Chapter 4 - Victor Hale’s Dead WivesBy midnight, Detective Brooks had names.
By then, Leonard was gone.
His office computer had been wiped.
Two security-camera recorders had been removed from the wall.
The employee who embalmed Evelyn’s body was supposedly home sick, but when officers reached his apartment, neighbors said he had left the state two days earlier.
Daniel stood in the funeral home’s preparation room and stared at the stainless-steel table where his mother should have been embalmed.
Should have been.
That word haunted him.
If Leonard had followed normal procedure, Evelyn would not have survived.
She would have been injected with chemicals while still alive.
The thought made Daniel physically ill.
Detective Brooks noticed.
“She wasn’t embalmed,” she said.
Daniel turned.
“How do you know?”
“We checked.”
“Why?”
“That’s one of the questions Leonard Price needs to answer.”
Noah walked around the room.
“So he knew.”
“Likely.”
Daniel looked at the empty table.
“Then why put her in a coffin?”
Brooks crossed her arms.
“Maybe the plan wasn’t to bury her.”
Noah stopped.
“What?”
“Your mother’s burial was scheduled for tomorrow morning.”
Daniel nodded.
“But according to the cemetery, Victor changed the burial time yesterday.”
“To when?”
“Tonight. Ten thirty.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Cemeteries don’t bury people at ten thirty.”
“Exactly.”
Noah’s voice dropped.
“They were going to move her.”
Brooks nodded.
“That’s our working theory.”
A crime-scene technician entered carrying an evidence bag.
“We found this behind the cremation unit.”
Inside was a disposable syringe.
Another technician found a black duffel bag containing zip ties, two burner phones, and a hotel key card.
Room 417.
Riverstone Inn.
Police reached the hotel first.
Daniel and Noah were ordered to stay behind.
They didn’t.
By the time they arrived, three patrol cars filled the parking lot.
Detective Mills met them outside.
“You were told not to come.”
“Is Leonard here?” Daniel demanded.
“No.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“But someone was.”
Mills took them upstairs.
Room 417 smelled of bleach.
One chair had been bolted to the floor.
A medical IV pole stood beside the bed.
On the desk were photographs.
Dozens.
Evelyn walking to her car.
Evelyn having lunch.
Evelyn entering her attorney’s office.
Evelyn standing beside Daniel.
Evelyn hugging Noah.
There were photographs of Daniel too.
And Noah.
Noah picked up one taken outside his apartment.
“They were watching us.”
Brooks entered.
“Don’t touch anything.”
Noah slowly set it down.
Daniel noticed an open notebook.
Numbers filled the pages.
Dates.
Amounts.
Initials.
One line stood out.
E.C. — Phase 1 — $250,000.
E.C. — Transfer — $500,000.
E.C. — Final delivery — $2,000,000.
Daniel felt sick.
“Delivery?”
Brooks didn’t answer.
Another line read:
D.C. contingency.
Daniel pointed.
“That’s me.”
Brooks photographed it.
“Maybe.”
“What does contingency mean?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Noah had gone silent.
Daniel followed his gaze.
Pinned to the wall was a picture of their mother standing beside a woman neither brother recognized.
The woman looked about fifty.
Elegant.
Dark-haired.
A scar crossed her left eyebrow.
Noah removed his phone and photographed it.
“Who is she?”
Daniel didn’t know.
But Evelyn did.
Because when they returned to the hospital that evening, Evelyn was awake.
Weak.
Confused.
Terrified.
But awake.
Daniel sat beside her.
Noah stood on the opposite side.
“Mom?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My boys.”
Daniel leaned forward carefully and kissed her forehead.
“We thought we lost you.”
Evelyn squeezed his hand.
“You almost did.”
Noah’s jaw tightened.
“Victor did this?”
Fear flashed across her face.
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
She shut her eyes.
“Mom, police are looking for him.”
“That won’t be enough.”
Daniel glanced at Noah.
“What happened?”
Evelyn’s breathing quickened.
“He found out.”
“Found out what?”
She looked at Daniel.
“I was leaving him.”
Daniel sat back.
“You never said anything.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor had been stealing from the company for years.”
Daniel stared at her.
Evelyn Carter owned a controlling interest in Carter Advanced Systems, the technology firm founded by Daniel’s late father.
Victor had served as chief financial officer for six years.
“How much?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe twenty million. Maybe more.”
Noah swore under his breath.
“I hired a forensic accountant,” Evelyn continued. “Quietly. Two months ago.”
“And Victor discovered it?”
“Yes.”
“Leonard?”
Evelyn’s eyes darkened.
“Victor and Leonard grew up together. They told everyone they met five years ago. That was another lie.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Mom, there’s someone else.”
He showed her the photograph from the hotel.
The moment Evelyn saw the dark-haired woman, her monitor began beeping faster.
“No.”
“Who is she?”
Evelyn tried to push herself upright.
“No. No, she can’t be here.”
“Mom.”
“Where did you get that?”
“Victor’s hotel room.”
Her face had gone white.
“Daniel, listen carefully.”
“I’m listening.”
“That woman’s name is Celeste Rowan.”
Noah frowned.
“Who is she?”
Evelyn’s fingers tightened around Daniel’s hand.
“She was Victor’s wife.”
Silence.
Daniel blinked.
“What?”
“Before me.”
“He told us he’d never been married.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you meeting her?”
Evelyn looked toward the hospital-room door.
“Because six weeks ago, she contacted me.”
“What did she want?”
“To warn me.”
“About Victor?”
Evelyn nodded.
“She said Victor married women with money.”
Daniel felt his stomach twist.
“And?”
“He takes control of their finances.”
Noah whispered, “Then they die.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“Celeste was supposed to be dead.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
His mother continued.
“Victor told everyone she died in a boating accident twelve years ago.”
“But she’s alive.”
“Yes.”
“What did she tell you?”
Evelyn looked at both sons.
“She said I wasn’t his second wealthy wife.”
Daniel’s skin prickled.
“I was his fourth.”
The heart monitor continued its steady rhythm.
No one spoke.
May you like
Then Evelyn whispered:
“And according to Celeste, the other two women really are dead.”
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