Chapter 5 - The Man With No License.
Claire searched the state medical licensing database from Margaret's conference room.
There was no Stephen Ward licensed as a pediatric behavioral specialist.
There was no psychologist with his date of birth.
There was no clinical practice at the address printed on the reports Daniel had signed.
The address belonged to a mailbox store.
Margaret Hale pressed an ice pack against her bruised face while the officers photographed the damage to her office.
"Richard found this three weeks before he died," Margaret said.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"He was trying to prove who hired Ward."
Claire looked at Daniel.
He stood near the door with his navy jacket folded over one arm, looking smaller than he had in the Bennett foyer.
"Did you ever check his credentials?"
Daniel shook his head.
Claire almost said something cruel.
Lily's voice from the waiting room stopped her.
"Mommy?"
Claire went to her at once.
Lily was coloring with the receptionist, drawing a house with blue windows and a crooked yellow sun.
She looked up.
"Can we go home now?"
Claire crouched beside her.
"Not to Grandma's house."
Lily's shoulders relaxed.
That tiny movement hurt more than any accusation.
Margaret recommended a secure apartment owned by her firm for witnesses in contentious estate cases.
The police approved the location after confirming Eleanor did not know it.
Daniel was not invited.
He did not argue.
Before Claire left, Margaret handed her a photocopy of Richard's trust agreement.
A clause on page seventeen explained everything Eleanor had to gain.
The guardian of Lily's estate could approve "educational, behavioral, medical, and residential expenses" without ordinary annual limits.
Eleanor could drain the trust under the language of caring for Lily.
Richard had tried to amend the clause before his death.
He never completed the amendment.
"How did Richard die?" Claire asked.
Everyone in the room went quiet.
The official answer was a heart attack.
Richard had collapsed alone in his study after dinner.
He had a documented cardiac condition.
Nothing about the death had seemed suspicious.
Until now.
Margaret did not accuse anyone.
She simply said Richard had scheduled a meeting for the morning after he died.
The meeting was with a forensic accountant and a toxicologist.
Claire looked toward the sealed evidence bag containing the blue bottle.
The room seemed colder.
Daniel stepped closer.
"My mother did not kill my father."
Claire turned on him.
"You said she would never hurt Lily."
Daniel flinched.
"I know."
"You said Ward was a specialist."
"I know."
"You said the episodes proved something was wrong with our daughter."
His face twisted.
"I know."
Claire lowered her voice because Lily was only one room away.
"Then stop telling me what your mother would never do."
Daniel nodded slowly.
His phone rang.
The caller ID showed Eleanor.
No one spoke as he answered on speaker.
Eleanor's voice was perfectly calm.
"Daniel, bring my granddaughter home."
Daniel swallowed.
"No."
The silence on the line lasted three seconds.
Then Eleanor laughed softly.
"You think Claire's envelope changed anything?"
Claire felt Margaret stiffen beside her.
Eleanor continued.
"Richard left more than one letter."
Daniel's face went pale.
"What are you talking about?"
"Ask your wife what happens when the court sees the one I have."
The call ended.
Ten seconds later, Margaret's office printer suddenly came alive.
A document began feeding from the tray even though no one had touched the computer.
The first page was headed PSYCHIATRIC HISTORY: CLAIRE BENNETT.
May you like
Claire stared at the fabricated report bearing her full name.
At the bottom was a digital signature that looked exactly like her own.
