Chapter 5: What Nora Knew
"Thank you for picking up."
Nora's voice was quieter than I expected.
Careful.
"Thank you for reaching out," I said.
"What is it you didn't want to put in writing?"
A pause.
I heard her exhale.
"This isn't the first time they've done this."
I waited.
"Three years ago, before you and Carson were married — he and Garrett did the same thing to his ex-girlfriend, Dana.
She was a nurse.
Good with money.
They invited her on a trip to the Outer Banks and had her running the house the whole time.
She didn't find out until afterward that Garrett had charged the rental to a joint account he and Carson shared, then written it off as a business expense.
She never saw a cent."
"Carson had a joint account with Garrett?"
"He may still.
I don't know.
After Dana left, I stopped asking questions." Another pause.
"I should have said something to you before the wedding.
I told myself it wasn't my business.
I've regretted that."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Nora, why are you telling me now?"
"Because last night Garrett called me.
He wanted me to talk to you.
Calm you down, he said.
Remind you that family doesn't keep score." Her voice went flat.
"That's when I decided to call you myself instead."
I stood up from the café table and walked a few steps down the sidewalk, away from the other tables.
"What exactly did Garrett want you to say to me?"
"That you were overreacting.
That Carson loves you.
That the invoice thing was embarrassing for everyone and you should come back to the house and let it go." She stopped.
"He also said — and I want you to hear this clearly — that if you made trouble, Carson would tell people at your firm that you'd been using company time to run personal financial projects."
The street noise seemed to drop away.
"He said what?"
"That's a direct quote.
I wrote it down when he said it.
I have the timestamp on my notes app."
I stood very still on the sidewalk.
"Carson knows that's not true."
"I know it's not true.
But Garrett seemed to think the threat would be enough to make you go quiet." Her voice was steady but I could hear the effort in it.
"I'm sorry, Brenda.
I'm sorry I didn't warn you sooner.
I'm sorry my brother is who he is."
I looked down the street.
A couple was walking toward me, holding hands, laughing at something.
They passed without looking up.
"Nora.
I need you to do one thing for me."
"Name it."
"Write down everything Garrett said to you last night.
Exact words, as close as you can get them.
Time, date, method of contact.
Then send it to me."
"I can do that."
"And the joint account — do you have any documentation?
Old statements, anything?"
"I might.
Our mother's estate went through both of them.
There were shared accounts in the paperwork.
I kept copies of everything because Garrett tried to dispute the distribution." A short silence.
"I'll look tonight."
"Thank you."
"Brenda." She hesitated.
"What are you going to do?"
I watched a seagull land on a parking meter, look around with great authority, and fly off again.
"I'm going to finish my vacation," I said.
"And then I'm going to go back to Columbus and do what I do every day."
"Which is?"
"Calculate exactly what everything costs."
She was quiet for a moment.
Then: "Good."
We hung up.
I walked back to the café.
My coffee cup was still on the table.
I sat down, pulled out my laptop, and opened a new document.
At the top, I typed: *Statement of Facts.*
Then I started writing.
I was still writing two hours later when my phone buzzed with a message from Carson.
*We need to talk.
I'm coming to find you.*
I saved the document, closed the laptop, and looked up at the sky over Cape May — wide and blue and completely indifferent.
May you like
I typed back four words.
*I'll be at breakfast.*
