I kept Nathan on speaker.
Officer Ramirez motioned for everyone else in the garage to remain quiet.
“You told me Walter contacted you once,” I said.
“He did.”
“You neglected to mention he told you about a black case full of evidence.”
Nathan exhaled.
“I didn’t know what was inside.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“No.”
“Why did Walter tell you about it?”
“He wanted insurance.”
“Against Martin?”
“Yes.”
“Diane Mercer said you knew about Martin’s master file.”
Silence.
Nathan’s voice changed.
“You found Diane’s recordings.”
“Walter’s recordings.”
“Right.”
“Are you working with Martin?”
“No.”
“Have you ever?”
“No.”
“Then explain why Diane named you.”
Nathan took several seconds.
“Because Caroline told me about the file.”
“When?”
“Before she disappeared.”
“Why didn’t you tell Walter?”
“I did.”
“That’s not what the recording suggests.”
“Karen, you’re hearing fragments.”
“Then give me the missing pieces.”
Ramirez nodded encouragement.
Nathan continued.
“Caroline came to my clinic about four months before she vanished. She wasn’t there for treatment. She wanted advice.”
“Financial advice from a doctor?”
“Advice about whether someone could access medical records using stolen identity information.”
“Why?”
“She believed Martin had enough information to impersonate her.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because someone had already called my clinic pretending to be her.”
Grady stepped closer.
“What did they ask for?”
“Records. Medication history. Emergency contacts.”
“Did you provide anything?”
“No.”
“Who called?”
“We couldn’t identify them.”
I asked, “Why would Martin want Caroline’s medical information?”
Nathan answered carefully.
“Medical histories can help verify identity. They can also be used to make someone appear unreliable.”
The second possibility disturbed me more.
“Did Caroline think Martin was trying to discredit her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you?”
“Eventually.”
“Then why not go to police?”
“We did.”
That surprised me.
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three weeks before she disappeared.”
“Which police department?”
He named one in Caroline’s city.
Ramirez wrote it down.
“What happened?”
“They took a report. Caroline had documents, but most showed transactions she had signed herself. Martin could claim she misunderstood the arrangement.”
“And Kelsey?”
“Caroline refused to implicate her fully.”
“Why?”
“Because she still loved her.”
Grady looked down.
Nathan continued.
“Caroline was angry with Kelsey. Terrified of her sometimes. But she believed Martin had manipulated both of them.”
“Then why disappear?”
“She thought someone was following her.”
“Martin?”
“She believed so.”
“Did you help her disappear?”
“No.”
“Kelsey did.”
“I learned that later.”
“From whom?”
“Caroline.”
I stared at the phone.
“You spoke to her after she vanished.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About six weeks afterward.”
The timing matched the prescription pickup.
“Where?”
“By phone.”
“Did she tell you where she was?”
“No.”
“Did she mention Claire Bennett?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Yes.”
Grady swore quietly.
“You knew,” I said.
“I knew she was considering using that identity.”
“Considering?”
“She said Kelsey had obtained documents for her.”
“Documents originally created through Martin.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you tell us you discovered Claire Bennett through an investigator?”
“Because I didn’t want you to know Caroline had contacted me.”
“Why?”
“Because until today, I didn’t know whether Grady was involved.”
My son stepped forward.
“You used my debt to investigate my wife.”
“Yes.”
“You came into my life knowing exactly who she was.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were just financing the equipment deal.”
“Yes.”
Grady’s face reddened.
“You manipulated me.”
Nathan’s reply was quiet.
“I did.”
Grady reached toward the phone as though Nathan were standing in front of him.
I pulled it away.
“Why did Walter trust you?” I asked.
“He didn’t.”
That answer surprised me.
“He suspected me almost until the end.”
“Then why tell you about the case?”
“He didn’t tell me where it was. He told me there were duplicate records.”
“And you assumed we found them?”
“When you started asking about Martin, yes.”
Ramirez wrote another note.
“Where are you now?” I asked.
“Somewhere safe.”
“That answer is becoming irritating.”
“It needs to remain vague.”
“Police want to speak with you.”
“I’ll speak with them.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Ramirez leaned toward the phone.
“Today, Dr. Ellis.”
Nathan recognized the voice.
“Officer?”
“Ramirez.”
A pause.
“I’ll arrange it.”
“No. Give me your location.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Martin has people watching the hospital and my home.”
“You have evidence of that?”
“Yes.”
“Send it.”
“I will.”
Nathan ended the call.
Grady stared at me.
“You believe him?”
“I believe pieces.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“It’s all I can give you.”
We returned to Walter’s recordings.
The next two involved Diane describing financial records.
Then came a recording dated nine days before Caroline disappeared.
Walter and Caroline were speaking.
Her voice was strained.
“I can’t keep doing this.”
Walter answered, “Then stop running transactions.”
“You think it’s that simple?”
“No. I think simple ended a long time ago.”
Caroline began crying.
“Kelsey says she can get me out.”
“How?”
“She has documents.”
“What documents?”
“Claire’s.”
Walter became sharper.
“Do not use them.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“You don’t understand Martin.”
“I understand him better than you think.”
“No, you don’t. He knows where everybody lives.”
Walter paused.
“Has he threatened Karen?”
My throat tightened.
Caroline said, “Not directly.”
“Grady?”
“No.”
“Kelsey?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Caroline whispered, “That if she talks, he’ll make it look like she stole everything.”
Walter answered, “Some of the records already make it look that way.”
“I know.”
“That’s why you both need attorneys.”
“Kelsey won’t.”
“Why?”
Another silence.
Then Caroline said something none of us expected.
“Because she’s still working for him.”
Grady closed his eyes.
Walter asked, “Doing what?”
“Finding people.”
“What people?”
“People like your wife.”
My breath stopped.
Walter’s voice hardened.
“What does Karen have to do with this?”
“She’s exactly the kind of client Martin likes.”
“She isn’t his client anymore.”
“He still has her records.”
“What records?”
“Everything.”
The recording ended.
I sat down on Walter’s old stool.
So Kelsey had known Martin possessed my information before Walter died.
Yet years later she used that information herself.
Whether Martin ordered it or she acted independently remained unclear.
Ramirez said, “We need to establish when the fraudulent activity under your name began.”
“I’ll authorize whatever you need.”
Grady remained focused on the recorder.
“There’s another file.”
The next recording had been made the night Caroline vanished.
The timestamp showed 11:48 p.m.
Walter answered a phone call.
Caroline’s voice came through, breathless.
“He knows.”
“Who knows?”
“Martin.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Where’s Kelsey?”
“With me.”
Grady looked sharply at the recorder.
Caroline continued.
“She’s taking me to the station.”
“What station?”
“Bus.”
“Caroline, listen to me. Don’t use Claire’s documents.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“If I stay Caroline Whitmore, he’ll find me.”
“You need police protection.”
“They can’t protect me from paperwork.”
Walter said something too muffled to understand.
Then Caroline answered:
“Kelsey has the money.”
“What money?”
“Mom’s.”
“All of it?”
“What was left.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“And Martin?”
“He thinks Kelsey is bringing it to him.”
“Is she?”
“No.”
Walter became quiet.
“What is she doing?”
“Giving it to me.”
That changed everything again.
Kelsey had apparently helped Caroline escape with money Martin expected to receive.
The recording continued.
Walter said, “Then Martin will come after her.”
“I know.”
“Does Kelsey?”
“She says she can handle him.”
Walter muttered something that sounded very much like what I would have said.
Then a car door slammed on the recording.
Caroline whispered, “She’s here.”
“Call me when you’re safe.”
“I will.”
“Caroline.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t trust the Claire identity. Martin created it.”
Silence.
“I know.”
“Then why use it?”
“Because Kelsey says she changed it.”
The call ended.
Grady stared into space.
“Kelsey saved her.”
“At least that night.”
“She helped Caroline disappear.”
“Yes.”
“Then why keep pretending she didn’t know where she was?”
“Because if Martin believed she knew, he would keep pressing her.”
Grady’s eyes met mine.
“Maybe she’s been protecting Caroline this entire time.”
“Maybe.”
He heard the caution.
“You still think she’s involved.”
“I know she forged my signature.”
“Maybe Martin forced her.”
“Then she could have told me.”
“You heard Caroline. They were terrified.”
“Fear explains choices. It doesn’t erase them.”
He looked away.
The last recording in the device was shorter.
Dated six months after Walter’s conversation with Caroline.
By then Walter’s voice sounded weaker.
Diane was speaking.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“The station footage.”
My attention sharpened.
“What station?” Walter asked.
“The night Caroline left.”
Walter coughed.
“Was Kelsey there?”
“Yes.”
“Did Caroline board the bus?”
“No.”
Every person in the garage froze.
Walter asked again.
“She didn’t board?”
“No.”
“Then where did she go?”
Diane hesitated.
“A car picked her up.”
“Whose?”
“Martin’s.”
Grady shook his head.
“No.”
Walter’s voice became urgent.
“Was Martin driving?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Diane said a name.
Nathan Ellis.
The recording ended.
Grady stared at me.
Nathan had just told us he did not help Caroline disappear.
Walter’s recording said Nathan drove away with her on the very night she vanished.
One of those stories was false.
And Walter was no longer alive to tell us which one.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Nathan’s Car Appeared in the Station Footage, but the Driver’s Identity Forced Grady to Question Everything Kelsey Had Told Him
My Son Asked Me to Stay Away From His Home, but the Car Outside Made His Explanation Impossible to Believe
Part 10 of 28
