Chapter 5 - THE MAN ACROSS THE STREET
The police moved quickly.
Two officers went outside.
The SUV was gone.
But Helen found something else.
A traffic camera had captured the vehicle.
The plate was registered to a private security company.
“Who hired them?” I asked.
Helen checked.
“Your uncle Richard.”
My mother immediately began shaking.
“Richard wouldn't hurt anyone.”
I looked at her.
“You've been protecting him for years.”
She cried.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“He threatened me.”
The room fell silent.
Teresa finally began talking.
She told us that after my father's death, Richard threatened to expose Teresa's own financial crimes.
So she helped him.
At first, she thought it would be temporary.
Then the money became addictive.
The expensive dinners.
The vacations.
The clothes.
The feeling of having control.
Eventually, Richard controlled her.
And when I married Amy, he saw another opportunity.
My wife had unknowingly become the one person who could interfere with their plan.
Because Amy had noticed the financial irregularities.
She had asked Teresa where the $3,000 went.
She had asked why the household bills didn't match.
She had questioned why our mortgage statements looked strange.
So Teresa began isolating her.
Calling her lazy.
Calling her unstable.
Convincing relatives she was difficult.
Then they turned the birthday party into a trap.
If Amy broke down publicly, they would use it against her.
If I defended her, they would accuse me of abandoning my family.
If we left, they would claim we had abandoned the house.
It had all been carefully designed.
I looked at Amy.
“You knew something was wrong.”
She nodded.
“I just didn't know how wrong.”
Then she reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I found this three weeks ago.”
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of my father.
He was standing beside a woman I had never seen before.
On the back, he had written:
Ask her what happened the night before I died.
Helen examined the photograph.
“This could be important.”
“Who is she?”
Amy turned the photograph over again.
There was another name written beneath the message.
Evelyn Parker.
Helen immediately recognized it.
“That's not just a random woman.”
“What is she?”
“A former accountant for your father's company.”
Betsy gasped.
“I thought she disappeared.”
Helen looked at me.
“She didn't disappear.”
“Then where is she?”
Helen pulled out her phone.
“Living in Portland.”
My mother suddenly spoke.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Teresa's face had gone pale.
“You cannot contact her.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows what Richard did.”
I stepped closer.
“What did Richard do?”
My mother began to cry.
“The night before your father died…”
She stopped.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Richard tried to kill him.”
