“None of that proves a c/r/i/me.”
Evelyn looked toward the cassette tape Lenora still held.
“The second side,” she whispered.
Everyone turned.
“What?” I asked.
“The tape has a second side.”
Lenora glanced down at it.
Then she threw it into the fireplace.
Flames caught the plastic.
I lunged forward, but Daniel stopped me.
“It’s already copied,” he said.
Lenora stared at him.
“When?”
“At the cabin. While you were talking to Claire.”
Thomas held up his phone.
“I transmitted both sides.”
He pressed play.
Evelyn’s younger voice filled the conservatory.
This recording was not a message.
It was a conversation.
Lenora’s voice sounded much younger, but unmistakable.
“You will sign the transfer.”
Lucas replied, “The land belongs to the Bennett trust.”
“Then your daughter will grow up without either of you.”
Evelyn gasped.
The recording became muffled. Footsteps. A door slamming.
Then Lenora’s voice again.
