Two days later, I received another telephone call connected to the investigation.
The person speaking with me wanted to clarify some details about the account.
I sat at the kitchen table with my notebook open.
I answered each question as carefully as I could.
They asked when I had first learned about the missing money.
I explained that Kevin had sent me the cruise photograph in August.
They asked what the message said.
I read it aloud.
"Thanks for the forty thousand dollars, Mom. The tropical water is amazing. You're the best."
There was a pause.
Then they asked whether I had ever given Kevin that money.
I answered no.
They asked whether I had authorized the four transfers.
Again, I answered no.
Then they asked about Tara's access to my filing cabinet.
I explained that she had spent approximately four hours organizing my documents in the spring.
I told them about the small card.
I described the three security questions written on it.
And I explained that I could no longer find it.
They asked whether I had seen Tara remove the card.
I told them I hadn't.
I wasn't going to claim something I hadn't witnessed.
Then they asked about the security footage.
I confirmed that I had recognized Tara in the recording.
I also confirmed that I had never given her permission to open an account using my name.
The conversation lasted longer than I expected.
When it ended, I felt drained.
I closed the notebook.
Then I went into the spare room.
I stood in front of the filing cabinet.
The drawers were closed.
The labels were still neat.
I ran my fingers along the edge of one folder.
I remembered Tara sitting there.
I remembered how pleased she had been when she finished.
I remembered thanking her.
That memory was difficult.
I had thanked someone for helping me access the very information that was later used against me.
I walked away from the cabinet.
Later that afternoon, Kevin arrived unexpectedly.
He knocked twice.
I opened the door.
He looked tired.
His clothes were ordinary.
He wasn't carrying anything.
"Can I come in?"
I stepped aside.
He walked into the living room.
I didn't offer coffee.
He sat down.
I remained standing for a moment before taking the chair opposite him.
"What is it, Kevin?"
He rubbed his hands together.
"I wanted to talk."
"All right."
He looked around.
Then he began explaining that things had become difficult between him and Tara.
I listened.
He said she was upset about the investigation.
He said they were arguing.
He said he hadn't expected any of this to happen.
I waited.
Finally, I asked him something.
"Did you know Tara was going to open the account?"
He looked down.
"I knew she was handling something with the bank."
"What did you think she was handling?"
He hesitated.
"She said she was arranging an account that would help us manage things if you needed assistance."
I stared at him.
"And you didn't ask me?"
He shook his head.
"I thought she had spoken to you."
"She hadn't."
"I know that now."
I took a breath.
"Kevin, I told you no when you asked to be added to my checking account."
He nodded.
"You remember that conversation?"
"Yes."
"Then why would you believe I had suddenly agreed to a joint account?"
He didn't answer.
I continued.
"Did you see the signature card?"
He said he hadn't paid attention to the paperwork.
I asked whether he had signed his own name.
He nodded.
I asked whether he had noticed mine.
He said he hadn't examined it.
I looked at him.
"Your name was beside mine."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I know."
I sat quietly.
There were so many things I wanted to say.
But I didn't want to spend the entire afternoon arguing about what he should have noticed.
I wanted him to understand that he had a responsibility to ask me.
Instead, he had accepted an arrangement that gave him access to money that wasn't his.
Then he had enjoyed a vacation funded by those transfers.
I asked him directly.
"Did you know the forty thousand dollars was coming?"
He took a long breath.
"Tara told me there was money available."
"From whom?"
"She said it was from you."
I stared at him.
"Did you ask me?"
He shook his head.
"Why not?"
He looked genuinely ashamed for a moment.
"I thought you had changed your mind."
I leaned back.
"I had not."
He nodded.
I asked whether he had ever wondered why I hadn't mentioned giving him such a large amount.
He didn't answer.
I looked at the floor.
My son was sitting in front of me.
He was no longer the little boy who had followed me around the kitchen.
He was a grown man who had made decisions without asking the person whose money was involved.
And now he was trying to explain those decisions.
I told him that I would cooperate with the investigation.
I also told him that any money taken from my account needed to be accounted for.
He nodded.
Then he asked whether I could tell the bank that he hadn't meant to hurt me.
I looked at him.
"I can tell them exactly what you told me."
He frowned.
"That's not what I mean."
"I know."
He stood.
For a moment, I thought he might apologize.
Instead, he said he needed to speak with Tara.
I walked him to the door.
Before leaving, he turned around.
"Mom, I hope someday you can forgive me."
I looked at him.
"Forgiveness isn't the same as pretending nothing happened."
He nodded.
Then he left.
I closed the door.
I didn't cry.
I went into the kitchen and washed the cup I had used that morning.
Then I returned to my notebook.
I wrote down what Kevin had admitted.
He knew Tara was arranging something with the bank.
He believed she had spoken to me.
He had accepted that money was available.
He had never asked me.
I underlined the last sentence.
That was the part I couldn't forget.
He had never asked me.
Click here to continue reading: PART 19: When Kevin Finally Understood That I Would Not Withdraw My Report, He Had to Decide Whether He Was Going to Keep Protecting Tara
I Thought My Son Only Wanted to Help Me, Until I Remembered What His Wife Had Been Doing Inside My House
Part 18 of 20
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