Chapter 7 - Elizabeth's Voice
Before they listened, Richard wanted the rest of Anna's story.
All of it.
She resisted.
He insisted.
Not because he doubted her anymore.
Because he finally understood that knowing the truth about Elizabeth without understanding the price Anna had paid would be another form of selfishness.
They sat in Richard's kitchen after midnight.
Cooper lay beneath the table.
Anna held a mug of tea between both hands.
Richard asked, “What happened after Providence?”
Anna looked into the steam.
“I stopped being employable in my field.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“No. It's the answer.”
She told him.
The nonprofit in Providence let her go after receiving a reference claiming she had mishandled confidential donor information.
A communications agency hired her next.
Three months later, an anonymous package arrived containing portions of her foundation personnel file.
She was dismissed.
She moved into freelance consulting.
A major client disappeared after someone warned them Anna was involved in litigation.
There had been no litigation.
Then her mother developed cancer.
Anna became caregiver.
Bills piled up.
Credit cards filled.
The landlord raised rent.
Her mother died.
Anna missed two months of payments.
Eviction.
She slept in her car.
Then the car was repossessed.
Shelters.
Church basements.
Temporary jobs.
Warehouses.
Cleaning crews.
A grocery store.
An injury.
Another eviction.
Then the streets.
Richard listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked, “Why keep Elizabeth's message all that time?”
Anna looked at him.
“Because it was the only proof I had that I wasn't crazy.”
Richard flinched.
Anna continued.
“Everybody told me to let it go. Friends. Lawyers. Employers. Even my mother near the end.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because Elizabeth believed me.”
Simple.
That was the whole answer.
Richard looked down at Cooper.
“What was my wife like with you?”
Anna smiled faintly.
“Annoying.”
Richard looked up.
“She was your boss.”
“She rewrote everything.”
“That sounds right.”
“She hated semicolons.”
Richard laughed.
He had forgotten that.
“She said people used them when they didn't know how to end a sentence.”
Anna smiled.
“She used to steal almonds from my desk.”
“She hated almonds.”
“No. She told you she hated almonds because you bought salted ones.”
Richard laughed again.
Then stopped.
For eighteen months, Elizabeth had existed mostly as death.
Hospital.
Funeral.
Empty bed.
Cooper waiting beside the door.
Now Anna was returning ordinary pieces of her.
Semicolons.
Almonds.
Bad jokes.
Irritating habits.
It hurt.
But it was a better kind of hurt.
Richard asked, “Did she talk about me?”
“All the time.”
“What did she say?”
Anna leaned back.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“She said you were brilliant at seeing three moves ahead in business and terrible at noticing what was directly in front of you.”
Richard smiled sadly.
“That sounds like her.”
“She loved you.”
Richard looked away.
Anna's voice softened.
“She was angry with you. That's different.”
“For not listening.”
“For being absent.”
Richard nodded.
He deserved that.
“She also blamed herself,” Anna said.
“For what?”
“For letting Daniel become too important.”
Richard looked at her.
“She said you trusted him like family.”
“I did.”
“She did too.”
Past tense.
Richard heard it.
“What changed?”
“Chicago.”
They returned to the files.
Martin had located hotel records from Elizabeth's Chicago conference.
Elizabeth had met privately with a forensic accountant named Vanessa Pike.
Pike was still alive.
Richard called her the next morning.
At first, she refused to discuss anything.
Then Richard mentioned Elizabeth.
Silence.
“Mr. Vaughn?”
“Yes.”
“I wondered if you'd ever call.”
Richard gripped the phone.
“You met my wife.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She had concerns about diverted charitable funds.”
“Did she show you records?”
“Yes.”
“What did you find?”
Pike hesitated.
“Fraud.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“How much?”
“Potentially four to six million dollars over several entities.”
Richard looked at Martin across the room.
“Who benefited?”
“I never completed the investigation.”
“Why?”
“Mrs. Vaughn called me three days later and told me to stop.”
Richard frowned.
“Why?”
“She said she had found something more serious.”
“Medical?”
A pause.
“How do you know?”
Richard felt ice in his veins.
“Tell me.”
“She asked me whether financial payments could be disguised as healthcare consulting.”
“And?”
“I said yes.”
“Did she mention Dr. Kell?”
“Yes.”
Richard looked at Anna.
Anna closed her eyes.
Pike continued.
“She also asked whether legal counsel could manipulate competency findings.”
Richard stopped.
“Competency?”
“Yes.”
“She believed someone was building a record suggesting she was mentally unstable.”
Richard's heart thudded.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she say?”
“No. But she was scared.”
Richard looked at the recorder on the table.
“Thank you.”
Before hanging up, Pike said, “Mr. Vaughn?”
“Yes?”
“She told me something.”
Richard waited.
“She said if anything happened to her, it would be made to look natural.”
Richard could not speak.
He ended the call.
Anna sat across from him.
Martin was pale.
Richard walked to the window.
For several minutes, nobody moved.
Then Cooper stood and pressed against Richard's leg.
Richard rested a hand on the dog's head.
His wife had died of a supposedly natural cardiac event.
Now a forensic accountant was telling him Elizabeth had predicted exactly that.
Richard turned.
“Call the police?”
Martin asked.
Richard thought.
“No.”
Anna looked surprised.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we have suspicion, compromised records, old payments, and a recording we haven't heard.”
Richard picked up his phone.
“I want Daniel here.”
Anna stiffened.
Richard looked at the voice recorder.
“Elizabeth asked for him.”
Martin frowned.
“You think he'll come?”
Richard smiled without warmth.
“He thinks I'm still confused.”
Richard called Daniel.
“I need your help.”
Silence.
Then Daniel sighed.
“Richard.”
“I was wrong.”
Anna stared at him.
Richard continued.
“I've been spiraling.”
Daniel's tone softened immediately.
“I know.”
“I found something Elizabeth left.”
Another silence.
“What?”
“A recording.”
Richard let the words hang.
Daniel's breathing changed.
Just slightly.
“I think Anna manipulated it.”
“That is possible.”
“Can you come over?”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“I'll be there.”
Richard ended the call.
Anna stared.
“You lied well.”
“I've had practice in boardrooms.”
Martin looked uneasy.
“What if he's dangerous?”
Richard glanced toward Cooper.
May you like
“Then for once, we'll be ready.”
---
