Chapter 7: The Man Who Knew My Husband's Last Secret
“Mom? Mom, answer me!””
Rebecca's frightened voice crackled through the telephone, but I could barely hear her over the pounding in my chest.
Walter Briggs stood outside my front door.
The man who had once carved a wooden rocking horse for my daughter's fifth birthday. The man who had held my husband's hand at his funeral. The man whose name appeared beside a warning in Thomas's secret notebook.
And now he was threatening to expose something about the final week of my husband's life.
Daniel stepped between me and the door.
“Mrs. Ellis, please move away from the entrance.””
Richard had already taken out his phone.
“Walter,” he called through the wood, “you have no right to come here and intimidate this woman.””
Walter laughed.
“Intimidate? Richard, don't be ridiculous. I'm trying to prevent a terrible misunderstanding.””
“You sent someone to photograph her house,” Daniel replied.
“You sent threatening messages. And you brought an attorney here in the middle of a storm to tell her she'd better give up her property.””
“Can you prove any of that?””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Walter continued before anyone could answer.
“Margaret, I know you're frightened. I know Richard has filled your head with stories about land that never belonged to you. Let me come inside, and I'll explain everything.””
I stepped forward.
“Why didn't you explain it twelve years ago?””
The porch fell silent.
For the first time, Walter didn't have an immediate answer.
I could hear him shifting his weight outside.
“Margaret, your husband and I had an arrangement.””
“My husband is dead. Whatever arrangement you had with him, you can explain it to my lawyer.””
“Your lawyer?”” He chuckled bitterly.
“You can't afford a lawyer.””
Richard moved toward the door, but I raised my hand.
“No,” I said.
“Let him talk.””
I wanted Walter to understand something.
I might have little money. I might have an overdue tax bill and a roof that leaked whenever the rain came from the east.
But I was still Thomas Ellis's wife.
And I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life being frightened in my own home.
I unlocked the door and opened it just far enough to see Walter's face.
He looked older than I remembered. His hair had thinned, and deep lines surrounded his mouth. He wore an expensive coat and carried a black umbrella.
His eyes moved past me, taking in the motorcycles, the bikers, and Richard standing beside the fireplace.
Then he smiled.
“Well,” he said.
“You've certainly made some interesting friends.””
“What do you want, Walter?””
“To talk.””
“Then talk.””
He glanced at the men behind me.
“Privately.””
“No.””
His smile disappeared.
“Margaret, this is a family matter.””
“Then you should have remembered that before you involved my daughter.””
For a fraction of a second, his expression changed.
I saw anger.
Not embarrassment. Not regret.
Anger.
Then he stepped inside without being invited.
Daniel immediately moved to block his path.
“You don't get to walk into someone's house like that.””
Walter straightened his coat.
“Do you know who I am?””
Mike, standing near the kitchen, gave a humorless laugh.
“Right now? A man who needs to learn some manners.””
Walter ignored him and turned toward Richard.
“Have you told her about the hospital?””
Richard's face went white.
My heart seemed to stop.
“What hospital?””
Walter removed his gloves slowly, one finger at a time.
“Three days before Thomas died, he collapsed at work. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered how serious his condition had become.””
I stared at him.
“I knew my husband was sick.””
“Did you know he was preparing to sign away his claim to the land?””
“No.””
Walter tilted his head.
“Then perhaps you don't know your husband as well as you think.””
Daniel took a step forward.
“Watch what you say.””
Walter barely looked at him.
“Thomas was frightened. He knew he wouldn't be around much longer, and he wanted to protect his family from a legal battle. He agreed to transfer the property to me in exchange for my promise that Rebecca would never be held responsible for the paperwork she'd signed.””
My knees weakened.
Richard immediately spoke.
“That is not what Thomas told me.””
“Of course not. You weren't there.””
Walter reached into his coat and produced a folded document.
“Here's the agreement. Thomas signed it willingly.””
He placed it on the table.
I didn't touch it.
The signature looked similar to the one on the disputed deed, but something was wrong with the date. The paper showed a date three days before Thomas died.
I remembered those days clearly.
Thomas had been home, barely able to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen.
He had not gone to any office.
He had not driven anywhere.
I pointed at the document.
“Where was this signed?””
Walter's expression hardened.
“At the hospital.””
“Which hospital?””
He hesitated.
“Flagstaff Medical Center.””
I looked at Richard.
He slowly shook his head.
“Thomas was admitted to a different facility that week. I visited him there.””
Walter's face tightened.
“That was a preliminary examination. He was transferred afterward.””
“No,” Richard said.
“He wasn't.””
For the first time, Walter looked genuinely unsettled.
Richard took the document and examined it.
“Who witnessed this signature?””
Walter folded his arms.
“That's irrelevant.””
“It's printed right here,” Richard replied.
“Gordon Pike.””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“Then we'll ask Gordon.””
Walter's eyes flashed.
“You people have no idea what you're doing.””
I stared at him.
“Why did you tell Rebecca to stay away from me?””
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he sighed, as though I were an irritating child who had asked the same question too many times.
“Because she made a mistake. She signed documents she didn't understand. I was trying to protect her.””
“From what?””
“From being implicated in something she couldn't explain.””
The room became deathly quiet.
I heard every word.
So did everyone else.
Walter seemed to realize what he had admitted.
He quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, from unnecessary legal trouble.””
I stepped closer.
“Did you forge my husband's signature?””
“No.””
“Did you steal our land?””
“No.””
“Did you use my daughter to do it?””
His face turned red.
“I did what was necessary to protect an investment Thomas and I had discussed for years.””
There it was.
Not family.
Not friendship.
An investment.
Richard placed the document on the table.
“Walter, if that signature is forged, you'll have a serious problem.””
Walter pointed a finger at him.
“Stay out of this.””
“Gladly,” Richard replied.
“As soon as you produce a valid title and stop threatening Margaret.””
Walter turned toward the door.
“This isn't over.””
“No,” I said.
“It isn't.””
He stopped.
For the first time, I saw something resembling uncertainty in his eyes.
I continued.
“Thomas trusted you. My daughter trusted you. I trusted you. You don't get to walk into my home after twelve years and tell me this is just business.””
Walter's jaw worked.
Then he looked at me with a coldness I had never seen before.
“Your husband wasn't the saint you remember, Margaret.””
Daniel stepped between us.
“That's enough.””
Walter lifted his hands, feigning innocence.
“I'm simply telling her the truth.””
He walked out into the darkness.
Daniel followed him to the porch but didn't leave the steps.
We watched Walter cross the gravel and climb into a dark sedan parked near the road.
He didn't drive away immediately.
Instead, he rolled down his window and called back toward the house.
“One last thing, Margaret. Ask Richard why Thomas changed his will during his final week.””
Then the car disappeared around the bend.
I turned toward Richard.
He looked as though someone had struck him.
“What will?”” I asked.
Richard slowly sat down.
For several seconds, he stared at the disputed deed.
Then he looked at me.
“Thomas did change his will,” he admitted.
“But I didn't know why until tonight.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What did he change?””
Richard swallowed.
“He removed Walter as the executor of his estate.””
“And who did he appoint instead?””
Richard's answer was barely audible.
*“Your daughter, Rebecca.””*
My telephone rang.
It was Rebecca.
I answered immediately.
“Sweetheart?””
Her voice was shaking.
“Mom, I just found something in an old box of Dad's things. Walter gave it to me years ago and told me never to open it.””
“What is it?””
“A copy of Dad's will.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Mom, there's something written in the margin. It's in Dad's handwriting.””
“What does it say?””
Rebecca began to cry.
“Mom, it says, 'If Walter ever learns the truth about the original deed, he will destroy everything.''”
May you like
Then she whispered the words that turned my entire understanding of the past upside down.
*“And beneath that, Dad wrote my name.””*
