Chapter 6 - THE FIRE IN THE STUDY
Ruth recovered one document the intruder had missed.
An old maintenance ledger showed the mansion’s taxes and repairs had been paid from a trust account years after Richard claimed the trust ended.
Margaret signed several reimbursement receipts.
She knew the trust still existed.
I ignored Lena’s warning and called her.
“Why did you let Richard lie?”
Margaret’s voice became thin.
“You don’t understand what happens when that house is threatened.”
“What happened to Ruth’s papers?”
“I know nothing about that.”
“We found the notary.”
Silence.
I had just revealed where the investigation was moving.
Three hours later, smoke alarms activated inside Richard’s study.
The fire department contained the damage to one wall and a locked filing cabinet.
Richard claimed an electrical fault.
The fire marshal found paper stacked against a space heater that had been switched on manually.
Trust records and old correspondence burned.
Margaret told police she had been asleep.
Richard had gone to the company.
Daniel admitted entering the study shortly before the fire.
“My father asked me to turn off the security camera. He said attorneys were removing confidential tax files.”
“You helped destroy the record of who entered.”
“I didn’t know there would be a fire.”
“You keep helping before you know.”
He looked sick.
The exterior system captured one person leaving through the service door.
A coat hid the face.
The figure carried Ruth’s stolen document box.
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The vehicle waiting outside belonged to Hart Heritage Furniture.
Its assigned driver was Daniel.
