Chapter 5 - Twenty-One DaysElliot would turn eleven in twenty-one days.
Until that night, Tessa had thought his birthday meant cake, presents, and an argument over how many friends he could invite.
Now it meant land.
Millions of dollars.
And perhaps murder.
Caleb sat at their kitchen table with Detective Ortiz.
“My maternal grandfather, Edwin Lane, owned Blackstone Ridge before Mercer Ridge Adventures existed,” Caleb explained.
“Diane’s father?” Ortiz asked.
“Yes.”
Walter married into the property.
Tessa had known that much.
What she had never understood was how much of the Mercer empire had originally belonged to Diane’s family.
“Edwin let Walter develop part of the land for the lodge and outdoor business,” Caleb said. “But he never trusted him completely.”
“Apparently wisely,” Tessa said.
Caleb accepted the hit.
“When Edwin died twelve years ago, he put one hundred sixty undeveloped acres into a testamentary trust.”
“Beneficiary?”
“Eventually Elliot.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“Why Elliot instead of you?”
“Edwin hated what Walter and I were doing with the company.”
“You?”
Caleb grimaced.
“I was twenty-eight. I wanted expansion. Resorts. Condos. Edwin wanted conservation. We fought constantly.”
“What happens on Elliot’s eleventh birthday?”
“Title transfers into a protected trust for Elliot, with Tessa and an independent trustee controlling it until he’s twenty-five.”
Tessa stared at him.
“I’m a trustee?”
“You were supposed to be.”
“Supposed to?”
Caleb looked away.
“I haven’t seen the current documents in years.”
Ortiz caught the wording.
“What happens if Elliot dies before eleven?”
Caleb’s silence was answer enough.
“Caleb.”
“The property reverts to Mercer Ridge Holdings.”
Tessa felt her stomach drop.
“And who controls Mercer Ridge Holdings?”
Caleb whispered, “Walter.”
Ortiz’s eyes hardened.
“How much is the land worth?”
“As undeveloped mountain acreage? Maybe eight million.”
“That doesn’t sound like enough to explain this.”
“It isn’t.”
Caleb stood and walked to the window.
“Three years ago, geological surveys found an underground thermal aquifer beneath the western ridge.”
Tessa frowned.
“For geothermal energy?”
“And resort development. Hot springs. Private lodge sites.”
“How much?”
Caleb looked at her.
“With unrestricted development rights?”
He hesitated.
“Thirty to forty million.”
Ortiz closed her notebook.
“That sounds more like motive.”
At the Mercer estate, deputies reached Diane before Walter entered her bedroom.
Walter’s attorney immediately claimed the entire confrontation had been a misunderstanding.
Diane was escorted away.
But Walter himself could not be arrested yet.
There was no physical witness to the push.
Elliot was ten.
Walter claimed Elliot had panicked.
And although the rig had suspicious damage, forensic inspection was incomplete.
By midnight, Walter was home.
Free.
At 12:23 a.m., Tessa received a text message.
Unknown number.
STOP DIGGING.
She showed Ortiz.
Another message came.
THE BOY SURVIVED ONCE.
Tessa stared at the screen.
Caleb swore.
Ortiz photographed everything.
“This could be Walter.”
“Could be?” Caleb snapped.
“Or someone trying to make it look like Walter.”
Tessa read the words again.
The boy survived once.
Then her phone rang.
Owen.
His voice was breathless.
“Tessa, somebody broke into the equipment facility.”
“What?”
“They didn’t steal money.”
“What did they take?”
“The computer that stored the rig inspection logs.”
Tessa closed her eyes.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“The security backup.”
Caleb leaned toward the speaker.
“Was there another copy?”
Owen hesitated.
“Not there.”
“Where?”
“I made one.”
Tessa straightened.
“Why?”
“Because I stopped trusting Walter two weeks ago.”
“What’s on it?”
“Enough to prove somebody deliberately altered Elliot’s rig.”
Tessa looked at Detective Ortiz.
“Where is the copy?”
Owen answered.
“My house.”
A loud crash came through the phone.
Owen stopped speaking.
“Owen?”
Another sound.
May you like
Glass breaking.
Then the call disconnected.
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