Chapter 6 - The Woman in Dad's PhotographThe missing witnessJulian Mercer was ninety-one.
He had thin silver hair and hands that trembled when he lifted his coffee.
But his eyes were sharp.
He looked at me for nearly a minute before saying:
“Henry told me you would come eventually.”
My throat tightened.
“You knew?”
“I helped him prepare.”
“For what?”
“The day your family turned against you.”
I sat across from him.
Wade remained beside me.
Julian opened a drawer and pulled out an old photograph.
Dad stood in front of the ranch.
Beside him was a woman I didn't recognize.
“Who is she?”
Julian watched my face.
“Her name is Clara Bennett.”
“What does she have to do with my father?”
“Everything.”
I took the photograph.
Clara looked young.
Maybe thirty.
She was holding a baby.
Julian pointed to the child.
“That is your mother.”
My body went still.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“My mother was born in 1949.”
Julian nodded.
“And that photograph was taken in 1946.”
I stared.
“You're saying Clara is my grandmother?”
“No.”
He pointed at the baby.
“I am saying Clara was the woman who raised your mother before she disappeared.”
I looked at Wade.
Julian continued.
“Your grandmother was not the woman Lois claimed.”
The room blurred.
“Then who was she?”
“A tenant farmer's daughter.”
“And Clara?”
“Your father's first love.”
The story sounded impossible.
Julian smiled sadly.
“Families hide strange things when money becomes involved.”
He opened another file.
“Your father discovered your mother's real history while researching the ranch trust.”
“What does her history have to do with the property?”
“Clara owned land bordering Carter Ridge.”
I frowned.
“How much?”
“Two hundred acres.”
“Where are they now?”
Julian looked at me.
“They became part of your family's ranch.”
“How?”
“Through a transfer.”
“By whom?”
“Lois.”
I froze.
“She inherited Clara's land?”
“No.”
Julian's voice dropped.
“She forged Clara's signature.”
My stomach turned.
This wasn't new.
The pattern had existed for decades.
Julian continued.
“Your father discovered the fraud twenty years ago.”
“Then why didn't he expose Mom?”
“Because by then, he believed Suzanne was already involved.”
I closed my eyes.
“How?”
“Your father found copies of Suzanne's financial records.”
Julian leaned closer.
“She had access to Lois's accounts.”
I whispered, “They were working together.”
“For years.”
I looked at the photograph.
The woman beside Dad.
Clara.
Why was Dad standing with her?
Julian answered before I asked.
“She came back.”
“When?”
“The year before your father died.”
“Why?”
“To demand her land back.”
My pulse raced.
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
“Like Martin Cole.”
Julian's expression changed.
“Yes.”
I sat up.
“You think they're connected?”
“I know they are.”
He reached into another drawer.
He removed a cassette tape.
“Henry gave me this.”
I stared.
“Why didn't you give it to the police?”
“Because he told me to give it only to you.”
He inserted the cassette.
Dad's voice emerged.
“I know what Lois did.”
Static.
“She believes I never found the second ledger.”
Another pause.
“I found it.”
My heart pounded.
Then Dad whispered:
“Martin found it too.”
The tape crackled.
“That's why he had to disappear.”
I stopped breathing.
Wade leaned forward.
Then Dad said something that changed everything.
“The person funding the sale is not Lois.”
Julian paused the tape.
I stared at him.
“Who is it?”
Julian looked toward the window.
“That's what your father was afraid to tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because the money came from someone you know.”
He pressed play.
Dad's voice returned.
“If anything happens to me, the money trail leads back to…”
The tape cut out.
I stared at the machine.
“Back to who?”
Julian looked at me.
Then he said a name I had not heard in twenty years.
“Your brother.”
I froze.
“I don't have a brother.”
May you like
Julian's face was grim.
“That's what your mother wanted you to believe.”
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