Chapter 4 - THE DEAD WOMAN WHO GUARANTEED A LOAN
By midnight, Dorothea had found four documents carrying my mother’s name after her death.
Guarantees.
Letters of support.
One property certification.
All connected to Whitfield Hospitality.
I felt physically sick.
“My mother hated Crispen’s business.”
Dorothea looked at me.
“She didn’t hate the business.”
“She called hotel development ‘perfume sprayed over debt.’”
“That sounds like June.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Then Dorothea became serious.
“She distrusted Crispen.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Your mother asked me to investigate him before your wedding.”
That hurt in a strange way.
Not because she investigated.
Because she never told me.
“What did you find?”
“Nothing criminal.”
“Then why didn’t she like him?”
“She believed he was ambitious in a way that required witnesses.”
I understood immediately.
Crispen loved being seen succeeding.
The right hotel.
The right table.
The right people hearing about his deals.
My mother despised performance.
“Did she try to stop the wedding?”
“No.”
Dorothea’s answer came quickly.
“She said you were thirty-four years old and entitled to make your own mistakes.”
That sounded exactly like June Bowman.
I stared at the forged guarantee.
“How did Crispen get these templates?”
Dorothea shook her head.
“Somebody gave him trust documents.”
“The folder.”
“Possibly.”
Victor interrupted.
“The woman.”
Celia.
We checked the exterior backup again.
This time Victor focused on her face.
When Celia arrived, she looked nervous.
When she left, she looked terrified.
Then we noticed something.
At 9:34, before the cameras were disabled, Celia opened the Bowman file in the kitchen and pointed to one page.
Crispen shook his head.
Celia pointed again.
Then she slapped him.
I stared.
“That does not look romantic.”
Victor said:
“No.”
I almost wished it did.
Betrayal would have been easier than conspiracy.
Then a new text arrived.
Unknown number.
ARTHAN, DO NOT GO INSIDE.
A second message followed.
CRISPEN KNOWS YOU CAME HOME EARLY.
My name was misspelled.
The third message corrected it.
ARDAN. SORRY.
Then:
HE HAS BEEN USING YOUR MOTHER’S NAME FOR YEARS.
I typed:
Celia?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Finally:
YES.
Before I could respond, another message came through.
I DID NOT SLEEP WITH YOUR HUSBAND.
I WAS TRYING TO GET THE ORIGINALS OUT OF THE HOUSE BEFORE HE DESTROYED THEM.
Then one last line.
May you like
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW.
CRISPEN IS NOT THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS.
