Chapter 12 - The Woman Who Sold Her Son's LiePaul Mercer arrived at the police station with a lawyer.
He was a broad-shouldered man in his fifties, wearing a gray suit and carrying himself with the confidence of someone accustomed to making other people nervous.
He did not look like a man who had suddenly developed a conscience.
He looked like a man who had realized he might lose more money by staying silent.
Detective Reynolds interviewed him separately. Grace and I waited in a conference room while officers compared his account with the financial records recovered from my father's safe.
After nearly two hours, Reynolds came to see us.
“Mercer says Andrew owed him money,” he explained. “He also claims Barbara introduced them and helped arrange the property transaction.”
“How much money?” I asked.
“Just over eight hundred thousand dollars, according to the initial records. We're verifying the total.”
I stared at him.
Andrew had told me we were financially comfortable. He had complained about expenses, certainly, but he had never suggested that he was facing a debt of that size.
“Why did Mercer agree to buy the house?”
“He says he was promised clear title and believed the power of attorney was legitimate when the transaction was first proposed. He now admits he failed to investigate it properly.”
“Does he claim he knew about Katie?”
“His account is that he learned about the collision from the news. We're checking his communications before and after the incident.”
Reynolds continued.
“Mercer has handed over messages between himself and Andrew. Some discuss the sale. Others refer to the disputed documents.”
“Does he have anything that proves Barbara forged my signature?”
“He has messages in which Barbara discusses obtaining your authorization. We need to establish precisely what those messages refer to and compare them with the document evidence.”
I thought of the blue folder.
“Did Barbara know about the forged loan agreement?”
“Mercer says she was involved in the financial arrangements. We're investigating whether she knew the documents were fraudulent.”
For the first time, the shape of the scheme became clear.
Andrew had borrowed heavily from Mercer. He had apparently used false financial documents in an attempt to make the debt appear secured against my property. When the loans came due, a sale of the house could have generated the money needed to pay Mercer and keep the fraud from being discovered.
Barbara had helped facilitate the transaction.
But there was still a question I could not answer.
Why had Andrew taken Katie with him that afternoon?
Why had he made her get out of the car?
And why had he left her beside a road after the collision?
Reynolds said the criminal investigation was addressing those questions separately from the financial case.
Later that afternoon, Barbara arrived at the station accompanied by her lawyer.
She had apparently come voluntarily after learning that Mercer was cooperating.
I did not know she was there until Reynolds entered our waiting room.
“We have recovered the original power of attorney,” he said. “The document examiner has identified inconsistencies that strongly indicate the signature is not yours. The investigation is continuing, and we are also examining the notarial seal.”
“Can they arrest her?”
“We are reviewing the evidence with the prosecutors. We need to establish who prepared the document, who submitted it, and who knew it was false.”
He lowered his voice.
“Mercer has also described a meeting in which Barbara allegedly told him the house was already secured.”
My hands went cold.
“Was Andrew there?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say anything about Katie?”
“Mercer recalls Andrew mentioning that his daughter had seen documents she shouldn't have seen. He claims the conversation was brief, and he left before learning anything further.”
I looked through the glass partition into the interview area.
Barbara sat straight-backed in her chair, her hands folded neatly over her handbag.
She looked composed.
She looked innocent.
She looked like the woman who had called me in the hospital and demanded that I abandon my injured daughter to cook a birthday dinner.
Then an officer entered the room carrying a sealed evidence envelope.
Inside was the original power of attorney, recovered from the property company's records, together with the certification and witness pages.
The officer placed the documents on the table.
Barbara glanced down.
Her face changed.
It was not a subtle expression. Her mouth opened slightly, and the color drained from her cheeks.
She stared at the notarial certification as though she had been confronted by a ghost.
Reynolds noticed immediately.
“Mrs. Reed, do you recognize this document?”
Barbara did not answer.
He turned to the page bearing her initials in the submission record.
“Can you explain why your contact information was used to submit it?”
“I didn't prepare that document,” she said quickly.
“Did you submit it?”
“No.”
“Did you arrange for anyone to submit it on your behalf?”
Her eyes shifted toward the doorway.
For the first time, Barbara looked genuinely frightened.
Then she whispered, “Andrew told me the original was gone.”
The room became silent.
Reynolds leaned forward.
“What original?”
Barbara pressed her lips together.
She had already said too much.
He waited several seconds before asking again.
“Mrs. Reed, what original are you referring to?”
May you like
She stared at the table.
And in that moment, the carefully constructed story she had spent months protecting began to collapse.
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