Chapter 6: The Missing Trust
The rain had stopped by the time David pulled into Martin's office parking lot.
But the sky still looked bruised.
Jasmine sat beside him, staring at the dark windows of the building.
“Dad,” she said quietly, “are you sure we should be here?””
David turned off the engine.
“No.””
She looked at him.
“But I'm coming anyway.””
David reached for the door handle.
“Stay close to me.””
They walked into the building together.
Martin was waiting in the lobby.
His tie was loose, his normally neat gray hair was disheveled, and there was a fresh cut across his cheek.
Jasmine stopped.
“What happened to you?””
Martin touched the cut.
“I was at home when the police called me.””
David's expression hardened.
“You said someone broke into your office.””
“They did.””
“Was anything stolen?””
Martin looked at him.
“That depends on what you mean by stolen.””
David stepped closer.
“Martin.””
“The safe was opened.””
Jasmine felt a chill.
“What was inside?””
“Client files.””
“Which files?””
Martin looked at David.
“Your wife's.””
David went completely still.
“Take us upstairs.””
Martin hesitated.
“David, there's something you need to understand first.””
“What?””
“The person who broke in knew exactly where to look.””
They followed him upstairs.
The office smelled of dust, wet carpet, and something faintly metallic.
One door had been forced open.
Inside, filing cabinets had been pulled from the walls.
Papers covered the floor.
But one cabinet remained closed.
Martin walked toward it.
“This is where I kept the original trust.””
David stared at it.
“Open it.””
Martin entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then he frowned.
“They changed the lock.””
David looked at him.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
Jasmine crouched near the cabinet.
Something white was sticking out from beneath it.
She pulled it free.
It was a photograph.
An old photograph of her mother.
Jasmine stared at it.
Her mother was standing beside a man Jasmine didn't recognize.
David took the photograph.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?””
Martin shook his head.
“I've never seen it.””
David turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
His wife's handwriting.
*David, if you are reading this, don't trust the person who tells you the trust doesn't exist.*
Jasmine's heart pounded.
“Mom wrote that?””
David nodded.
“When?””
“I don't know.””
Martin looked uneasy.
“There's something else.””
He walked to his desk and opened a drawer.
Inside was a small envelope.
“I found this under the carpet after the police left.””
David took it.
His name was written across the front.
He opened it.
Inside was a single key.
And a note.
*Locker 317. First National Bank.*
Jasmine looked at her father.
“That's the bank where Mom had the account.””
David nodded.
Martin suddenly spoke.
“There's one more thing.””
David turned.
“Yesterday, before the break-in, someone called me.””
“Who?””
“He wouldn't give his name.””
“What did he say?””
Martin swallowed.
“He told me to destroy the trust.””
Jasmine's stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“He said if I didn't, people would get hurt.””
David's voice became cold.
“Did you believe him?””
“No.””
“Then why didn't you call me?””
Martin looked down.
“Because he knew something only you and I should have known.””
“What?””
“The location of your wife's safe deposit box.””
David stared at him.
“That information was never in the trust.””
“I know.””
“So who else knew?””
Martin didn't answer.
Jasmine whispered, “Jessica?””
Martin shook his head.
“No.””
“Michael?””
“No.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“Then who?””
Martin looked toward the hallway.
“I think the person who called me is the same person who has been moving money.””
A sound came from outside the office.
Footsteps.
All three turned.
Someone was walking down the hallway.
David motioned for Jasmine to move behind him.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
A shadow appeared beneath it.
Then the handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Martin whispered, “Nobody knows we're here.””
The door suddenly opened.
Jessica stood there.
Jasmine gasped.
“Jessica?””
She looked terrified.
David stepped toward her.
“How did you know we were here?””
Jessica's eyes darted toward Martin.
“I followed you.””
“Why?””
“Because I know who has the key.””
David froze.
“What?””
Jessica closed the door behind her.
“I know who has the other key to your wife's safe deposit box.””
Jasmine stared at her.
“You said you didn't know anything.””
“I lied.””
David's face hardened.
“Why?””
Jessica's eyes filled with tears.
“Because if I told you the truth yesterday, you would have gone after him.””
“Who?””
Jessica looked at Martin.
Then at Jasmine.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your mother's brother.””
David's face went pale.
“My wife's brother died eight years ago.””
Jessica shook her head.
“No.””
She reached into her purse.
She pulled out an old driver's license.
The photograph was unmistakable.
Jasmine stared at it.
The man in the photograph was the same man standing beside her mother.
But the name on the license wasn't her mother's brother.
It was someone else.
Someone Jasmine had known all her life.
Jessica whispered:
“He changed his name after your mother died.””
David stared at the photograph.
Then he looked at Jessica.
“Where is he now?””
May you like
Jessica's lips trembled.
“He's been living ten minutes from your house.””
