Chapter 6 - Sophie Remembered the Night Grandpa DiedCharles Whitmore died at 11:26 p.m. on a rainy Thursday.
Helen remembered every detail because Sophie had been staying at the mansion.
Nathan and Helen had gone to an awards dinner in Miami.
Margaret called at 10:48.
Charles had collapsed.
Paramedics arrived.
They could not save him.
Cause of death:
Cardiac arrest related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Charles had known about the condition for years.
Nobody questioned it.
Until now.
Helen sat beside Sophie on the edge of her bed.
She did not want to interrogate her daughter.
Laura had warned her not to.
Child protective services had already scheduled a forensic interview.
But there was one question Helen couldn’t ignore.
“Do you remember the night Grandpa died?”
Sophie nodded.
She had been seven.
“Were you awake?”
“I was watching Snow.”
“What does that mean?”
“Grandpa let Snow sleep downstairs.”
Helen remembered.
Margaret hated dogs on the furniture.
Charles ignored her.
“Did you see Grandpa?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before the ambulance.”
Helen’s pulse increased.
“What was he doing?”
“He was in the kitchen.”
“Alone?”
Sophie thought.
“Grandma was there.”
“What were they doing?”
“Talking.”
“Do you remember what about?”
Sophie frowned.
“Grandpa was mad.”
“Did he look sick?”
“No.”
That meant little.
Heart conditions could turn suddenly.
“Did you see Mr. Vale?”
Sophie looked surprised.
“Yes.”
Helen’s breath caught.
Graham had told everyone he arrived after Charles died.
“Where?”
“At the back door.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know.”
“Before Grandpa fell?”
Sophie nodded.
“Did Dad come home?”
“Later.”
Helen remembered arriving with Nathan after Margaret called.
So Nathan likely had not been there.
“What happened next?”
“Grandma told me to go upstairs.”
“Did you?”
Sophie looked guilty.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Snow wouldn’t come.”
Of course.
Snow.
Always Snow.
“I hid behind the stairs.”
Helen’s hands became cold.
“What did you see?”
“Grandpa was sitting at the kitchen table.”
“Was he talking?”
“Yes.”
“Who was with him?”
“Grandma and Mr. Vale.”
Helen forced her voice to stay calm.
“Then what?”
“Grandma brought Grandpa water.”
Something in Helen’s chest tightened.
“Did you see her put anything in it?”
“No.”
Good.
Do not lead her.
“What happened?”
“Grandpa drank some.”
“And?”
“He stood up.”
Sophie’s eyes changed.
“He dropped the glass.”
Helen held her breath.
“Then he fell.”
Snow shifted beside them.
Sophie stroked his fur.
“Grandma didn’t call anybody.”
Helen froze.
“What?”
“She and Mr. Vale were talking.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Grandpa move?”
“A little.”
Helen felt sick.
“What were they saying?”
Sophie closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“Mr. Vale said, ‘If he wakes up, we’re finished.’”
Helen’s heart began pounding.
“Sophie.”
Her daughter looked frightened.
“Did you tell anyone this?”
“Grandma.”
Helen stopped.
“When?”
“The next morning.”
“What did she say?”
“She said I had a nightmare.”
“And later?”
“She said if I ever told you, Daddy would lose everything.”
There it was.
The beginning.
The real beginning.
Not six weeks ago.
Almost a year.
Margaret had been conditioning Sophie’s silence since Charles died.
The bruises came later when Sophie witnessed the boathouse meeting and started asking questions.
Helen called Detective Reed.
Within an hour, homicide detectives were involved.
Charles’s death certificate was reviewed.
Medical records requested.
The original water glass, of course, was long gone.
But blood samples from the hospital might still exist.
The county medical examiner stored certain specimens.
A detective requested them.
Nathan called again.
“Helen, police are at Mom’s hotel.”
“They should be.”
“You told them Sophie thinks Mom delayed calling 911?”
“I told them what Sophie remembered.”
“She was seven.”
“She was there.”
“You’re destroying this family.”
Helen closed her eyes.
“No.”
“What?”
“Your mother has spent a year frightening our child into silence.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I saw the bruises.”
“I’m not defending that.”
“You are.”
“I’m saying Dad was sick!”
Helen’s voice dropped.
“Why are you so afraid of what they might find?”
Nathan stopped.
Helen continued.
“Because your name is in the recording?”
“I didn’t kill my father.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“You keep doing that.”
“No, Nathan. You keep answering questions I haven’t asked.”
Silence.
Then he whispered:
“Dad was going to report the transfers.”
“I know.”
“If he did, Graham and I could have gone to prison.”
“And Margaret?”
“She would have lost everything.”
“What did she do?”
“I don’t know.”
Helen didn’t believe him.
Nathan’s voice cracked.
“I swear to you, I didn’t know what happened that night.”
“Then help me find out.”
Another silence.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Nathan whispered:
“Because Graham has something that could put me away for twenty years.”
Helen stared toward the lake outside Sophie’s window.
“What?”
“I signed documents.”
“Which documents?”
Nathan breathed.
“Documents dated after my father died.”
Helen’s pulse slowed.
“What kind?”
He answered:
“Documents saying Charles approved the transfers.”
May you like
Forgery after death.
And Nathan had participated.
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