“He helped me carry lumber.”
“Did he ever ask about the tin?”
Dad’s expression changed.
“Once,” he said.
“He asked if the important papers were still kept beneath the bench.”
Jessica covered her mouth.
Robert took a slow breath.
“This is no longer simply a matter of unpaid debt.
We need to report the forged documents and the missing deed to the sheriff’s office and the bank’s fraud department.
We also need to secure the property records immediately.”
“Can Caleb sell the house without the original deed?”
I asked.
“No.
Not lawfully.
But he may have used the document to make the transaction appear legitimate to someone who doesn’t know the full history.”
“Why would he do this?”
Robert looked at Jessica.
“That is the question.”
Jessica’s phone buzzed for a third time.
This time, the message was from an unknown number.
Your sister knows what happened to the first loan.
