Chapter 9 - The Receipt in Robert’s Wallet
Robert slowly reached into his back pocket.
Linda stepped toward him.
The officer blocked her.
Robert pulled out a folded shipping receipt.
“I kept it.”
Linda stared at him as if he had betrayed her.
“You said you threw that away.”
“I said I would.”
The receipt listed Robert Simpson as the sender.
But beneath the payment information was another name.
Linda Simpson.
Her credit card had paid for the shipment.
The package weight was thirteen pounds.
Far heavier than a few photographs and books.
Joanna looked at her father.
“Why did you keep it?”
Robert swallowed.
“Because something felt wrong.”
“Yet you still sent it.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I was afraid of her.”
Joanna almost laughed.
He said the words as though fear excused everything.
“You watched her threaten me with fire.”
“I know.”
“You accessed my bank account.”
“I know.”
“You helped put stolen property in my house.”
“I didn’t know what was in the box.”
“But you knew enough to keep the receipt.”
Robert’s face crumpled.
There was no answer that could save him.
Beth moved away from Linda.
The distance was small.
But Linda noticed.
“You’re both turning against me because of her.”
“No,” Beth said. “Because you lied about everything.”
Linda laughed harshly.
“You wanted that wedding.”
“I wanted a wedding. I didn’t ask you to frame Joanna.”
“You asked me to fix the problem.”
Beth went silent.
That sentence was recorded too.
The Phoenix officer spoke with Monterey police by radio.
Officers had arrived at Joanna’s house after receiving Linda’s report.
They had not entered.
They had detained no one.
The package remained sealed in the garage.
The shipping receipt, Joanna’s recording, and Robert’s statement changed the situation immediately.
A detective in Monterey requested that the package be preserved as potential evidence of a false report and attempted framing.
Joanna felt her knees weaken.
Her house was safe for now.
But the danger was not over.
The officer turned toward Linda.
“Did you knowingly place missing jewelry inside that package?”
“No.”
“Did you file a report accusing Joanna of stealing it?”
“I reported what I believed.”
“Before or after you shipped the box?”
Linda’s nostrils flared.
She refused to answer.
Her silence said enough.
Then Linda’s phone vibrated again.
A bank alert appeared.
A transfer of $125,000 had been attempted that morning.
The destination account belonged to Beth’s event company.
Joanna looked at the printed documents on the island.
May you like
The forged transfer had already been submitted.
👉 Linda had not only tried to force Joanna’s signature—she had created a digital version before Joanna ever entered the kitchen.
