A second safe was discovered after an observant neighbor remembered Daniel moving boxes into the garage.
Inside was a red notebook written by Marjorie.
Beside each woman’s name were assets and weaknesses.
Widowed.
Family distant.
Career pressure.
Medical history.
No children.
Debt.
Trust issues.
Beside my name, she had written one word and underlined it twice.
PRIDE.
The notebook also contained the entire plan.
Humiliate me before the command ceremony.
Pressure me to resign on grounds of instability.
Activate the forged power of attorney.
Transfer the home equity.
Redirect my retirement benefits.
Isolate me before I reached legal counsel.
At the bottom, Marjorie had written:
Break her pride first. Everything else follows.
I smiled.
Lenora looked concerned.
“What?”
“She identified the correct quality.”
I touched the word.
“But pride was never the weakness.”
“It was the armor.”
Marjorie was arrested two days later.
Three weeks after her arrest, Daniel requested a cooperation meeting.
