Chapter 13: The Woman Who Signed My Husband's Will
“Jared requested the deletion?””
I stared at the investigator's screen.
He nodded.
“The request came through the storage facility's management portal. It was submitted less than three minutes ago.””
Margaret immediately reached for her phone.
“Peter, lock down every access point. Nobody enters or leaves this unit until the police arrive.””
The storage manager looked terrified.
“I can't just lock everyone inside.””
“You can secure the property and preserve the evidence,” Margaret replied.
“That's what you're going to do.””
I looked at the grandfather clock.
Its wooden face reflected the fluorescent lights above us.
Thomas had bought it nearly thirty years earlier. He had carefully maintained it, even when we couldn't afford to repair the roof of our first house.
Now someone had searched it, removed something, and tried to erase the evidence.
I picked up the small handwritten note again.
Search for the woman who signed the first one.
Elaine Porter.
I looked at Margaret.
“Did Elaine prepare Thomas's original will?””
“She prepared the first draft,” Margaret answered.
“But Arthur Collins supervised the final execution.””
“Was she allowed to sign it?””
“No. She witnessed certain supporting documents, but she wasn't the executor.””
I frowned.
“Then why did Thomas write that?””
Margaret took the note from me and examined the handwriting.
“Because he knew something we haven't discovered yet.””
The investigator interrupted.
“Mrs. Bennett, the police are on their way. I also received confirmation that the deletion request was denied. The system has preserved the original footage.””
I exhaled.
At least one thing had gone right.
Twenty minutes later, two officers arrived.
They took photographs of the clock, collected the note, and recorded our statements.
The investigator showed them the footage of Elaine entering the storage unit.
One officer recognized her name.
“Elaine Porter?”” he asked.
Margaret nodded.
“She was a private attorney who worked with Thomas Bennett.””
The officer exchanged a glance with his partner.
“She's already been mentioned in another investigation.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What investigation?””
“Financial document fraud involving several real estate transactions.””
Margaret leaned forward.
“Was Richard Whitmore involved?””
The officer didn't answer directly.
“That's something the detectives are looking into.””
After the officers finished documenting the scene, Arthur called.
Margaret explained what had happened.
He became silent when he heard about Thomas's note.
Then he said, “Bring the note to my office. I think I know what he meant.””
We drove directly to his downtown Miami office.
Arthur was waiting when we arrived.
He had cleared his desk and spread several legal documents across it.
I placed the note in front of him.
He read it carefully.
Then he opened a locked cabinet.
Inside was a thick red folder.
“Thomas gave me this shortly before he died.””
I looked at the label.
*ESTATE EXECUTION — ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.*
Arthur removed several pages.
The first was a copy of Thomas's original will.
I recognized the date.
It had been signed four years earlier.
My name appeared beside the primary beneficiary designation.
Jared was listed as the secondary beneficiary.
I looked at Arthur.
“Was this the first will?””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
Arthur turned to another page.
“This document was replaced eighteen months ago.””
I stared.
“Replaced?””
“Thomas changed several provisions. He transferred the mountain property into a protected estate structure and created the private beneficiary trust you've already seen.””
I nodded.
I remembered the documents.
Arthur continued.
“However, the new will was prepared through Elaine's office.””
I leaned forward.
“Was it valid?””
Arthur hesitated.
“That's precisely the problem.””
He placed a copy of the execution page in front of me.
The document contained two witness signatures.
One belonged to Margaret.
The other belonged to a man named Steven Cross.
I looked at the date.
“Who is Steven Cross?””
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
“He was a notary working with Elaine's office.””
“Was he present when Thomas signed?””
Arthur nodded.
“According to the original affidavit, yes.””
“Then what's wrong?””
Arthur pointed to the witness declaration.
“Steven Cross died eleven months before this document was supposedly signed.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
Arthur nodded grimly.
“The date is correct according to the document. But the witness had already been dead for almost a year.””
Margaret leaned back.
“That means the execution page was altered.””
“Possibly,” Arthur replied.
“Or the entire document was reconstructed.””
I looked at the signature.
Thomas's name was there.
But something about the final stroke looked wrong.
“Can we prove it wasn't his signature?””
Arthur opened another folder.
“Your husband anticipated that possibility.””
He removed a handwritten letter.
It was dated two weeks before Thomas died.
Arthur,
If anyone challenges the validity of the final estate documents, I want you to examine the original execution records.
Do not rely on copies supplied by Elaine.
The true document is not the one everyone believes it to be.
I looked up.
“Where is the true document?””
Arthur shook his head.
“I don't know.””
I felt a wave of frustration.
“Thomas left clues everywhere, but nobody can tell me where the actual will is.””
Arthur gave me a sympathetic look.
“Because Thomas believed someone inside the legal system was compromising his documents. He didn't want the original exposed until you were protected.””
I stared at the red folder.
Then I noticed something.
A small label on the back.
*CROSS — WITNESS FILE.*
I opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of Steven Cross's death certificate.
But beneath it was another document.
A notarized affidavit bearing his signature.
The date was three months after his death.
I looked at Arthur.
“Who signed this?””
He leaned closer.
Then his face changed.
“Elaine Porter.””
Margaret stood.
“That's enough. We need to find her.””
Arthur nodded.
“I've already requested an emergency review of every estate document she handled.””
I closed the folder.
“Can we have her arrested?””
“Not without establishing the full chain of evidence.””
I looked at the clock on the wall.
I was tired of waiting for people to tell me what had happened to my husband.
“Then let's find her.””
Arthur made several calls.
By late afternoon, he had discovered that Elaine had recently moved her legal practice to a small office in Coral Gables.
We drove there with the investigator.
The office was closed.
A notice on the glass door said the business had temporarily suspended operations.
Margaret knocked.
Nobody answered.
The investigator walked around the building.
Then he called us.
“There's a car in the underground garage.””
I looked through the glass.
A familiar black sedan was parked near the elevator.
The license plate matched a vehicle listed in Thomas's visitor records.
Richard Whitmore.
Margaret whispered, “He's here.””
We entered the garage.
The elevator doors opened.
Richard stepped out.
He looked surprised to see us.
Then he smiled.
“Leah. What a coincidence.””
I stared at him.
“Where is Elaine?””
He adjusted his cuff.
“I have no idea.””
“You were at her office.””
“I have business everywhere.””
Margaret stepped forward.
“Richard, the police have the storage footage. We know Elaine removed something from the grandfather clock.””
His smile disappeared.
“You people are becoming obsessed.””
I moved closer.
“What did she take?””
He looked directly at me.
“Ask your son.””
Before I could respond, a door opened behind him.
A woman stepped into the garage.
Elaine Porter.
She was holding a leather folder.
When she saw us, she stopped.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Richard turned toward her.
“Elaine, I thought you said the original was destroyed.””
May you like
Her face went white.
And I knew, without a doubt, that we had finally found the truth.
