A key that had allowed me to find her in the basement.
After Marian left, I locked the door.
Then I called Detective Ortiz.
“I think Marian knows far more than she's admitting.”
The detective listened.
Then said quietly, “Emma, we just received the first detailed interview from Helen Parker.”
My heart quickened.
“What did she say?”
“Helen says she never voluntarily agreed to surrender control of her property.”
I gripped the telephone.
“Then who signed the documents?”
The detective paused.
“She believes someone forged her signature.”
I closed my eyes.
“And Emma,” Ortiz continued, “Helen identified the woman who introduced her to the man handling the paperwork.”
“Who?”
“Marian Vale.”
CHAPTER 5: THE FIRST WOMAN ON ALEX'S LIST HAD BEEN DEAD FOR SIX WEEKS—SO WHY WAS SOMEONE STILL USING HER NAME?
The first woman on Alex's list had supposedly been dead for six weeks. But at 11:42 that night, someone withdrew twenty thousand dollars from an account bearing her signature.
