Chapter 13 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTHDaniel arranged for Thomas to meet a former corporate accountant named Evelyn Shaw.
She had worked for Sterling Meridian for nearly twenty years before resigning abruptly after an internal audit. Her name appeared several times in Margaret's notebook.
They met in a quiet federal conference room.
Evelyn was in her late sixties, with silver hair and careful eyes that seemed to measure every word before allowing it to escape.
When Thomas placed the photograph on the table, she inhaled sharply.
“Where did you get this?”
“From a box my wife hid in our bedroom. The photograph belonged to her mother.”
Evelyn studied Margaret's face.
“I wondered what happened to that woman.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother-in-law discovered that Sterling Meridian was moving money through charitable foundations, construction contracts, and overseas investment companies. At first, she thought it was ordinary corporate fraud. Then she discovered payments connected to people who had died under suspicious circumstances.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“Was she killed because of what she found?”
Evelyn lowered her gaze.
“The official explanation was a car accident. But three days before she died, Margaret called me. She said Julian Vance had threatened her.”
Thomas remembered Amber's grief after her mother's death. He remembered the way she had refused to discuss the accident, even years later.
“Why didn't anyone investigate?”
“Because the people who could have investigated were receiving money from the same companies.”
Evelyn opened her handbag and removed a small notebook of her own.
“Margaret gave me copies of several transactions. I kept them because I was afraid that destroying them would make me complicit. When Amber joined Julian's division, I recognized her name.”
“You knew my wife was working for him?”
“I knew she had access to the records her mother never obtained.”
Thomas stared at her.
“Did you tell her to get close to Julian?”
“No.” Evelyn's expression hardened. “And if she told you that she was helping him, you should ask yourself what he had over her.”
Before Thomas could respond, Daniel entered the room with a new development.
Federal agents had identified the origin of the anonymous envelope.
It had been mailed from a private office building owned by Sterling Meridian.
The sender had used a security camera blind spot and a courier service that recorded no customer identity.
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
“Richard Sterling never allowed Julian to make a decision that affected the company's survival,” she whispered. “If Julian is talking, Richard will be desperate.”
Thomas stood.
“Then we find the money, expose the people behind it, and make sure no one can bury this again.”
For the first time, Evelyn nodded with something resembling hope.
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But she warned him of one final thing.
“Don't assume the person who sent you that envelope wants to help you. Sometimes people expose a conspiracy because they want to replace the man who ran it.”
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