Chapter 20 - The Question Emma Asked
Nicole postponed the conversation for one day.
Then two.
On the third morning Emma heard Gregory’s name on television.
She turned from her cereal.
“Why is Daddy on the news?”
Nicole switched off the television.
Emma frowned.
“Is he famous?”
“No.”
“Is he in trouble?”
Nicole sat.
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
The advice from the child therapist had been simple.
Tell the truth.
Use age-appropriate words.
Do not speculate.
Do not ask the child to take sides.
“Daddy is accused of doing things with the company’s money that were against the law.”
Emma considered that.
“Did he steal?”
“People believe he moved money he wasn’t allowed to move.”
“Is that stealing?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did Daddy try to hurt Uncle Raymond?”
There it was.
Nicole’s mouth went dry.
“We don’t know exactly what Daddy knew about what happened at the warehouse.”
“But Uncle Raymond said someone tried to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Was it Daddy?”
“Another man started the fire.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Sykes.”
“The gray man from the funeral?”
Nicole stared.
“You remember him?”
“He watched us.”
Children saw everything.
“Yes.”
Emma stirred her cereal.
“Did Daddy tell him?”
Nicole answered carefully.
“Daddy sent Mr. Sykes to the warehouse. Investigators are trying to determine what Daddy intended.”
Emma frowned.
“So maybe.”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at Daddy?”
Nicole looked at her daughter.
“I’m angry about choices he made.”
“Do you hate him?”
“No.”
“Do you love him?”
The hardest question.
“Yes.”
Emma seemed confused.
“You can be mad and love somebody?”
“Yes.”
“You can love somebody and not live with them?”
“Yes.”
Emma thought for a long time.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
Nicole almost laughed at how impossible adult truths could fit inside a child once explained plainly.
Gregory’s first court appearance occurred that afternoon.
Nicole did not attend.
Raymond did.
He sat behind prosecutors, beside Daniel.
Gregory entered in a dark suit.
No handcuffs in the courtroom.
For a second the two men looked at each other.
Years of competition.
Family dinners.
Board meetings.
Weddings.
Funerals.
Secrets.
Gregory looked away first.
Prosecutors outlined financial charges supported by bank records and digital logs.
The conspiracy case was more complicated.
They argued Gregory directed Colin Sykes to confront Raymond and obtain evidence, knowing Colin had a history of illegal methods.
Gregory’s attorney argued he authorized only lawful corporate security work.
Bail was denied based partly on evidence Gregory had attempted to move money after learning of the investigation.
Outside court, reporters surrounded Raymond.
“Do you believe Gregory tried to kill you?”
Raymond stopped.
Months earlier he would have answered immediately.
Now he thought about Bell’s repeated warning.
Evidence first.
“I believe Gregory made choices that helped put Elias Vance and me in that warehouse,” Raymond said.
“Did he order your murder?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer surprised everyone.
Including Raymond.
That evening Clara Vance called him.
“I saw the interview.”
Raymond braced himself.
“You said you didn’t know.”
“I don’t.”
“Good.”
He waited.
Clara continued.
“Elias used to say certainty was dangerous when people wanted it too badly.”
Raymond almost smiled.
“He sounds exhausting.”
“He was.”
A pause.
“Clara?”
“Yes?”
“We’re planning to sell Alder Ridge.”
“So?”
“Some of the proceeds will restore employee funds and create an independent investigative grant for corporate whistleblowers.”
“Do not put Elias’s name on it without asking me.”
“I won’t.”
Another pause.
“You’re learning.”
“Slowly.”
“Very.”
She hung up.
Raymond smiled for the first time that day.
Meanwhile Colin Sykes was interviewed again.
This time he gave prosecutors something new.
A recording.
Not of the fire.
Not of Gregory explicitly ordering murder.
A conversation from three days before.
Gregory’s voice:
If Raymond stops the Alder deal, everything collapses.
Colin:
What do you want me to do?
Gregory:
I don’t care anymore. Just make sure he isn’t in a position to stop it.
Colin:
You understand what you’re asking.
A long pause.
Then Gregory:
I understand.
The room went silent when prosecutors played it.
Colin had recorded his employer as insurance.
May you like
Gregory had finally stopped choosing his words carefully.
And though the recording still did not literally say “kill him,” the meaning was no longer easy to dismiss.
