Chapter 6: The Woman Thomas Never Mentioned
Daniel located Evelyn Mercer the next morning.
She arrived at his office carrying a grocery bag and wearing a coat too thin for the cold.
“Are you Thomas’s daughter?” I asked.
She kept both hands around the bag.
“Unfortunately.”
Robert offered her a chair.
“My mother left your name.”
“Irene called me six months ago.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Why?”
“To ask whether I still had my mother’s papers.”
Evelyn placed an old certificate on the desk.
“My mother was Marianne Cole.
She married Thomas in 1958.”
I stared at the date.
“That was two years before he married Irene.”
“Yes.”
Daniel picked up the certificate carefully.
“Was this marriage ever dissolved?”
“No.
My mother searched for a divorce filing until the week she passed.
There wasn’t one.”
Robert stood so quickly that his chair struck the wall.
“Then Thomas’s marriage to Mom was never valid.”
Daniel looked at me.
“And if Thomas was not legally free to marry Irene, Irene may have been legally free to marry George.”
My knees weakened again, but Evelyn crossed the room and took my arm.
“Sit down, Mr.
Hale.”
“Why are you helping us?”
“Because Irene helped me first.”
She pulled a smaller envelope from the grocery bag.
“When my husband left, Thomas offered me money if I signed a statement saying my mother’s certificate was false.
Irene found out.”
“What did she do?” Susan asked.
“She paid my rent for six months and found me work.
She never told me she was the woman Thomas had harmed.”
Evelyn’s voice shook.
“She said, ‘No woman should have to purchase peace from a man who enjoys fear.’”
I covered my eyes.
“That sounds like her.”
Evelyn sat beside me.
“She made me promise to bring these papers if Thomas ever went after you.”
“Why didn’t she bring them to Daniel herself?”
“She needed a certified copy.
It arrived two days after she passed.”
Daniel examined the raised seal.
“This could end Thomas’s claim.”
“No,” Evelyn said.
“He will say my mother’s marriage was annulled.”
“Was it?”
She removed a small recorder from the bag.
“Listen.”
Thomas’s voice came through the speaker.
“You will sign the statement, Evelyn.”
“No.”
“You owe me.”
“I owe you nothing.”
“If George learns Irene was never my lawful wife, I lose everything.”
The recording clicked off.
Robert stared at Evelyn.
“He admitted it.”
“He also admitted taking money from Irene.”
Daniel reached for the recorder.
“May I make copies?”
“You may have one.
I already sent the original to my bank.”
A receptionist opened the office door.
“Mr.
Reed, there’s a man demanding to see Evelyn.”
Thomas pushed past her before Daniel could answer.
“You foolish girl,” he said.
Evelyn rose.
“You told me Irene was the liar.”
“She was.”
“No, Father.
You married her while my mother waited at home.”
Thomas pointed his cane at her.
“Give me the recorder.”
“No.”
“I can leave you with nothing.”
Evelyn lifted her chin.
“You already did.”
Thomas reached for the grocery bag, but Robert stepped between them.
“Touch her, and every person in this building becomes a witness.”
Thomas backed toward the door.
“You think that recording saves you?
Ask Daniel whose signature is on Irene’s final will.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
Thomas smiled.
“The witness died three weeks ago.”
