Chapter 3 - THE ACCOUNT IN MY NAME
The detective placed the photocopy on the tray table over my bed.
AUDREY MERCER.
My name sat at the top of an investment account I had never seen.
I had spent eight years in corporate accounting before Chloe was born.
I had reviewed enough forged approvals and altered ledgers to know what I was looking at.
"That's not my signature," I said.
Detective Lena Ortiz leaned forward.
"You're certain?"
"Completely."
The account had been funded with eighty-four thousand dollars transferred from a home-equity line Julian had opened against our house.
Dana Kessler was named as transfer-on-death beneficiary.
"Why her?" I asked.
"We're still working on the relationship."
Dad returned an hour later with Chloe bundled in a pink winter coat.
"Mommy, are your legs still broken?"
"Still broken. Still mine."
For three weeks, I had survived on video calls because Julian always had a reason Chloe couldn't visit.
Hospitals were upsetting.
Chloe reached into her backpack.
"Grandpa said I could bring this."
She handed me a crumpled drawing of our garage.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"Daddy."
"When did you draw this?"
"After you got hurt."
Dad and Detective Ortiz exchanged a glance.
"Why is Daddy by the car?"
Chloe shrugged.
"He was fixing it before you left. He got mad because I came in."
Chloe was not evidence first.
Dad took her to the family lounge while Ortiz finished with me.
"We will not rely on a child's drawing," she said. "But it gives us a time window to check cameras and device location data."
"What about Dana?"
A weekend in Milwaukee I remembered Julian describing as an industry conference.
Julian Mercer.
Dana Kessler.
"How long?"
"At least fourteen months based on what we have."
"Fourteen months."
"Mrs. Mercer, I need to ask something harder."
"Go ahead."
"Did your husband ever ask you to increase life insurance coverage?"
Six months earlier, Julian had brought home a stack of paperwork and said his employer was changing benefit providers.
"Just sign these," he had said while I packed Chloe's lunch.
Primary beneficiary: Julian Mercer.
Contingent beneficiary: Chloe Mercer, controlled by Julian as custodian.
"I didn't know," I said.
Dad came back into the room without Chloe.
Ortiz showed him the policy.
"Where's Chloe?" I asked.
"With the child-life specialist. She's coloring."
"Good."
I looked at the forged account, the policy, and Julian's texts.
Then I saw something in the bottom corner of the insurance form.
DANA KESSLER.
"Detective," I said, "if Dana witnessed this, she knew."
"That's what we're trying to determine."
Dana Kessler's name appeared on the screen.
The whole room went silent.
I answered on speaker.
May you like
Dana was crying.
"Audrey," she whispered, "Julian lied to me too. And if the police don't get to his office before he does, he's going to destroy everything."
