Chapter 5 - THE DEATH CERTIFICATE
For fourteen years, Ryan had kept his father’s death certificate in a locked drawer.
He had never questioned it.
Why would he?
Richard Whitmore had died at forty-nine.
Sudden cardiac arrest.
Tragic.
Unexpected.
Natural.
That was what Evelyn told everyone.
That was what the family doctor confirmed.
That was what Ryan believed.
Until now.
At 10:30 that morning, Detective Shaw placed a copy of the original certificate on the table inside a private hospital conference room.
Ryan sat across from her.
Maya sat beside him.
Oliver remained upstairs under observation.
Shaw pointed to the signature.
Dr. Samuel Greene.
Ryan stared at it.
“He signed the guardianship petition too?”
“Yes.”
“Same signature?”
“Visually, yes.”
“Have you spoken to him?”
“We located an address.”
“Where?”
“Connecticut.”
Ryan frowned.
“That’s three hours away.”
“Officers are already going there.”
Ryan looked at the death certificate again.
“Cause of death.”
Shaw read it.
“Acute myocardial infarction.”
“Heart attack.”
“Yes.”
“Was there an autopsy?”
“No.”
Ryan looked up.
“Why?”
“Family declined.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“I never declined anything.”
“You were twenty-one.”
“I was his son.”
“Your mother was his spouse.”
Ryan remembered the funeral.
Closed casket.
Evelyn had said Richard looked different after the hospital.
She didn’t want Ryan remembering him that way.
Ryan had accepted it.
Just like he accepted everything else.
Maya touched his hand.
Ryan looked at her.
“I never saw him.”
Maya’s eyes softened.
“After he died.”
Ryan swallowed.
“I never saw his body.”
Shaw remained silent.
Ryan looked at the certificate again.
“My mother arranged the funeral.”
“Yes.”
“She arranged the cremation.”
“Yes.”
“She handled the insurance.”
“Yes.”
“She handled his company shares.”
“Yes.”
Ryan pushed the document away.
“What did she get?”
Shaw hesitated.
“Financially?”
“Yes.”
“Approximately thirty-eight million dollars when insurance, property, investments, and company shares are combined.”
Maya stared at her.
Ryan almost smiled.
Not because it was funny.
Because suddenly every childhood memory had become suspicious.
Every argument.
Every closed door.
Every whispered conversation.
Every time Evelyn told him his father was “not well.”
Ryan stood and walked toward the window.
“Did Mercer treat him?”
“Yes.”
“Did Greene?”
“Yes.”
“Did my mother arrange both?”
“It appears so.”
Ryan turned.
“And now those same people are appearing in documents about Maya and Oliver.”
“Yes.”
The answer hung in the room.
Maya whispered.
“She was repeating it.”
Ryan looked at her.
“What?”
“Whatever she did to your father.”
Maya’s voice trembled.
“She was repeating it with us.”
Ryan felt something cold settle inside him.
Not rage.
Something worse.
Understanding.
Evelyn did not improvise.
She rehearsed.
She studied people.
She created records.
She found professionals willing to support those records.
Then she isolated the person she wanted removed.
Richard first.
Maya next.
Ryan eventually.
Shaw’s phone rang.
She answered.
“Shaw.”
Her expression changed almost immediately.
“Where?”
She stood.
“Do not touch anything else.”
Ryan watched her.
“What happened?”
Shaw ended the call.
“They found Greene.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“And?”
“He’s alive.”
Ryan exhaled.
“Then bring him here.”
Shaw didn’t move.
“What?”
“He can’t come here.”
“Why?”
“He’s in a nursing facility.”
Ryan frowned.
“Is he sick?”
“Advanced Parkinson’s.”
“Can he speak?”
“Somewhat.”
Ryan grabbed his coat.
“Take me there.”
“Ryan.”
“Detective.”
“My father’s doctor signed a document two days ago.”
“A document designed to take my son.”
“If that man is alive, I’m looking him in the eyes.”
Shaw studied him.
Then nodded.
Three hours later, Ryan entered Cedar Grove Nursing Center.
Maya stayed at the hospital with Oliver.
Shaw walked beside Ryan.
Room 208 was at the end of a quiet hallway.
An officer stood outside.
Ryan stopped before entering.
For fourteen years, he had imagined Samuel Greene dead.
Now the man was twenty feet away.
Alive.
Ryan opened the door.
Dr. Greene looked nothing like Ryan remembered.
He was thin.
Fragile.
His hands trembled.
His white hair was sparse.
But Ryan recognized his eyes.
Greene recognized Ryan too.
The reaction was immediate.
Fear.
Pure fear.
“Ryan.”
Ryan closed the door.
“You remember me.”
Greene looked toward Shaw.
Then back at Ryan.
“I knew you’d come eventually.”
Ryan felt a chill.
“What does that mean?”
Greene struggled to sit straighter.
“I’m sorry.”
Ryan stared at him.
“For what?”
Greene looked down.
“Your father.”
The room went silent.
Ryan’s heart pounded.
“What about my father?”
Greene’s hand trembled violently.
“I should have told someone.”
“Told someone what?”
“I was afraid.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Of my mother?”
Greene closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Ryan’s voice dropped.
“What did she do?”
Greene looked toward Shaw.
“I need protection.”
Shaw answered.
“If you have information concerning a crime, tell us.”
Greene gave a weak laugh.
“A crime?”
He looked at Ryan.
“It wasn’t one crime.”
Ryan felt cold.
“How many?”
Greene didn’t answer.
Ryan leaned toward him.
“What happened to my father?”
Tears appeared in the old doctor’s eyes.
“I signed the certificate.”
“I know.”
“I shouldn’t have.”
Ryan’s breathing changed.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t know what killed him.”
Ryan froze.
“What?”
“I never examined his body.”
Ryan stared at him.
The words made no sense.
“You signed his death certificate.”
“Yes.”
“But you never examined him?”
Greene shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who told you he died of a heart attack?”
Greene looked directly at him.
“Your mother.”
Ryan felt his legs weaken.
Shaw stepped closer.
“Dr. Greene, why would you sign a death certificate without examining the deceased?”
Greene looked ashamed.
“Money.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Of course.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand.”
Ryan laughed once.
A broken sound.
“You sold my father for fifty thousand dollars?”
Greene shook his head desperately.
“I thought he was already dead.”
“You thought?”
“I was told he collapsed.”
“That the family didn’t want an autopsy.”
“That there was a history of cardiac symptoms.”
“There wasn’t.”
“I know that now.”
Ryan stepped back.
His hands were shaking.
“What did Mercer do?”
Greene looked away.
“Andrew handled the evaluations.”
“What evaluations?”
“Richard’s.”
“Mine?”
Greene didn’t answer.
Ryan understood.
“Mine too.”
Greene whispered.
“Yes.”
Ryan stared at the floor.
Fourteen years.
Fourteen years of lies.
Shaw asked the next question.
“Did Evelyn Whitmore ask you to sign the guardianship petition concerning Oliver?”
Greene looked confused.
“What petition?”
Shaw placed the copy in front of him.
Greene stared at it.
His face changed.
“I didn’t sign this.”
Ryan looked at Shaw.
“What?”
Greene pointed toward the signature.
“That’s mine.”
“But I didn’t put it there.”
Shaw took the paper back.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t spoken to Evelyn in eleven years.”
Ryan felt another piece move.
“Then someone forged it.”
Greene looked terrified.
“If she’s using my name again, she knows you’re asking questions.”
Ryan stared at him.
“Again?”
Greene immediately regretted the word.
Ryan noticed.
“What does ‘again’ mean?”
Greene shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“You said she’s using your name again.”
Greene’s breathing became shallow.
“Ryan…”
“What else did she use your name for?”
The old doctor stared at him.
Then finally whispered.
“Your father wasn’t the first.”
Ryan went completely still.
Shaw moved closer.
“What are you talking about?”
Greene closed his eyes.
“There was another patient.”
“Who?”
Greene hesitated.
Ryan’s patience disappeared.
“WHO?”
Greene flinched.
Then he whispered a name.
“Margaret Whitmore.”
Ryan frowned.
He knew that name.
But only from an old family photograph.
Margaret Whitmore.
His grandmother.
Evelyn’s mother-in-law.
The woman Ryan had been told died after falling down the stairs when he was six.
Ryan slowly sat down.
“What happened to my grandmother?”
Greene’s voice was barely audible.
“She didn’t fall.”
Ryan stared at him.
Greene looked toward the door.
Then back at Ryan.
“Evelyn pushed her.”
Silence.
Ryan couldn’t breathe.
“And your father saw it.”
Ryan’s eyes widened.
Greene continued.
“That was why Richard wanted to leave her.”
“That was why she started building the psychiatric records.”
“That was why she needed everyone to believe he was unstable.”
Ryan felt the room spinning.
His father had known.
He had tried to escape.
And Evelyn had prepared to destroy him.
Exactly as she had prepared to destroy Maya.
Ryan leaned forward.
“Did my father know he was in danger?”
Greene began crying.
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Greene looked directly at Ryan.
“He said if anything happened to him, I was supposed to find you.”
Ryan stopped.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because the morning after he died, Evelyn came to my office.”
Greene’s voice shook.
“She put photographs of my wife and daughter on my desk.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“She threatened them?”
Greene nodded.
“She told me Richard was gone.”
“She told me nothing would bring him back.”
“And then she said if I wanted my family to remain intact, I would sign what she put in front of me.”
Ryan looked away.
His eyes burned.
For fourteen years, he had thought his father died without warning.
Now he knew Richard had been afraid.
He had tried to tell someone.
He had tried to protect Ryan.
And nobody had listened.
Shaw spoke quietly.
“Dr. Greene, is there evidence?”
Greene looked at her.
“Of Richard’s concerns?”
“Yes.”
Greene nodded.
“One thing.”
Ryan turned.
“What?”
“A recording.”
Ryan’s heart jumped.
“Where?”
“I don’t have it.”
“Who does?”
Greene looked at him.
“Richard hid it.”
“Where?”
“He never told me.”
Ryan clenched his jaw.
“Then how do you know it exists?”
“Because he played part of it for me.”
Ryan moved closer.
“What was on it?”
Greene swallowed.
“Evelyn talking to Mercer.”
“About what?”
“About you.”
Ryan froze.
“Me?”
Greene nodded.
“You were nineteen.”
“Your father had discovered the psychiatric reports Mercer created after your car accident.”
“He knew they were false.”
“He confronted Evelyn.”
Ryan remembered that year.
His father had suddenly insisted Ryan move into an apartment near college.
Evelyn had fought against it.
At the time, Ryan thought his parents were arguing about money.
Now he understood.
Richard had been trying to get his son away from her.
“What did Evelyn say on the recording?”
Greene stared at him.
“She told Mercer that if Richard tried to take you away from her, she would make sure nobody believed either of you.”
Ryan’s throat tightened.
Greene continued.
“Then Mercer asked what she intended to do.”
Ryan waited.
Greene’s voice became almost inaudible.
“She said she would solve Richard first.”
Ryan looked at Shaw.
“And after that?”
Greene shook his head.
“That part of the recording stopped.”
Ryan stood.
“Where would my father hide something important?”
“I don’t know.”
Ryan thought.
His father had been careful.
Traditional.
He distrusted banks.
He hated putting personal documents in offices.
Then Ryan remembered something.
A phrase Richard used whenever Evelyn became controlling.
Some things belong where the Whitmores began.
Ryan had always assumed it meant family tradition.
Now it sounded different.
“Where the Whitmores began.”
Shaw frowned.
“What?”
“My father used to say that.”
“What does it mean?”
Ryan looked toward the window.
“The old house.”
“What old house?”
“My grandfather’s property.”
“It’s been abandoned for years.”
“Where?”
“About forty miles north of our home.”
Shaw immediately called the officers.
Ryan’s phone rang before she finished.
Maya.
He answered.
“Is Oliver okay?”
Her voice was panicked.
“Ryan, where are you?”
“Cedar Grove.”
“You need to come back.”
His heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“There are police everywhere.”
Ryan stood.
“Is Oliver safe?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Maya lowered her voice.
“Someone tried to enter his room.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Who?”
“They caught him in the stairwell.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
Ryan looked at Shaw.
She was already listening.
Maya continued.
“He was wearing hospital scrubs.”
“But he wasn’t hospital staff.”
Ryan’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Did he say anything?”
Maya went silent.
“Maya?”
“He had something in his pocket.”
Ryan felt dread.
“What?”
“A syringe.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
Maya’s voice cracked.
“And Ryan…”
“What?”
“The police found a photograph inside his jacket.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
“Of Oliver?”
“No.”
“Of me?”
“No.”
Ryan frowned.
“Then who?”
Maya whispered.
“You.”
Ryan opened his eyes.
“What kind of photograph?”
There was a long pause.
Then Maya answered.
“It was taken this morning.”
“Outside the hospital.”
“Someone has been following you.”
Ryan looked through the nursing-home window toward the parking lot.
Rows of cars sat beneath the gray sky.
For the first time, he wondered how many belonged to visitors.
And how many didn’t.
Then Greene suddenly made a choking sound behind him.
Ryan turned.
The old doctor was staring through the window.
His face had gone white.
“What?”
Ryan asked.
Greene raised one trembling hand.
He pointed toward a black sedan parked across the street.
“No.”
Ryan moved toward him.
“What is it?”
Greene’s voice broke.
“She found me.”
Ryan looked toward the sedan.
A figure sat behind the steering wheel.
Watching the building.
Then the car slowly pulled away.
Shaw rushed toward the hallway.
Ryan stared after it.
May you like
And Dr. Greene whispered four words that made everything worse.
“That wasn’t Evelyn driving.”
