Chapter 11 - THE REPORT WE COULD NO LONGER AVOID
Daniel wanted Vanessa out of the house that afternoon.
Marissa stopped him.
“You want lawful,” she said. “Not satisfying.”
He hated the distinction.
He needed it.
The police already had Eleanor’s statement and the stair video.
The bank had opened a fraud investigation.
Adult Protective Services had scheduled an interview.
Marissa arranged for a family-law attorney, Leah Stanton, to advise Daniel separately about the marriage.
By Friday, Vanessa had retained counsel of her own.
That changed the tone immediately.
Her texts became shorter.
More careful.
I would like access to clothing and personal items.
I deny harming Eleanor.
I will communicate through counsel regarding finances.
There were no apologies.
No threats.
No references to Paige.
Daniel almost preferred the earlier messages.
At least they sounded like the woman he knew.
Paige stayed with Eleanor in a two-bedroom hotel suite.
Daniel stayed in a second room across the hall.
He could have afforded any hotel in Chicago.
Eleanor complained about the price of the Hampton Inn.
“Two hundred and nine dollars for a room facing a parking lot.”
“Mom.”
“I’m just saying.”
“You used to spend that much on my school shoes.”
“You had terrible feet.”
Paige laughed for the first time in days.
The sound startled all three of them.
For half a minute, they were simply a family eating takeout sandwiches.
Then Eleanor’s phone rang.
Her sister Ruth.
Eleanor looked at the screen and let it stop.
Daniel noticed.
“You’ve ignored her three times.”
“She worries.”
“She’s your sister.”
“She also talks too much.”
“Mom.”
Eleanor sighed and answered.
The conversation lasted four minutes.
When she hung up, her face had changed.
“What?”
“Ruth called Renee.”
Daniel frowned.
Vanessa’s older sister.
“Why?”
“I called Renee in October.”
Paige looked up.
“You did?”
Eleanor nodded.
“I asked her to talk to Vanessa.”
“About the money?”
“About everything.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did Renee say?”
Eleanor looked ashamed.
“She told me to stop provoking her.”
Paige’s mouth fell open.
“She knew?”
“Not all of it.”
“How much?”
“I said Vanessa was taking my card and making me do chores when my hands hurt.”
Daniel stood.
“And Renee told you to stop provoking her?”
“She said Vanessa was under terrible pressure.”
“Of course.”
“Daniel.”
“No.”
He paced toward the window.
“She knew an elderly woman was being financially controlled, and her advice was be nicer?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“People hear what they’re prepared to hear.”
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He almost ignored it.
Then answered.
“Daniel Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Lena Ortiz with Naperville Police.”
He stepped into the hallway.
“Hi.”
“I’ve reviewed the initial report and some of the video files.”
Daniel waited.
“I need to be clear,” Ortiz said. “This process may take time. The financial allegations involve multiple accounts, and we need original records.”
“I understand.”
“Your mother’s willing to cooperate?”
“Yes.”
“And Paige Keller?”
Daniel looked through the hotel-room doorway.
Paige was sitting beside Eleanor.
“Yes.”
“I’ll need to interview her separately.”
“Okay.”
“One other issue.”
“What?”
“The HELOC application.”
Daniel’s grip tightened.
“The bank contacted us?”
“Not yet. Your attorney mentioned it in supplemental material. If you’re alleging identity theft or forgery, make sure the bank preserves the application data.”
“They are.”
“Good.”
Ortiz paused.
“Mr. Mercer, do not confront your wife about evidence we haven’t secured.”
“I won’t.”
“People delete things when they feel cornered.”
“She already deleted things.”
“Exactly.”
After the call, Daniel went back inside.
Paige looked at him.
“Detective?”
“Yes.”
Her face tightened.
“Do I have to talk to her?”
“No one is going to drag you into a room.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Daniel sat opposite her.
“You’re afraid of what happens if you tell the truth.”
Paige nodded.
“She’ll know I saved everything.”
“She probably already knows.”
Paige looked at her hands.
“She’ll hate me.”
Eleanor reached for her.
Paige stood before she could touch her.
“I need air.”
She left.
Daniel started after her.
Eleanor stopped him.
“Give her five minutes.”
He sat.
“You always know when to wait.”
“No.”
Eleanor looked toward the door.
“I waited too long.”
The next afternoon, Renee Keller arrived at the hotel.
She was forty-six, a hospital billing manager from Milwaukee, and looked enough like Vanessa that Daniel disliked her on sight.
Then she walked directly to Eleanor.
“I owe you an apology.”
Eleanor folded her arms.
“Yes.”
Renee blinked.
Daniel almost smiled.
Renee sat down.
“When you called, Vanessa had been telling me you were confused.”
Eleanor’s expression hardened.
“She told me you accused her of stealing when she was buying groceries for you.”
“She was stealing.”
“I know that now.”
Daniel crossed his arms.
“What changed?”
Renee opened her purse and removed a stack of printed bank statements.
“Troy.”
Paige stepped closer.
“What about him?”
“He called me yesterday asking for money.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“Because he says Vanessa told him Daniel froze everything.”
“I froze fraudulent access.”
“I don’t care what you froze.”
Renee turned to Vanessa’s daughter.
“I care that Troy sent me screenshots trying to prove he was ‘owed’ money from your mother.”
Paige looked confused.
“Owed for what?”
“The Oak Brook condo.”
Renee put down the statements.
Transfers from Vanessa.
Transfers from Eleanor.
Cash withdrawals.
One payment from a joint Mercer household account.
Another from a credit card Daniel hadn’t known existed.
“He kept records?” Daniel asked.
“Troy keeps records of everything when he thinks it proves someone owes him.”
Renee gave a bitter smile.
“He is many things. Organized is one.”
Daniel scanned the pages.
Then stopped.
There was a transfer he didn’t recognize.
$18,000.
Recipient:
LAKEVIEW TITLE SERVICES.
“What’s this?”
Renee leaned over.
“I don’t know.”
Marissa, joining by phone, searched the name.
“It’s a title company.”
Daniel looked at Renee.
“For the condo?”
She shook her head.
“The condo used a different company.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“What property?”
Renee opened another screenshot from Troy.
A text from Vanessa.
VANESSA: Lakeview has the draft. We just need D’s signature clean enough.
Daniel felt the room go still.
Renee whispered, “I think Troy helped with the HELOC.”
Paige stared at her aunt.
“Did he forge Daniel’s signature?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked at the message.
Then another text arrived on Renee’s phone.
Troy.
She read it.
Her face changed.
“What?”
Renee turned the screen toward Daniel.
TROY: Daniel thinks Vanessa started this? Ask Eleanor what she promised my sister before he left.
May you like
Everyone looked at Eleanor.
She went completely still.
