Chapter 7 - THE FILE THAT DISAPPEARED AFTER THE FUNERAL
Charles Whitmore had taken documents from my husband's office while I was planning his funeral.
The realization made my hands go cold.
For nine years, I had trusted Charles with one of Meridian's most important divisions.
Now I wondered whether he'd spent those years hiding the very misconduct Daniel had discovered.
The following morning was Christmas Day.
Instead of opening presents, I sat at my kitchen table with Margaret Collins and attorney Rebecca Sloan.
Rachel remained upstairs, exhausted after a sleepless night.
Margaret spread several financial reports across the table.
“Evelyn, the suspicious payments began shortly before Daniel's death.”
“How much?”
“Approximately four hundred thousand dollars in the earliest records. The transfers expanded over time.”
I stared at the numbers.
“And nobody noticed?”
“Some entries were buried inside legitimate project expenses. Others appear to have been concealed using false vendors.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“We need to distinguish what the records establish from what we suspect. The evidence supports a serious investigation.”
I nodded.
“Do it properly.”
Margaret pointed to another document.
“There's something else.”
She showed me a vendor registration.
Whitmore Strategic Holdings had been incorporated eighteen months earlier.
But another company, Whitmore Industrial Consulting, had received payments for almost nine years.
The registered agent was Diane Whitmore.
I looked up sharply.
“Diane?”
Margaret nodded.
“And the company used an address connected to Charles' department.”
I remembered Diane's expression when Charles read the email at the party.
She hadn't simply been shocked that I was wealthy.
She had been terrified that I was asking questions.
Rebecca studied the documents.
“There's enough here to warrant independent examination and potential referral to law enforcement.”
I looked toward the living room.
Daniel's photograph stood on the mantel.
He was holding seven-year-old Rachel on his shoulders.
I whispered, “You knew, didn't you?”
Margaret followed my gaze.
“We don't know what Daniel discovered.”
Then her phone rang.
She listened for several seconds.
Her expression changed.
“Evelyn, you need to hear this.”
She put the call on speaker.
A former Meridian employee named Thomas Keller spoke nervously.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“I worked in the finance department when your husband was alive.”
I sat straighter.
“What do you know?”
“Daniel asked me to make copies of several payment records. He said he suspected someone inside Meridian was stealing.”
My heart pounded.
“Did he name Charles?”
“Yes.”
Silence filled the kitchen.
Then Thomas continued.
“The day before your husband died, he told me he was going to confront Charles.”
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What happened?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Charles came to the office that evening.”
“And?”
“Your husband ordered everyone to leave.”
I felt cold.
Thomas's voice trembled.
“Mrs. Carter, I was the last employee in the parking lot.”
I swallowed.
“What did you see?”
“A black SUV pulled up outside the building.”
“Who was driving?”
There was a long pause.
May you like
Then Thomas whispered:
“Diane Whitmore.”
