel.
