Chapter 3 - The Sheriff at MidnightSomeone wanted the evidence goneSheriff Parker entered with two deputies.
He was a broad-shouldered man in his sixties who had known my father for decades.
He looked at me.
Then at Wade.
Then at the open desk.
His expression tightened.
“I was hoping I wouldn't find you in here.”
I laughed once.
“You were hoping?”
He sighed.
“I received a complaint alleging the unauthorized removal of confidential business records.”
“From who?”
He didn't answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
“Suzanne?”
“Her attorney.”
Wade stepped forward.
“Under what authority?”
Parker handed him the warrant.
Wade scanned it.
“This warrant is for financial records related to Carter Heritage Holdings.”
I stared at the sheriff.
“Why would anyone claim we stole those records?”
“Because someone reported you did.”
I almost laughed again.
“From my own father's office?”
Parker looked uncomfortable.
“Evelyn, I don't know what is happening inside your family.”
“I do.”
I held up the forged document.
“Someone has been using my name.”
He frowned.
“Where did you get that?”
“It's in the title file.”
“Give it to me.”
Wade stepped in.
“No.”
Parker looked at him.
“I need to secure evidence.”
“You're not taking original documents without a proper chain-of-custody procedure.”
For the first time, I realized how serious my husband was.
Wade had never raised his voice.
He didn't need to.
The sheriff stared at him for several seconds.
Then he looked at me.
“Your husband is right.”
One deputy looked surprised.
Parker continued.
“Photographs first. Copies before originals. Two witnesses.”
He glanced at the folder.
“Who found these?”
“I did.”
“Did anyone else know they were here?”
I thought about it.
“No.”
Then I remembered Mom standing beneath the umbrella.
The way her expression changed when Dale mentioned the title.
“Yes,” I said.
“I think my mother knew.”
Parker's face hardened.
“Then we have a larger problem.”
“Why?”
He looked at the financial documents.
“Because your mother filed a complaint this morning claiming your father left debts that exceeded the ranch's value.”
I stared at him.
“That isn't true.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Parker took a breath.
“Because I saw the probate inventory.”
My stomach turned.
“The ranch was appraised at over seventeen million.”
I nodded.
“And the debts?”
“Two point one million.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“Your mother declared the estate insolvent.”
Silence.
“That makes no sense.”
Parker nodded.
“It doesn't.”
He pointed at the black folder.
“And if those documents are authentic, someone has been moving assets out of the estate before probate.”
Wade looked at me.
“Mom.”
I couldn't say it.
Not yet.
Parker crouched beside the desk.
“There is something else.”
He pointed at a narrow compartment under the drawer.
“That's newer than the rest.”
He was right.
Wade pried it open.
A tiny digital recorder sat inside.
I froze.
Dad had recorded something.
Parker looked at me.
“Do you want to hear it?”
I nodded.
Wade pressed play.
Static crackled.
Then Dad's voice filled the room.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
“If you're hearing this, I failed to stop them myself.”
My knees weakened.
Dad continued.
“Lois thinks Suzanne is the one controlling everything.”
My mother's name landed like a stone.
“But Suzanne believes Lois will protect her.”
A pause.
Then Dad spoke the words that made my skin crawl.
“Neither one of them understands the third person involved.”
I looked at Wade.
“Third person?”
Dad continued.
“He is not family. He never will be. But he has been inside our books for years.”
A sharp breath escaped me.
Who was he?
Dad's voice became quieter.
“Evelyn, do not trust the buyer.”
Dale Ferris.
My heart pounded.
Then Dad said:
“The sixteen-million-dollar offer is not an acquisition.”
Static.
A click.
Then the recording stopped.
Wade tried replaying it.
Nothing.
The battery was dead.
Parker stood.
“Who was your father's accountant?”
“Martin Cole.”
Parker's eyes changed.
“You know him?”
“I know of him.”
He exchanged a look with his deputy.
“What?”
Parker rubbed his jaw.
“Martin Cole disappeared three months ago.”
The room felt colder.
“Disappeared?”
“Left his office on a Tuesday morning. Never came back.”
Wade said quietly, “Did anyone investigate?”
“Yes.”
“Did they find anything?”
Parker shook his head.
“His vehicle was discovered near the county line.”
I stared at the recorder.
Dad had mentioned a third person inside the books.
And the man who understood those books was now missing.
Parker gathered his paperwork.
“I'll make copies tonight.”
Before leaving, he turned toward me.
“Evelyn, whatever this is, stop treating it like a family argument.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“You don't.”
He pointed at the documents.
“People don't forge land titles because they want an apology.”
He turned toward the door.
“They do it because millions are at stake.”
After he left, Wade closed the door.
I stood alone with my father's desk.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice whispered:
May you like
“Your father didn't die when you think he did.”
The line went dead.
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