Chapter 12 - THE ARREST
The arrests happened three days later.
Not dramatically.
No flashing lights at first.
No shouting.
Just two detectives walking into my parents' house.
My mother opened the door.
She saw them.
Then she looked behind them.
My father appeared.
“What's happening?”
Daniel Mercer showed them the warrant.
My mother began crying.
My father sat down.
Vanessa wasn't there.
She had agreed to cooperate.
I watched from across the street.
I didn't feel victorious.
I felt tired.
Very tired.
The investigation uncovered more than I expected.
Unauthorized transfers.
Forged signatures.
Fraudulent financial statements.
The insurance policy.
The custody plan.
And evidence that my father had deliberately withheld information about the money.
But then Daniel came to my apartment.
He looked serious.
“Carolyn, there's something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your father wasn't the one who initiated the custody petition.”
I froze.
“Who was?”
Daniel placed a folder on the table.
“Someone else.”
I opened it.
The paperwork had been prepared months earlier.
The petitioner was Vanessa.
But the attorney listed wasn't her attorney.
It was an attorney connected to someone I knew.
Someone I trusted.
My divorce attorney.
Rebecca.
I stared at the name.
“This can't be right.”
Daniel said:
“That's what we're trying to determine.”
I immediately called Rebecca.
She answered.
“Carolyn?”
“Did you prepare custody documents involving Alice?”
Silence.
“Where did you get that?”
“Daniel Mercer.”
Rebecca didn't answer.
“Rebecca?”
Finally she said:
“I didn't file them.”
“But your name is there.”
“I know.”
“What does that mean?”
Her voice became quiet.
“It means someone used my identity.”
I sat down.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Then Rebecca asked:
“Carolyn, where is Alice?”
“In the apartment.”
“Keep her there.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever forged those documents may still be trying to take her.”
The line went dead.
I looked toward the hallway.
Alice was drawing at the kitchen table.
I walked over.
“Baby?”
She looked up.
“Yeah?”
“Did anyone come to the apartment while I was working?”
She nodded.
“Who?”
She pointed toward the door.
“The man with Grandpa.”
My heart stopped.
“What man?”
“I don't know.”
“What did he want?”
May you like
Alice whispered:
“He asked me where you kept your keys.”
