Chapter 4 - Following the Money
The night air was freezing as I walked out to the hospital parking lot. David’s dark grey sedan sat under a flickering streetlamp. I unlocked the trunk, pulling on a pair of black latex gloves before I touched anything. Inside was a sleek, silver laptop and a manila envelope. I opened the envelope, and the papers inside were exactly what my father had described: a transfer of deed drafted three days ago listing Vanessa Brooks as the sole beneficiary, and a power of attorney document falsely claiming my father was suffering from advanced dementia. Both documents required only his signature to become lethal. I snapped photos of every page using my encrypted federal phone.
Then I opened the laptop, which was password protected. I smiled grimly. Vanessa wasn't nearly as smart as she thought she was. I made a call to Special Agent Miller, my partner back in the cyber division. "Miller, I need a remote bypass on a civilian laptop. Sending you the specs now." When he asked if I was working a side gig in the middle of the night, I just told him it was family business and to get me in.
Within ten minutes, Miller had bypassed the local security protocol. The screen lit up, displaying Vanessa's desktop. It was a goldmine of desperation, full of spreadsheets detailing massive credit card debts and emails from aggressive collection agencies. But it was the folder labeled "Estate Planning" that caught my eye. She had been researching how to commit an elderly relative against their will in the state of Franklin. She had literally Googled: "How to prove a parent is mentally incompetent quickly." This wasn't a crime of passion or a sudden argument that got out of hand. It was a premeditated, cold-blooded conspiracy to strip an old man of his freedom and his home.
I closed the laptop and placed it into a large evidence bag I kept in my SUV. My phone buzzed; it was Officer Hayes from the local precinct. "Agent Brooks," he said, his voice completely devoid of its previous swagger. "We've been processing the scene at your father's house." When I asked for an update, he told me they found the bat wiped down and smelling heavily of bleach. Vanessa had tried to destroy evidence.
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"Yes, ma'am. Also... there's a ring camera on the neighbor's porch," Hayes added. My pulse quickened as he explained that the angle pointed directly into my father's study window, and the blinds had been open. "We have high-definition video of Vanessa Brooks striking your father. We also have audio of her screaming that she will bury him if he doesn't sign the papers."
Checkmate. "Secure that footage, Officer. I'll be there in twenty minutes." I hung up the phone and looked back at the hospital building. Vanessa thought she could rely on small-town cops being lazy or overwhelmed. She thought she could scream "mental illness" and the world would just nod and lock my father away. She didn't account for the truth leaving a digital footprint, and she certainly didn't account for me. I started my engine, the roar of the V8 cutting through the silence of the night. The investigation was over. Now, the hunt began.
