Chapter 9 - What Julian Bought
Conrad had forgotten the transaction because Julian had hidden himself behind a company.
After Caroline died, Conrad could no longer live in the Connecticut house.
Every room contained her.
Every doorway became a memory.
He sold quickly.
A corporate buyer paid cash.
Conrad never investigated who owned it.
Detective Sloan did.
The buyer was Westbridge Residential LLC.
Its parent company was controlled by Julian Hayes.
“He bought my house?”
Sloan nodded.
“Eleven days after you listed it.”
“Why?”
“We know why.”
The fourth tape.
Police obtained a warrant.
The house had been unoccupied for almost three years.
Julian had never sold it.
Never rented it.
He had simply owned it.
When Conrad entered with investigators, grief hit him harder than expected.
The walls had been repainted.
The furniture was gone.
But he could still see Caroline racing barefoot down the stairs because she had burned dinner.
Elliot’s crib in the corner of the old bedroom.
Christmas lights in the windows.
Caroline dancing in the kitchen while making coffee.
Conrad stepped outside.
The stone bench remained.
HOME IS WHERE WE TELL THE TRUTH.
Investigators scanned it.
A hollow section appeared beneath the seat.
They opened the compartment.
Empty.
Conrad cursed.
Then one technician pointed to fresh scratches.
“Someone opened this recently.”
“How recently?”
“Could be weeks. Could be months.”
Sloan called the team searching Julian’s electronics.
Forty minutes later, they found a message.
Sent from Julian to Agatha three days earlier.
The bench is empty. Cole moved it.
Conrad read it twice.
Martin was alive three days earlier.
Another message:
Agatha: Find him before Saturday.
Julian: I’m trying.
Agatha: If Conrad learns what Caroline recorded, everything Richard built becomes his.
There it was.
The motive for the party.
Agatha’s trust amendment.
They had believed Martin still possessed the fourth tape.
They expected Conrad to come.
They wanted him bound by a new trust provision before he discovered the truth.
Elliot had accidentally found Caroline’s hidden room.
Julian panicked.
The chain had not merely been cruelty.
It had been intimidation.
A message.
Stop searching.
Conrad sat on the stone bench.
Sloan joined him.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
He almost smiled.
His phone buzzed.
Nathan.
Conrad answered.
Nathan’s voice shook.
“They found Martin.”
Conrad stood.
“Where?”
“A motel outside Albany.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief came too quickly.
Nathan continued.
“But he’s been badly beaten.”
Conrad closed his eyes.
“Can he talk?”
“Barely.”
“What did he say?”
Nathan began crying.
For the first time Conrad understood what Margaret had revealed.
Martin was not simply a witness to Nathan.
He was his father.
“He said Caroline’s recording is safe.”
“Where?”
“He won’t tell me.”
“Why?”
“Because he says the wrong person is listening.”
Conrad looked around.
Police.
Technicians.
Sloan.
No obvious threat.
“Who?”
Nathan lowered his voice.
“He asked me to tell you one sentence.”
“What?”
“Your father left two sons, but only one inherited his conscience.”
Conrad frowned.
“That’s about Julian.”
“I thought so.”
“But?”
May you like
Nathan inhaled.
“Martin said I was wrong.”
