Chapter 7 - Someone Was Using Margaret’s Number
The number labeled GRANDMA remained active.
It had originally belonged to Margaret Hale.
After her death, the family kept it on a shared estate account.
Rebecca thought the line had been disconnected.
It had not.
Carrier records showed regular activity for nearly two years.
Most calls went to Chloe.
Officer Grant traced billing access to the Hale family office.
Someone there had preserved Margaret’s number.
The current user was not immediately clear.
Then Chloe contacted police through an attorney.
She was alive.
She had left because she panicked after seeing patrol cars outside the
boutique.
She agreed to surrender for questioning.
Chloe denied planting the hatpin.
She admitted photographing it.
Three days before Emma’s fitting, Chloe inspected the vintage gown for
conservation work and discovered the metal shaft hidden in the seam.
Instead of reporting it, she messaged GRANDMA.
“Why?” Grant asked.
Chloe looked ashamed.
“Because that number had been texting me for months.”
“Who did you think it was?”
“My aunt Rebecca.”
Rebecca denied it.
Chloe said the messages claimed Margaret had left instructions before
her death.
They directed Chloe to preserve certain dresses, letters, and
photographs.
One message specifically warned:
DO NOT REMOVE THE OBJECT FROM THE GREEN DRESS UNTIL EMMA REED SEES IT.
Emma stared.
“So you knew?”
Chloe shook her head desperately.
“I knew your name. I didn’t know Victoria would put you in the dress.”
But Chloe had made a worse choice.
After discovering the sharp object, she left it there.
She believed it was evidence connected to Margaret’s past.
She chose preservation over safety.
Emma’s anger sharpened.
“You left something dangerous inside a dress.”
“Yes.”
“You could have bagged it. Photographed it. Called police.”
“Yes.”
Chloe cried.
“I was scared I’d destroy proof.”
Grant answered:
“Evidence that injures someone is not safely preserved evidence.”
Then digital investigators identified the user behind Margaret’s number.
Julia Mercer.
Chloe’s mother.
Rebecca’s younger sister.
May you like
Julia had been speaking to her daughter under their dead mother’s
identity.
