Eighteen Hotel Charges

Kelsey convinced me not to call Nolan yet.

First, we reviewed the bank records.

There were eighteen hotel charges from Seattle.

The dates looked convincing until we noticed that several payments had been processed at exactly 7:30 a.m.

The amounts repeated in a clear pattern.

Restaurant charges appeared every Thursday for the same total.

They were not normal purchases.

They had been arranged to create the appearance of a business trip.

I contacted Nolan’s company and asked to speak with the Seattle project team.

The receptionist transferred me twice before admitting that she could not locate any public information about the project.

She suggested I speak with regional director Everett Sloan.

Everett sounded too prepared.

“Nolan is extremely busy,” he said. “The project is confidential, and family members should not interfere with company responsibilities.”

His words made me more suspicious.

That evening, Nolan called.

“How was your day?” he asked.

“Quiet. How is Seattle?”

“Cold and rainy. I just left the warehouse.”

I looked at the security video showing him standing less than a mile from our house.

“That is interesting,” I said. “Because I watched you come out from behind my closet wall this morning.”

Nolan stopped breathing for several seconds.

Then he whispered, “Corinne, please don’t call my mother.”