And Agnes had supplied some of those tools.
I felt physically ill.
“Why fake her own death?” I asked.
Ortiz paused.
“The evidence suggests Agnes wanted to distance herself from the transactions while Marian appeared to act on behalf of her estate. It also allowed her to present herself as another elderly woman whose circumstances had changed.”
I shook my head.
“She used her own age to make everyone believe she was harmless.”
“She appears to have relied heavily on other people's trust,” Ortiz answered.
Then the detective told me something I hadn't expected.
“Emma, your mother's house wasn't only important because of its land.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Agnes believed Margaret Wilson had preserved original correspondence and signed documents that could expose an earlier attempt to alter the Seven Oaks restrictions.”
I thought about the spare emergency key.
The hidden photographs.
The original property papers.
“She thought I could get them?”
