“What?”
Vicky’s face had gone pale.
The hearing officer leaned forward.
“Victoria, how do you know?”
She looked at me.
“I heard him.”
My pulse thundered.
“When?”
“Before the smoke.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you knew.”
Her bottom lip trembled.
“I was in bed.”
“What did you hear?”
“Uncle Howard yelling.”
“At Dad?”
She shook her head.
“At Aunt Denise.”
Every person in the room froze.
Vicky squeezed my hand.
“And then Mommy yelled too.”
“What did she say?”
Vicky closed her eyes.
For several seconds, I thought she couldn’t remember.
Then she whispered:
“She said, ‘You already took enough from this family. You’re not taking my children too.'”
That night, after Vicky finally fell asleep, Detective Ruiz called.
“We found something.”
My heart jumped.
“The ledger?”
“No.”
Her voice sounded grim.
“We searched Howard’s office this afternoon.”
“And?”
“We found a locked drawer.”
I waited.
