Martin unfolded another document.
“The physician also recorded that Mrs. Whitmore reported being pressured to surrender access to her accounts. That report was completed before the bank released the transaction history.”
Jessica reached for the tablet still resting in her hand.
Martin stopped her.
“Please leave the device where it is.”
“Why?”
“Because the bank has confirmed that this tablet was used to collect payments under a business account registered to David Whitmore. Several guests have already paid into it tonight.”
A murmur passed through the room.
One of the guests, a man named Paul, lifted his hand.
“I paid eighty dollars.”
“So did I,” said another woman.
Jessica spun toward them.
“You all agreed to the cost.”
“We agreed to contribute to dinner,” Paul said. “We did not agree to pay for a private vacation.”
The tablet chimed.
A new payment appeared on the screen.
Eleanor looked at the amount.
“Two hundred dollars?”
Jessica’s face went white.
Martin turned the tablet toward the guests.
“The account is set to transfer funds automatically to a second account. The transfer destination is a credit card registered to Jessica Whitmore.”
David stared at his wife.
“You used the dinner money too?”
Jessica’s breathing became uneven.
“It was temporary.”
“For what?” Eleanor asked.
Jessica looked at the crowded room, searching for someone who would rescue her.
No one moved.
“For the deposits,” she said.
“What deposits?”
“The house.”
Eleanor felt the room tilt.
Jessica pressed her hands against the sides of her coat.
“I was going to put everything back after we sold it.”
David’s voice came out hollow.
“Sold what?”
“The house.”
The word landed like a dropped glass.
Eleanor’s fingers tightened around the folder.
Jessica began speaking faster.
“Not now. Not immediately. We would list it after the evaluation. There is a development project near here. They offered more than the market value. We could buy a smaller place and pay off our debts.”
“You were going to sell my house,” Eleanor said.
“It would have become ours eventually.”
“It was never yours.”
“I have lived here for eleven years.”
“You lived here because I invited you.”
“I raised your grandchildren under this roof.”
“You do not have children,” Mark said.
Jessica turned on him.
“You never wanted this family to succeed.”
“This is not success.”
David stood between them, his shoulders shaking.
“What debts?”
Jessica said nothing.
Martin opened the final envelope.
“Credit card balances, a personal loan, and a judgment from a former landlord. The total exceeds seventy thousand dollars.”
David covered his mouth.
Eleanor looked at him.
“How much did you know?”
“I knew about the cards.”
