Chapter 7 - What Thomas Bennett Used to Do
Dad didn't speed.
He made three turns.
The SUV made all three.
“Are we in danger?”
“Possibly.”
That answer terrified me more than reassurance would have.
Dad called someone named Evelyn.
“It's Thomas. I activated the old contact protocol.”
He listened.
“No. My daughter is with me.”
Another pause.
“Mercer is involved.”
His expression hardened.
“Understood.”
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Thomas Bennett.”
“You know what I mean.”
For most of my life, Dad had repaired heavy equipment and managed Mom's land.
At least, that's what I'd believed.
He pulled into a busy shopping center.
The SUV continued past us.
Only then did he speak.
Before marrying Mom, Dad had spent twenty-three years as a federal financial-crimes investigator.
Not some secret assassin.
Not a spy.
An investigator.
His specialty had been public corruption, money laundering and organized fraud.
The black case wasn't a weapon.
It contained an old authenticated emergency communications device maintained through a retired-investigator protection network after threats from one of his final cases.
“Why hide that from me?”
“Because I wanted to be your father, not a story people told about your father.”
The mysterious signal suddenly made sense.
So did Mercer's face.
Dad had once testified in a federal corruption prosecution involving Mercer's former business partner.
Mercer knew exactly who Thomas Bennett was.
Richard apparently hadn't understood the whole history.
But someone in his family had.
We reached the trust administrator's office.
Evelyn Grant was waiting.
She was seventy, sharp-eyed and furious.
She spread documents across a conference table.
Forgery after forgery.
My signature.
Dad's signature.
Trust amendments.
Transfer instructions.
Then Evelyn placed one final document in front of me.
A life-insurance policy.
Twenty million dollars.
Insured person:
Lily Bennett Cole.
Beneficiary:
Richard Cole.
The policy had been increased four months earlier.
I couldn't breathe.
Dad didn't touch me.
He simply sat beside me while I processed it.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Lily, there's another document you need to see.”
May you like
It was dated three days before my mother died.
And Richard's father had signed it.
