Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Gabriel didn't sleep.
At sunrise, he contacted Detective Marcus Hale.
Marcus had been a friend of the family for years.
He had attended Clara's funeral.
He had also warned Gabriel once about Candice.
At the time, Gabriel hadn't listened.
Now he understood why.
“I need you to tell me everything you know about her,” Gabriel said.
Marcus placed a file on the table.
“Candice Miller has been connected to three financial investigations.”
Gabriel opened it.
“Why wasn't she arrested?”
“Insufficient evidence.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“Financial transfers. False signatures. Elder abuse allegations.”
Gabriel stared at the file.
“Why was she never charged?”
Marcus leaned back.
“Because every victim eventually changed her story.”
Gabriel remembered the folder.
The widows.
“What happened to them?”
“Some said they misunderstood. Some said Candice was helping them. One woman disappeared from the state.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Disappeared?”
“Moved away. No forwarding address.”
“Did she have family?”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at the photographs.
“Richard Vincent.”
Marcus's expression changed.
“You know him?”
“He's in the documents.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Richard Vincent is the important part.”
“Why?”
“Because he was investigated for fraud eight years ago.”
“Was he convicted?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“His partner disappeared.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“What partner?”
“Richard's business partner. A woman named Laura Benton.”
Gabriel looked at the file.
A photograph was attached.
Laura Benton.
She was one of the women listed in Candice's folder.
Gabriel felt the room grow colder.
“What happened to her?”
“Nothing was ever proven.”
“Did she have money?”
“She inherited nearly three million dollars.”
Gabriel looked at Marcus.
“And then disappeared?”
Marcus nodded.
Gabriel stood.
“I want to know everything about Richard Vincent.”
Marcus stopped him.
“Gabriel, don't investigate this yourself.”
“I’m not.”
“You are already doing exactly that.”
Gabriel didn't answer.
At home, Lucas was sitting on the couch.
He had a backpack beside him.
“Are we going somewhere?”
Gabriel sat beside him.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
Lucas stared at him.
“Is Candice coming back?”
“No.”
The boy looked relieved.
Then he asked the question Gabriel had been afraid of.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Gabriel's chest tightened.
“No.”
“Then why did she hate me?”
Gabriel didn't know how to answer.
Because she wanted control?
Because she had chosen him as a target?
Because adults sometimes hurt children for reasons that had nothing to do with the children?
He placed an arm around Lucas.
“None of it was your fault.”
Lucas nodded.
Then he whispered:
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“I saw something.”
“What?”
“The night you came home.”
Gabriel turned.
“Where?”
“In Candice's room.”
“What did you see?”
Lucas lowered his voice.
“Someone came to the house.”
Gabriel felt his heart speed up.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Man or woman?”
“Man.”
“What did he look like?”
Lucas thought.
“He had a scar here.”
The boy touched his cheek.
“And he called Candice by another name.”
Gabriel stood.
“What name?”
Lucas looked frightened.
“Marissa.”
Gabriel froze.
Marissa.
He had heard that name before.
It appeared in Clara's documents.
A woman named Marissa Cole had visited the hospital the day before Clara died.
Gabriel had never known why.
He immediately searched the name.
The result shocked him.
Marissa Cole had died six years earlier.
But her death certificate had been filed under the same insurance company that handled Clara's policy.
Gabriel called Marcus.
“There was a man at my house,” he said. “He called Candice Marissa.”
Marcus went silent.
Then he said:
“Gabriel, get Lucas out of the house.”
“Why?”
“Because Marissa Cole died six years ago.”
Gabriel looked toward the window.
A black SUV had stopped across the street.
The driver was watching the house.
Gabriel reached for his phone.
The SUV suddenly drove away.
May you like
But not before Gabriel saw the driver's face.
A scar ran down his cheek.
