Chapter 6: The Architect
Dana called me the next morning at seven forty-five.
I was at my parents' kitchen table with a cup of coffee I hadn't touched.
My mother kept moving around the kitchen doing things that didn't need doing — wiping counters, rearranging the dish rack — because she needed her hands busy.
"I identified the third voice," Dana said.
I set down the cup.
"Who?"
"His name is Gerald Fitch.
Raymond's older brother.
He's a disbarred real estate attorney out of Riverside County.
Lost his license four years ago for — and I want you to note this — filing fraudulent title documents on behalf of a client."
The kitchen went very quiet.
"He's done this before."
"At least once that resulted in disbarment.
The DA's office thinks there may be other cases.
They're pulling his history now." Dana's voice was careful and precise.
"Gerald Fitch appears to be the one who designed the forgery.
Raymond executed it.
Brenda and Zachary provided the target — you — and the access."
"How did Brenda know Gerald Fitch?"
"We don't know yet.
But Zachary's financial records may tell us something.
The DA requested them this morning as part of the fraud investigation."
My mother had stopped moving.
She was standing at the sink with her back to me, very still.
"What happens now?" I asked.
"The DA's office is moving quickly because of the recorded evidence.
The camera footage, the voicemail your father saved, the forged deed on record — it's a strong package.
They're looking at charges for Gerald Fitch and Raymond Fitch today.
Zachary and Brenda are likely to follow."
"Likely?"
"The DA needs to establish Zachary's direct knowledge and participation.
The footage of him photographing your documents is significant.
So is the text he sent you yesterday — 'let's not make this bigger than it needs to be' — because it suggests awareness of wrongdoing.
But the case against him is being built carefully."
I thought about Zachary in his pajamas, smiling at me across the kitchen.
*You know how my mom is.
Don't let it get to you.*
He had known exactly what his mother was doing.
He had stood in my apartment three weeks before our wedding and photographed my deed page by page.
He had married me knowing what was already in motion.
"Dana.
Did he ever love me?
Or was I just the property?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Which was its own kind of answer.
"I think that's a question for later," she said gently.
"Right now I need you focused.
The DA's investigator wants to meet with you this afternoon to go through the footage in sequence.
Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Good.
There's one more thing." She paused.
"Zachary called my office this morning.
He's retained an attorney.
His attorney has already contacted me to suggest that Zachary was unaware of the forgery — that he was manipulated by his mother and Gerald Fitch — and that he's willing to cooperate with the investigation in exchange for consideration."
I felt something cold move through me.
"He's going to blame Brenda."
"He's going to try."
"Will it work?"
"Not with the footage of him photographing your documents.
That establishes his direct participation.
His attorney knows it, which is why they called so quickly." Dana's voice didn't waver.
"He's scared, Charlotte.
Scared people make mistakes.
Let him."
After I hung up, I sat at the table for a long moment.
My mother turned around from the sink.
Her eyes were red at the edges.
"Is it going to be all right?"
I thought about the deed with my forged name on it.
The eleven camera clips.
My father's voicemail.
Dana's voice saying *he's scared*.
"Yes," I said.
"But first it's going to get worse."
She sat down across from me and put her hand over mine.
Outside, a car slowed on the street in front of the house.
Then it stopped.
May you like
I recognized it immediately.
Zachary's car.
