Chapter 7 - Money With Lily's Name on It
Daniel had always told me that the money Julia left Lily was untouched.
Julia, Lily's mother, died in a highway collision when Lily was two. A portion of the settlement had been placed in an account Daniel controlled as custodian for his daughter. I had helped gather the original papers. I remembered the amount almost exactly: ninety-four thousand dollars.
Ortiz asked Daniel to bring the account records.
The balance was six thousand, two hundred and nineteen dollars.
“I didn't spend eighty-eight thousand dollars,” he said.
“You authorized some of the transfers,” the bank investigator replied.
Daniel recognized one. Months earlier, when the furnace failed, he had approved a withdrawal. He had promised himself he would put the money back. He hadn't.
The other transfers were labeled educational support, behavioral counseling, and family stabilization. Most went to a company called Fresh Start Family Services.
Renée Bell was its registered owner.
Daniel shook his head. “Vanessa said insurance covered counseling.”
“Then why was your daughter's money paying for it?” Ortiz asked.
He had no answer. Vanessa had kept the banking app on his phone, saying she handled household paperwork better than he did. Every time he handed over his device, he had been giving her another chance to use his credentials.
That did not explain away his responsibility. He knew it, and for once he said so.
“I should have checked.”
At my house, Lily asked whether she was allowed to use the blue crayons. When I told her she could use any color, she sat motionless for a full minute.
It was the smallest choice imaginable. She wasn't used to having one.
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Later that night, Ortiz called. Financial investigators had identified a large transfer to Renée dated the morning before the kitchen incident. Its payment note read: RELOCATION—LILY.
The same day, Vanessa had booked two airline tickets under names that were not Lily's.
