Chapter 8 - The Dealership After Midnight
I did not go alone.
I simply made Mark believe I did.
Detective Soto wanted to handle everything officially.
Ethan wanted surveillance.
I wanted Melissa out alive.
In the end, we used all three approaches.
The dealership closed at nine.
At 10:17, I pulled into the parking lot.
The giant glass showroom glowed like an aquarium.
Rows of black and silver luxury cars reflected white ceiling lights.
Mark stood inside beside a $180,000 Mercedes.
He wore no jacket.
His sleeves were rolled to his elbows.
He looked exactly like the man I used to wait for after work.
I carried a handbag containing the red folder.
Not the real one.
Copies.
The originals were already with Soto.
A tiny microphone was taped beneath my blouse.
Police waited several blocks away.
Ethan sat in a parked service van with audio equipment.
I entered.
The doors locked behind me.
“Where's Melissa?”
Mark smiled.
“Hello to you too.”
“Where is she?”
“Home.”
I stared at him.
“You threatened her.”
“I reminded an employee that confidential records belong to the company.”
“You used her phone.”
“She left it on her desk.”
“Give me one reason I shouldn't walk out.”
His smile disappeared.
“Because I know about the storage unit.”
There it was.
No more pretending.
I placed my handbag on a showroom table.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“Did you follow me?”
“No.”
“Vanessa?”
He gave the smallest reaction.
That was enough.
“You know about Vanessa too.”
“She was your wife.”
“She was.”
“While you were married to me.”
Mark sighed.
“Laura, relationships aren't always clean.”
“Neither is bigamy.”
“Our divorce filing was delayed.”
“You lied for twelve years.”
“About something that had nothing to do with you.”
I almost laughed.
“Your wife had nothing to do with me?”
“Ex-wife.”
“Business partner?”
He walked closer.
“You've been busy.”
“My mother was busier.”
That stopped him.
For the first time, Mark's control cracked.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“You found something of Susan's.”
I didn't answer.
He whispered, “What did she leave?”
“You're afraid.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
I had never seen it before.
Not during arguments.
Not during financial problems.
Not when his father died.
But now Mark was afraid.
He stepped closer.
“What did Susan leave?”
“Enough.”
His jaw tightened.
“Give me the folder.”
“Where's Melissa?”
“I told you. Home.”
“Then call her.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because this isn't about Melissa.”
He reached for the bag.
I moved it away.
“Tell me what Phase Two means.”
Silence.
“Tell me what the incident is.”
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he laughed.
“You really think I'm trying to kill you?”
“I think you were planning something.”
“I was planning a divorce.”
The answer stunned me.
“What?”
“An incident creates leverage.”
“What incident?”
“A breakdown.”
My stomach twisted.
He continued.
“You've been under pressure at work. Your mother died traumatically. Your father is deteriorating.”
“He isn't.”
“That doesn't matter.”
Mark spoke calmly.
“If you became unstable, temporarily hospitalized, maybe placed on medical leave, I could manage household assets while you recovered.”
The same scheme.
Different victim.
“You planned to have me declared incompetent.”
“Temporarily.”
“You're insane.”
“No.”
He leaned close.
“I'm practical.”
My mother's word for Dad.
Hearing it from Mark disgusted me.
“You stole from elderly people.”
“I moved distressed assets.”
“They lost their homes.”
“They were compensated.”
“Margaret Wilson lost everything.”
“She had no business living alone.”
“You sound like you believe yourself.”
Mark shrugged.
“Sometimes the legal system needs help making difficult decisions.”
“By forging evaluations?”
His eyes sharpened.
“You need to be careful what you accuse people of.”
“Dr. Kessler?”
No answer.
“Vanessa?”
No answer.
“Meridian Family Services?”
Mark slowly looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the cameras.
“Did you come here wired?”
My heart stopped.
He smiled.
“Laura.”
I reached for my bag.
Mark grabbed my wrist.
“Let go.”
He squeezed harder.
“This is exactly your problem.”
“What?”
“You think knowing numbers makes you smarter than people.”
He pulled me closer.
“But numbers don't lie.”
“No.”
His voice dropped.
“People do.”
The showroom lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Mark released me.
A second later, emergency lights glowed red.
I heard doors opening somewhere behind the service department.
Then another voice.
Vanessa.
“We have a problem.”
Mark turned.
“What happened?”
“Police were at Meridian.”
Soto's operation had moved faster than planned.
Vanessa saw me.
Her face changed.
“What is she doing here?”
“Trying to be brave.”
“We need to leave.”
Mark grabbed my handbag.
I let him.
He opened it.
Saw the red folder.
Smiled.
Then flipped through the pages.
The smile vanished.
“Copies.”
“Yes.”
“Where are the originals?”
“Safe.”
Vanessa moved toward me.
“You stupid woman.”
I stepped back.
“You stole from my father.”
“You have no idea what your father did.”
That sentence stopped everyone.
“What?”
Vanessa looked at Mark.
He shook his head.
“Don't.”
She laughed bitterly.
“She thinks Robert is some helpless old mechanic?”
“My father is exactly that.”
“No.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Ask him why your mother knew about Lone Star Holdings before you did.”
“Vanessa.”
Mark's tone became dangerous.
But she kept talking.
“Ask your father why Paul Denton met with him before Susan died.”
My chest tightened.
“What are you saying?”
“I'm saying your parents weren't innocent bystanders.”
Mark grabbed Vanessa's arm.
“Enough.”
She pulled free.
“You wanted to control her? Fine. Tell her the truth first.”
Sirens appeared in the distance.
Mark cursed.
Vanessa ran toward the service exit.
Mark followed.
I remained frozen.
Police entered less than a minute later.
Soto found me beside the showroom table.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Where did they go?”
“Back exit.”
Officers pursued them.
They found Vanessa's vehicle abandoned four blocks away.
Mark's car remained at the dealership.
Both vanished.
But something else mattered more.
Vanessa's words.
When Dad finally called at 1:06 a.m., I didn't ask if he was safe.
I asked one question.
“Who was Paul Denton to you?”
Silence.
Then my father said:
May you like
“Laura, there are things about your mother I never wanted you to know.”
And for the first time since this began, I wondered whether Mark wasn't the only person who had been lying to me.
