Chapter 5 - Victor Hale Had Found Daniel
Victor Hale answered Laura’s call immediately.
Too immediately.
“Laura. It’s been years.”
“Have you seen Daniel?”
Silence.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why would I see Daniel?”
Laura did not mention Curtis.
“I’m asking.”
Victor sighed.
“Daniel was unstable after Mike died. You know that.”
Laura disliked the word unstable.
It turned a struggling man into a convenient explanation.
She ended the call.
Then she contacted the attorney who handled Michael’s estate.
The records were incomplete.
Michael’s landscaping company, Miller-Hale Outdoor Services, had been
valued surprisingly low at death.
Victor purchased Michael’s interest from the estate.
Laura had signed the sale.
The amount had helped cover funeral expenses and several months of
mortgage payments.
At the time, she was grateful.
Now she saw a strange entry.
Three weeks before Michael died, the company received a large municipal
contract.
The value did not appear in the estate valuation.
Laura called the city.
The contract had not disappeared.
Miller-Hale completed it over the following two years.
Victor’s company earned substantial revenue.
Laura felt sick.
That did not automatically mean fraud.
Contract revenue was not the same as profit.
Future obligations could reduce value.
She needed records, not assumptions.
Then Evan showed her one of the receipts from his backpack.
A storage facility.
Unit 308.
Paid by Daniel.
Laura asked:
“What’s in there?”
Evan shook his head.
“He never let me go inside.”
On the receipt, Daniel had written:
MIKE’S FILES.
May you like
Laura stared at the words.
Michael’s business records might still exist.
