“Why didn’t he
report Samuel?”
Harold removed his glasses.
“Because Samuel threatened to blame Evelyn completely.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“And Robert?”
“Robert tried to persuade Evelyn to testify.”
“She refused?”
“She was afraid Samuel would take Daniel.”
Daniel looked away.
Harold continued.
“Robert therefore made a terrible compromise. He helped Evelyn hide the original ledger and promised Samuel it had been destroyed.”
“And then?”
“Samuel spent fifteen years searching for proof that it still existed.”
I remembered the lake house.
“The ledger really burned?”
“Yes.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then what was all this about?”
Harold smiled faintly.
“Because Evelyn was smarter than both Whitmore brothers.”
He removed a small flash drive from the file.
“Before Robert burned the ledger, Evelyn photographed every page.”
Daniel stared.
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
Samuel had spent fifteen years chasing paper that no longer mattered.
I almost laughed.
Robert’s elaborate storage unit.
