SERIES : The Second Phone in the Drawer

I read the message aloud once.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Then I looked at Erin.

"What did you promise him?"

She shook her head too quickly.

"I don't know what he means."

"Don't do that."

"I'm not lying."

"He used Tessa's name."

"I know."

"Then tell me why."

Deputy Harris lifted one hand.

"Mr. Mercer, before this becomes a marital argument, that message may relate to an active criminal investigation. Screenshot it. Do not reply."

"I'm not replying."

Erin backed against the workbench.

"There was one conversation."

I waited.

"Ryan asked questions about Tessa's birth certificate."

My stomach tightened.

"Why?"

"He wanted to know whether there were any mistakes on it."

"Mistakes?"

"He said old family records could become relevant if the land dispute turned into litigation."

"That makes no sense."

"I know that now."

"What did you tell him?"

"That there weren't mistakes."

"And?"

"He asked whether you had ever signed anything acknowledging paternity separately."

I stared at her.

"I'm her father."

"I know."

"Why would he ask that?"

Erin's eyes filled again.

"Because he was trying to scare me."

"With what?"

She looked toward the garage door, as if the answer might be less terrible outside.

"He said Clay kept files on everyone. He said your father once used family information to protect the property."

"What family information?"

"I don't know. Ryan implied there was something about Tessa's birth records that could be made to look suspicious."

"Made to look suspicious?"

"He said if I helped him recover the old Cobalt documents, he would make sure Tessa never got pulled into court."

"So what did you promise?"

"Access."

"To the garage?"

"To whatever he needed."

I closed my eyes.

"That's why you gave him the key."

"Yes."

"And the second phone?"

"He gave it to me."

"Of course he did."

"Grant, I thought he wanted proof about the land. I didn't know he had known your father."

"You knew he wanted documents from my house."

"Yes."

"You knew he wanted money moved."

"Yes."

"You knew he was building notes about custody."

She covered her face.

"Yes."

I turned away before anger became something visible.

Deputy Lin spoke quietly.

"Mr. Mercer, your brother is still on speaker?"

Mitch's voice came from the phone.

"Unfortunately for everybody, yes."

"Can you come here?"

"Already driving."

Harris looked at Erin.

"Ma'am, would you be willing to give us a formal statement tonight?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"And consent to us copying the messages from the second phone?"

She looked at me.

"It's technically mine."

"Then yes or no?"

"Yes."

That mattered.

Not enough to repair anything.

But it mattered.

We moved back into the house while the deputies finished processing the garage. Tessa and Miles stayed upstairs until I told them the police had checked everything.

Tessa came down carrying Miles's stuffed elephant.

"Did they catch him?"

"No."

"Is he coming back?"

"Not if he's smart."

She frowned.

"You say that when you want somebody to do something dumb."

I looked at her.

"Who taught you that?"

"Uncle Mitch."

"Of course he did."

A small smile appeared.

Then disappeared.

"Why did the message have my name?"

Erin froze.

I had forgotten Tessa was standing near enough to hear when the phone buzzed.

I knelt in front of her.

"An adult who has been making bad choices was trying to scare us."

"About me?"

"Using your name. That's not the same as there being something wrong with you."

"Did I do something?"

"No."

"Was I not supposed to tell you he came here?"

"You were absolutely supposed to tell me."

"Mom said family stuff stays private."

Erin flinched.

Tessa looked at her.

"Did I get you in trouble?"

Erin crossed the room and crouched beside us.

"No. I got myself in trouble."

"Because of Ryan?"

"Because of choices I made with Ryan."

"Do you love him?"

Erin's mouth opened.

Then closed.

Finally she said, "I thought I did."

Tessa looked at me.

"Does Dad know?"

I almost laughed from the absurdity of the question.

"He knows now," Erin whispered.

Tessa considered that.

"That's bad."

"Yes."

"Are you leaving us?"

Erin's face crumpled.

"No."

I did not correct her, because none of us knew what the next week would look like.

"Tonight Mom is staying with Aunt Kelly," I said. "Tomorrow we talk to people who help families make safe plans."

"Like police?"

"Police. Lawyers. Maybe a counselor."

Tessa made a face.

"Counselors ask how you feel."

"That's the rumor."

"I already know how I feel."

"What's that?"

"Tired."

That answer ended the conversation.

I put the kids to bed.

Erin gave Tessa a long hug. She stood beside Miles's crib for almost a minute without touching him, as if she believed she had lost the right.

At the front door, she looked at me.

"Do you hate me?"

"I don't know what I feel yet."

"That's worse."

"It isn't about what feels worse to you tonight."

She nodded.

"I deserve that."

"This isn't about deserving pain either. Just go to Kelly's. Don't contact Ryan. If he contacts you, save it."

"Okay."

"And Erin?"

She turned.

"If there is anything else involving Tessa or Miles, tell me before I discover it in another message."

Her eyes dropped.

"There is one thing."

My stomach sank.

"What?"

"Ryan asked me to get a sample of your signature from Tessa's school paperwork."

"Why?"

"He said it would prove you signed documents electronically when you weren't present."

"Did you give it to him?"

"A photo."

I stared at her.

"He has my signature."

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"A copy of your driver's license."

"Anything else?"

"Our marriage certificate."

I laughed once.

"You handed him an identity-theft starter kit."

"I know."

"Go."

She left.

Mitch arrived twenty minutes later carrying a laptop, two coffees, and the expression he usually wore when somebody else's bad decision had become billable work.

"Kids asleep?"

"Yes."

"Erin gone?"

"Kelly's."

"Good."

He set the coffees down.

"I called Dana Brooks. Family law. Very good. No patience for drama. You'll like her."

"Will she like me?"

"Probably not. That's why she's good."

"Great."

"I also called a property attorney and a forensic accountant."

"How much is tonight costing me?"

"More than the coffee. Less than losing your kids and your land."

I sat across from him.

"Ryan mentioned Tessa."

"I heard."

"What could he possibly do with her birth certificate?"

"Probably nothing legitimate."

"That word is doing too much work."

Mitch opened his laptop.

"Let's separate fear from facts. Is Tessa your biological daughter?"

"Yes."

"Any question about that?"

"No."

"Were you married when she was born?"

"Yes."

"Are you on the birth certificate?"

"Yes."

"Any adoption, guardianship, name change, anything unusual?"

"No."

"Then Ryan was likely using uncertainty as leverage."

"Why her specifically?"

"Because parents panic when you use a child's name."

I looked toward the stairs.

"It worked."

"That's the point."

He pulled up the county property database.

"Now look at this."

The screen showed a scanned release of lien signed by Clay Barlow two weeks after Dad's death.

"See the notary?"

"Marjorie Keene."

"She notarized the original Cobalt lien too."

"So?"

"She also notarized a quitclaim deed recorded last month."

I leaned closer.

"What quitclaim deed?"

Mitch turned the screen toward me.

The document claimed I had transferred a forty-nine percent interest in Mercer Working Dogs' land to Red Plains Equipment LLC.

My signature appeared at the bottom.

I stared at it.

"I never signed that."

"I know."

"Red Plains Equipment is in the second phone."

"Exactly."

"Who owns it?"

"That's the fun part."

"Mitch."

"Registered agent is a mailbox service. Manager is listed as R. V. Consulting."

"Ryan Vale."

"Almost certainly."

I felt the anger return, but this time it was cleaner.

Not rage.

Direction.

"He forged my signature and recorded a deed."

"It appears someone did. We prove it before we say it publicly."

"And the forty-two thousand?"

"Could be used to make the transaction look supported by consideration."

"Meaning?"

"If money moved from marital accounts into entities tied to Red Plains, Ryan may later claim you sold an interest voluntarily."

"With my own money."

"Fraud is often just stealing with paperwork."

I sat back.

"Dad warned me."

"Your father's letter is strong evidence of old coercion, not proof of what Ryan did now. But the new quitclaim deed gives us something current."

"Can we stop it?"

"The property lawyer will file an emergency notice disputing title in the morning."

My phone buzzed.

Not the hidden one.

Mine.

A text from Deputy Harris.

Found owner of abandoned truck. Registered to Ryan Vale. Blood appears to be from a cut on driver's side based on pattern. No sign of second person. BOLO active.

I showed Mitch.

"Good," he said.

"Good?"

"It means the blood probably doesn't represent a body we haven't found."

"Your standards for good news have collapsed."

"Occupational hazard."

The hidden phone buzzed again inside the evidence sleeve Deputy Lin had left with me temporarily pending collection the next morning.

We looked at each other.

I did not touch it.

The preview lit the screen.

R: Tell Grant the transfer is already done.

Another message appeared.