Chapter 8: The Signature That Wasn't His
“Read it again.””
Danielle stood beside me, staring at the message.
I handed the phone to Officer Brooks.
She read it twice.
“Did this number contact you before?””
“Yes. It threatened us after Lily died.””
“Have you saved the previous messages?””
“I showed them to you.””
She nodded.
“Detective Harris, preserve this notification and compare the sender with the earlier number.””
Then she looked at me.
“Mr. Reed, the message may be an attempt to mislead us.””
“I know.””
“But we'll investigate it.””
I couldn't stop thinking about the hospital authorization.
The digital record showed Ethan's credentials.
But the anonymous message claimed someone else had signed it.
If that was true, who had been inside the hospital system?
And why?
A few minutes later, Detective Harris returned with a printed access report.
“We've found the original account activity.””
Officer Brooks took the document.
“Explain.””
“The hospital record was accessed through two separate accounts. The first belonged to Mr. Miller. The second was a temporary administrator account.””
“Who owned it?””
Detective Harris turned the page.
“An outside medical billing contractor.””
I leaned forward.
“Name?””
“Catherine Walsh.””
Danielle frowned.
“Who is that?””
Detective Harris opened a photograph.
A woman in her late forties appeared on the screen.
I recognized her immediately.
“She's Lily's former school counselor.””
Danielle stared.
“Mrs. Walsh?””
I nodded slowly.
Catherine Walsh had worked at Lily's school for three years.
She had called us when Lily struggled with reading.
She had helped arrange a meeting after Lily became anxious about a classmate.
She had even attended Lily's birthday party the previous summer.
I remembered her bringing a little pink gift bag.
“She knows our daughter,” Danielle whispered.
Officer Brooks looked at Detective Harris.
“Why would she have access to hospital records?””
“We're checking her employment history. She appears to have worked part-time for a medical billing company that handled records for the hospital.””
I stared at the photograph.
“Did she know Ethan?””
Detective Harris opened another document.
“There's evidence of several communications between them.””
Danielle stood.
“Then bring her in.””
“We're trying to locate her.””
I looked at the date of the first communication.
Seven months earlier.
That was before the blue house.
Before the Savannah trip.
Before Lily had started asking whether I would leave.
I leaned closer.
“What's this payment?””
Detective Harris enlarged the transaction.
A payment of $12,000 had been transferred to Catherine Walsh from Reed Family Holdings.
Another payment followed two months later.
$18,500.
Danielle shook her head.
“She was paid to help him?””
“We're investigating.””
I remembered Lily talking about Mrs. Walsh.
She had always called her the nice lady who kept candy in her desk.
One afternoon, Lily had come home carrying a little notebook.
She told me Mrs. Walsh had asked her to write down things that made her sad.
I'd thought it was part of a school exercise.
Now I wondered whether it had been something else.
“Did Lily ever speak to her about our marriage?”” I asked.
Detective Harris nodded.
“According to the recovered notes, yes.””
He opened a file.
It contained a list of observations.
Child frequently expresses fear of father leaving.
Child believes mother may become upset if father moves out.
Child emotionally attached to father.
I felt sick reading those words.
They had turned my daughter's love into evidence against us.
Danielle covered her eyes.
“They were studying her.””
Officer Brooks placed a hand on the table.
“We're going to find out exactly what happened.””
Then the door opened.
An officer entered.
“Brooks, Vanessa's attorney has arrived.””
Officer Brooks nodded.
“Bring them in.””
Vanessa entered several minutes later.
She wore a gray sweater and black trousers.
Her makeup was gone.
She looked older than she had three days earlier.
She avoided looking at Danielle.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
I stood.
“Tell me about Catherine Walsh.””
Vanessa froze.
Officer Brooks noticed.
“You know her?””
Vanessa sat down.
“Yes.””
“How?””
“She introduced me to Ethan.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Last year. At a charity event.””
“Why would a school counselor introduce you to my business partner?””
Vanessa looked down.
“Because she knew Ethan was looking for someone who could help him access your personal accounts.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“He said you had become careless with your finances. He told her he needed help protecting the company.””
I shook my head.
“That's nonsense.””
“I know.””
“Then why did you get involved?””
Vanessa began crying.
“Because Ethan promised me that if everything worked out, you would finally leave Danielle.””
I stared at her.
She continued.
“He told me you were unhappy. He said you wanted a fresh start but were afraid of losing your daughter.””
I leaned forward.
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to.””
Danielle let out a bitter laugh.
“You wanted to destroy my family.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“I didn't want Lily to die.””
Danielle stood.
“But you helped them manipulate her!””
“I know.””
“You watched her become frightened of her own father!””
“I know!””
“You stood outside that hospital while she was dying!””
Vanessa covered her face.
“I didn't know she was that sick.””
I turned toward her.
“Why were you at the hospital?””
She lowered her hands.
“Ethan called me. He said Lily had become upset and needed someone familiar.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because he told me not to.””
“Why?””
“Because he said the hospital would call you when everything was settled.””
I stared at her.
“Settled?””
She began shaking.
“He said there was a problem with the paperwork. He said Lily's records needed to be corrected.””
Officer Brooks leaned forward.
“What paperwork?””
Vanessa looked at her.
“The authorization.””
“Did you see anyone sign it?””
“No.””
“Did you speak to Catherine Walsh at the hospital?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
“She told me everything was under control.””
Danielle's voice was barely audible.
“Did you see Lily?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Friday afternoon.””
“What did she say?””
Vanessa began crying again.
“She asked me whether Marcus was coming.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“What did you tell her?””
“I told her he was busy.””
Danielle closed her eyes.
Vanessa continued.
“She asked whether he was still angry about the calls. I told her no. I said he loved her.””
I slammed my hand against the table.
“Then why didn't you call me?””
Vanessa flinched.
“Because Ethan said you'd already been informed!””
“By whom?””
“I don't know!””
Officer Brooks raised her hand.
“Ms. Cole, did Catherine Walsh tell you that Lily's father had refused contact?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
“Did she show you any documentation?””
“Yes.””
“What did it look like?””
“A hospital form. It had Marcus's name on it.””
I stared at her.
“Did you recognize the signature?””
She looked at me.
“It looked like his.””
Officer Brooks leaned forward.
“Could you identify the document if we showed it to you?””
Vanessa nodded.
Detective Harris placed the hospital authorization on the table.
Vanessa stared at it.
Then her expression changed.
“That's not the one.””
Officer Brooks frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“This is the document Ethan showed me.””
She pulled a folded sheet from her handbag.
“I took a photograph of it before he deleted the message.””
Detective Harris accepted it.
The document had the same hospital logo.
The same patient information.
But the signature was different.
And the instruction at the bottom was far more disturbing.
In the event of emergency, medical personnel should contact the designated private guardian before notifying the parents.
The designated guardian was Catherine Walsh.
Danielle stared at the page.
“Why would a school counselor be Lily's guardian?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Detective Harris compared the two documents.
“The signature on this one appears to have been digitally copied.””
Officer Brooks looked at Vanessa.
“Did you know about this arrangement?””
“No.””
“Did you help create it?””
“No.””
“Did you know Lily was supposed to be moved to the blue house?””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
Danielle's chair scraped backward.
“You knew?””
Vanessa looked down.
“Ethan told me it was temporary.””
“Temporary?””
“He said he needed Lily to stay somewhere safe while Marcus and Danielle worked things out.””
Danielle stepped closer.
“You knew they were planning to take my daughter?””
“I didn't know it was illegal!””
“She's eight years old!””
Vanessa began crying.
Officer Brooks intervened.
“Mrs. Reed, please sit down.””
Danielle returned to her chair, trembling.
Detective Harris examined the document again.
“There's something interesting about the designated guardian's signature.””
He turned the page toward Officer Brooks.
“It wasn't entered through the hospital's system.””
“Then where?””
“The document was uploaded from an external network.””
He checked the timestamp.
Then he looked up.
“From the school.””
My blood ran cold.
“The school?””
He nodded.
“The same network used by Catherine Walsh's office.””
Officer Brooks stood.
“Get a unit to her residence. And have someone contact the school administration immediately.””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“There's something else.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She swallowed.
“Catherine told Ethan that Lily had discovered the money.””
I leaned forward.
“What money?””
“The account. The one connected to the guardianship arrangement.””
“Why would Lily know about that?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Because Ethan left the documents in the blue house. Lily found them.””
I remembered the recording.
Uncle Ethan has papers with your name on them.
Vanessa continued.
“She took a photograph and told Catherine she was going to show her mother.””
Danielle whispered, “Oh, my God.””
Officer Brooks asked, “What happened next?””
Vanessa looked terrified.
“Catherine said Lily needed to be kept away from the documents.””
“How?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
“I kept this because I was afraid.””
Inside was a printed photograph.
It showed Catherine Walsh standing beside Lily in the hospital corridor.
Catherine was holding a clipboard.
Lily was looking up at her.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Friday.
May you like
And beneath it were six words.
She told Lily not to trust Mommy.
