Chapter 12 - Richard's Letter to Claire.
The envelope had been sealed for six years.
Detective Cole photographed and logged it before anyone unfolded the pages.
The letter began with an apology to Claire.
Richard wrote that he had once believed Daniel's worst flaw was weakness.
Then he wrote that weakness, protected from consequences long enough, could become cruelty.
Claire had to stop reading.
Richard described Margaret's use of Northstar to hide private investment losses.
Daniel first believed the transfers were temporary.
Later, after discovering the truth, he kept signing because exposure would reveal his own role.
Then Richard wrote about Claire.
Margaret has started using your name on documents.
I do not believe you know.
If you find this, understand that they chose your signature because they trust your loyalty more than your suspicion.
Claire pressed both hands against her face.
Richard had seen the trap before she did.
The last page said a second set of records was hidden somewhere Margaret would never search because she considered the place beneath her.
Rebecca immediately thought of the old caretaker cottage near the lake house.
Margaret hated the small building and refused even to enter it.
State police searched it that evening.
Inside a wall vent they found an empty metal case.
Someone had already removed the records.
A trail camera showed Peter Walsh's pickup at the cottage two nights before Christmas.
Police finally located him at his sister's home in Maine.
Peter agreed to return voluntarily.
He looked older than Claire remembered, but his enormous hands were unmistakable.
"I sent the message," he admitted.
"You burned the wrong copy?" Claire asked.
Peter nodded.
Richard had asked him to hide duplicate records years earlier.
After Richard died, Peter secretly moved them because Margaret threatened to blame him if he spoke.
"What happened that night?" Cole asked.
Peter stared at the table.
Margaret called him after Richard fell into the lake.
When Peter arrived, Richard was lying on the dock, unconscious but breathing.
Peter wanted to call 911.
Margaret refused.
She said Daniel had attacked Richard and police would destroy the family.
"How long did she wait?" Claire asked.
"Twenty-three minutes."
Peter removed a small plastic pouch from his bag.
Inside was Richard's old digital watch.
The stored pulse data showed Richard remained alive for seventeen minutes after Peter arrived.
His heartbeat stopped six minutes before Margaret finally called for help.
Rebecca began to cry.
Claire stared at the tiny watch.
Margaret might not have pushed Richard into the water.
But she had spent his final minutes deciding which truth was safest for herself.
Then Peter looked directly at Claire.
"There's something else."
Cole leaned forward.
"What?"
May you like
Peter swallowed.
"Daniel came back before his father died."
