Chapter 7: The Other Man Who Knew
I pulled over.
My hands were steadier than I expected.
"How did you get this number?" I asked.
"Dean gave it to me." A pause.
"He told me you found something.
A video.
He said you were thinking about going to the police."
"Dean talks too much."
A short sound that might have been a laugh.
"He does.
It's one of his less useful qualities." Another pause.
"Mrs.
Marsh, I want to be clear with you.
I have no interest in your family.
My interest is in a debt that has been outstanding for a very long time.
That's all this has ever been about."
"You filed a lien on my husband's land six months after he d*ed."
"I filed a lien on collateral that was promised to me before your husband d*ed.
There's a difference." His voice was patient.
Almost gentle.
"Dean made a commitment.
I expect that commitment to be honored.
That's not a threat.
It's a contract."
"My husband never signed anything."
"No.
But Dean did.
And Dean promised something that wasn't entirely his to promise." A beat.
"That's between Dean and his conscience.
My position is simpler.
The debt exists.
The land covers it.
I'd prefer a clean resolution."
"And if I don't cooperate?"
"Then things become complicated.
For Dean, primarily.
But complicated situations have a way of touching everyone nearby." He let that sit for a moment.
"I'm not asking you to do anything illegal, Mrs.
Marsh.
I'm asking you to consider that the simplest path forward is also the cleanest one."
"I'll think about it," I said.
"Please do." He paused one final time.
"And Mrs.
Marsh — I'd encourage you not to involve attorneys in this.
Attorneys slow things down.
And slow things have a way of getting messier than they need to be."
He ended the call.
I sat on the side of the road for a long moment.
Then I called Marcus.
"Sorel just called me directly," I said when he picked up.
Silence.
Then: "What did he say?"
I told him everything.
Word for word.
"He knows you've spoken to me," Marcus said.
"Which means Dean told him.
Which means Dean is more frightened than he appeared yesterday." A pause.
"Carol, I'm moving up the timeline.
I'm calling the financial crimes unit now, today.
I need you to send me the recording of that phone call immediately."
"I recorded it," I said.
Another silence.
Longer this time.
"You recorded it."
"I pulled over and started recording the moment I heard his name."
"Carol." His voice had something in it I hadn't heard before.
"You are making my job very easy."
I sent him the file and drove home.
Sophie was in the kitchen when I walked in.
She took one look at my face and said, "What happened?"
I sat down and told her about Sorel's call.
About the lien.
About Harrow Capital.
About what Marcus had found in the property records.
She listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she was quiet for a moment.
Then she said, "Dad knew.
He knew all of it, didn't he.
That's why he recorded the video.
He knew Dean had already promised the land to someone else.
He knew that if something happened to him, you'd be left holding a property with a criminal's name attached to it and no idea why."
I hadn't thought of it in exactly those words.
But she was right.
Daniel hadn't just been recording a warning.
He had been leaving me a map.
"There's something else," Sophie said.
She reached into the pocket of her hoodie and placed a small folded piece of paper on the table.
"I found it in the box.
Tucked inside the case of the old phone.
I didn't see it last night."
I unfolded it.
It was a handwritten note.
Daniel's handwriting.
Seven words.
May you like
*Check the boat insurance.
Ask about the policy.*
