The wedding was theater designed to make me lower my guard.
At 3:48 a.m., Marcus called again.
This time his voice was different.
“Sharon.”
“Yes?”
“You need to sit down.”
I was already sitting.
“What did you find?”
“The sealed civil case.”
My hands went cold.
“Nicholas Bennett was accused of defrauding two women between 2011 and 2013.”
“Romance fraud?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“About nine hundred thousand combined.”
Ben swore under his breath.
“Why wasn’t he convicted?”
“One woman settled. The other disappeared from the case.”
“What does that mean?”
“She withdrew.”
“Why?”
“Unknown.”
Marcus hesitated.
“But that’s not why I told you to sit down.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
He continued.
“I found an exhibit list from the Ashford investigation.”
Rebecca looked at me.
Marcus said, “Your sister’s full name appears.”
I stopped breathing.
“Melissa Elaine Walker.”
“Yes.”
“What was she?”
“Outside forensic accountant.”
My fingers dug into the table.
“What did she find?”
“The available filings suggest she traced payments from Ashford Private Capital into shell companies controlled by Linda and Nicholas Bennett.”
Nathan.
His wife.
Melissa.
Nine years ago.
It all connected.
“How close was she to testifying?”
“Very.”
Rebecca whispered, “She died before trial.”
Marcus was silent.
Then he said, “Three days before a scheduled deposition.”
My chair scraped backward.
Ben reached for me.
I pushed away from the table and walked to the window.
“No.”
“Mom.”
“No.”
I stared into the darkness outside.
Melissa’s funeral returned in fragments.
Rain.
Umbrellas.
Two six-year-old girls holding my hands.
A closed casket.
A police officer telling us road conditions had been dangerous.
Linda had been at that funeral.
I suddenly remembered.
Not Linda.
Not exactly.
A woman.
A stranger standing near the back.
Dark glasses.
A cream-colored coat.
I had noticed her because she did not approach the family.
At the time I assumed she was from Melissa’s work.
My pulse accelerated.
I turned.
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“Find photographs of Linda from nine years ago.”
“That could take—”
“Find them.”
Ben stared at me.
“What?”
“I think I’ve seen her before.”
Rebecca whispered, “Where?”
