Chapter 13 - THE UNCLE AT THE PORT|
Peter Voss was in his late sixties, with silver hair, a narrow face, and the polished manners of a man who had spent his life making other people underestimate him.
He wore a dark overcoat and carried a leather umbrella despite the clear sky.
The investigators moved toward him.
“Federal agents. Keep your hands visible.”
Peter smiled.
“Of course.”
He looked past them and found Audrey standing beside Miriam.
“Mrs. Keane. I had hoped we'd meet under better circumstances.”
Audrey did not answer.
Peter's eyes moved to her stomach.
“Your child must be very nearly here.”
“Don't speak about my baby.”
He gave a small nod.
“Protective. I understand.”
“You planned to use my child to steal a charity.”
“Your husband built a criminal organization. I merely tried to make it sustainable.”
“You tried to turn a shelter into a money-laundering operation.”
“Words.”
“People were supposed to live there.”
Peter looked toward the unfinished building in the distance.
“People always need something. A roof. A job. A reason to believe someone cares. Your foundation provided all three.”
“It provided help.”
“And it provided access.”
Audrey stared at him.
“You don't understand what I built.”
“I understand exactly what you built. A network of wealthy people who trust your name. That trust is worth more than any shipping company.”
An investigator stepped forward.
“Mr. Voss, you're under arrest.”
Peter raised his hands.
“On what grounds?”
The investigator listed the charges.
Peter listened without interrupting.
Then he looked at Audrey.
“Your husband will tell you I am responsible for everything. But he signed the documents. He approved the operations. He benefited from the money.”
Audrey felt the truth in the accusation.
Ronin had not been innocent.
He had known about the illegal transfers. He had chosen to protect his business rather than expose the people using his wife's foundation.
But Peter was still responsible for the conspiracy.
“Ronin will answer for what he did,” she said. “So will you.”
Peter's smile faded.
“You think the law will protect you?”
“I think evidence will.”
He looked toward the officers.
“Evidence can disappear.”
“Not this time.”
As they placed handcuffs on him, Peter leaned toward Audrey.
“You should ask your husband what happened to the woman before you.”
Audrey's face tightened.
“What woman?”
Peter smiled again.
“The first Mrs. Keane.”
Ronin had never mentioned a first wife.
Audrey looked at Miriam.
“Find out what he's talking about.”
Peter was led away.
At the federal office, investigators searched the old Keane residence and recovered a series of records. One document showed that Ronin had been married briefly in his twenties.
The marriage had ended less than a year later.
The woman's name was Isabelle Voss.
Peter's daughter.
Audrey stared at the file.
“Why did Ronin never tell me?”
Miriam turned the page.
“There is a death certificate.”
“How did she die?”
“Car accident.”
Audrey read the date.
It was twenty-four years earlier.
Then she saw the signature beneath the report.
Ronin's.
He had been listed as the last person to see her alive.
A second document was attached.
May you like
A handwritten note from Isabelle, dated three days before her death.
If anything happens to me, Peter will blame Ronin. But Ronin knows the truth.
