Chapter 9 - The Man Who Wanted Silence
Grant Mercer did not look like a man who expected to be arrested.
He sat straight-backed in the interview room, his hands resting on the table as if he were waiting for coffee. His confidence unsettled Mara more than June’s panic had.
“You forged my signature,” Mara said.
“I did not.”
“Your company processed claims using it.”
“My company processed paperwork supplied by your mother.”
“You knew the claims were false.”
Grant’s jaw tightened. “I knew some services were impossible to verify.”
“That is a delicate way to say fraud.”
“It is a precise way.”
Detective Bell took the folder. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“June stopped answering me.”
“And you were worried?”
“I was owed money.”
June stared at him. “You promised you would fix it.”
“I promised to keep your daughter from asking questions.”
Mara turned. “What does that mean?”
Grant shrugged. “Your mother was afraid you would discover the account withdrawals. She asked me to send messages from the clinic portal. I did. I also arranged for the camera at the house.”
“Why?”
“To prove she was providing care.”
“You recorded a sick child without consent.”
“The camera recorded the entire property.”
Bell’s voice sharpened. “That does not make it lawful.”
Grant looked at Mara. “If I wanted silence, I would have deleted the recordings.”
“You kept them as leverage.”
“I kept them because June became unpredictable.”
This was the first detail that did not fit.
Mara glanced at June. “What was she doing?”
Grant sighed. “She was changing the claims. Adding services. Inventing emergencies. Then she began taking money from Leni’s account to cover gambling debts.”
Cal flinched.
“My debts,” he said.
Grant nodded. “Some of them.”
“You knew and still used her?” Mara asked.
“I used everyone who signed my forms.”
At that moment, Mara stopped seeing Grant as a desperate businessman. He was simply a man who believed desperation made other people available.
Jules entered with a new report. “The handwriting analyst has an initial comparison.”
Bell read it. “The warning note on the appointment card was written by Leni. The sentence accusing Leni of being unreliable was written by an adult.”
“June?” Mara asked.
“Likely.”
June’s eyes closed.
“There’s more,” Jules said. “The device used to access the clinic portal was connected to BrightPath’s office.”
Grant leaned back. “That could be anyone.”
“The login records identify your assistant,” Bell said.
Grant’s face changed for the first time.
“Where is the assistant?” Mara asked.
Bell checked her phone. “Not at the office. Not at home.”
Grant stood. “I want a lawyer.”
“You’ll have one,” Bell said. “Sit down.”
Mara’s phone buzzed.
It was a message from an unknown number.
The attached image showed Leni asleep in the clinic shelter. The blue stuffed whale rested beneath her chin.
The message contained six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BOX BURIED.
Mara looked at the security camera in the corner of the room.
May you like
Someone had entered the shelter.
Someone who knew exactly where Leni was sleeping.
