The following morning, Detective Harris called again.
Daniel wanted to speak with me.
I wasn't sure I wanted to hear anything from him.
But Harris explained that the interview would take place at the station.
He would be present.
I agreed.
Marlene offered to come with me.
I accepted.
When we entered the interview room, Daniel was already seated.
He looked older than he had in the photographs.
His jacket was folded beside him.
There was a silver ring on his right hand.
The same ring Hallie had remembered.
He looked at me.
"Mr. Bennett."
I didn't respond.
Harris sat down.
"We're here to discuss the preparations made at the residence."
Daniel nodded.
He admitted that Lenora had contacted him before Thanksgiving.
She asked him to help clear Hallie's bedroom.
She said the girl was going to be placed in a residential program.
He claimed he believed it was a temporary arrangement.
I looked at him.
"Did you know she was sixteen?"
"Yes."
"Did you know she would be sleeping outside?"
He lowered his eyes.
"I knew she'd be using the camper."
"Did you know it was nineteen degrees?"
He didn't answer.
I leaned forward.
"Did you disconnect the heater?"
He nodded.
I felt my hands tighten.
"Why?"
He said Lenora had told him the heater was unsafe.
She instructed him to disconnect it.
I stared at him.
"And the cord?"
He admitted securing the door.
He said Lenora wanted to prevent Hallie from leaving the camper at night.
I sat back.
There it was.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a family disagreement.
A deliberate arrangement.
I asked Daniel whether Travis had helped.
He said Travis had been present during part of the work.
Travis had moved Hallie's belongings.
He had also helped remove the bed and dresser.
I thought about my favorite recliner.
The television.
The comfortable living room.
While Hallie had been sleeping outside, Travis had been enjoying the space her belongings had once occupied.
I asked Daniel why Lenora wanted Hallie removed.
He explained that she had been worried Hallie would discover documents connected to Evelyn's estate.
He also said Raymond wanted access to the original trust records.
I asked whether he knew about the fake death certificate.
Daniel nodded.
He said he had been asked to deliver an envelope to an office.
He didn't know exactly what was inside.
But he knew it contained documents bearing Hallie's name.
Harris asked him about Raymond's current location.
Daniel hesitated.
Then he gave an address.
An old commercial property near the highway.
He said Raymond had used it as a temporary office.
The investigators immediately began verifying the information.
I looked at Daniel.
"Why didn't you stop this?"
He stared at the table.
"I needed the money."
I almost laughed.
My daughter needed warmth.
She needed food.
She needed someone to protect her.
And this man had needed money.
I stood up.
"I hope you understand what you've done."
He didn't look at me.
I left the room.
Outside, Marlene touched my shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
I shook my head.
"No."
We returned to her house.
Hallie was waiting.
She stood when she saw me.
"What happened?"
I told her the truth.
I explained that Daniel had admitted helping prepare the camper.
She looked down.
For a moment, I thought she might cry.
Instead, she asked whether the heater had been disconnected deliberately.
I nodded.
She closed her eyes.
Then she whispered something.
"I knew it wasn't broken."
I looked at her.
She explained that she'd tried plugging it into different outlets.
It never worked.
She had thought perhaps the wiring was damaged.
Now she knew someone had made sure it stayed cold.
I pulled her into my arms.
"I'm sorry."
She held on tightly.
I wanted to say more.
But no words could change those five weeks.
That afternoon, Rebecca told us she had remembered another detail from Evelyn's final days.
Evelyn had mentioned a safety deposit box.
It was located at a bank near the old community center.
Rebecca believed the box contained copies of the original insurance records.
I contacted Detective Harris.
He arranged for the bank to preserve the records while investigators obtained the necessary authorization.
Two days later, they opened the box.
Inside were several folders.
There were copies of insurance policies.
There were payment records.
There were letters.
And there was a small envelope addressed to me.
I recognized Evelyn's handwriting immediately.
Grant.
If you're reading this, please protect Hallie.
I sat down.
I opened it carefully.
Evelyn wrote that she had discovered a plan involving false insurance claims and stolen identities.
She believed Raymond was using other people to carry out the paperwork.
She also mentioned that Lenora had access to information she should never have possessed.
Then came a sentence I read several times.
She said she had reason to believe someone inside our household was reporting our movements.
I looked at the date.
It was written before the accident.
I remembered telling Lenora about my routes.
I remembered giving her my dispatcher information.
I remembered how she'd always known when I would be home.
I felt sick.
The letter continued.
Evelyn said she had tried to protect Hallie by creating a separate trust.
She wanted her daughter to have money that nobody could control.
She also wanted the evidence delivered when Hallie was old enough to understand it.
I looked at Detective Harris.
"This is everything?"
He shook his head.
"Not quite."
He pointed toward the bottom of the box.
There was another envelope.
This one contained a photograph of Raymond standing beside a car.
The date was the night of Evelyn's accident.
And beside him stood Lenora.
I stared at the photograph.
My wife had told me she had never met Raymond before I introduced them.
The photograph proved otherwise.
I looked at Hallie.
She was standing beside Rebecca.
Her face had gone pale.
Then she asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Dad, did Lenora know Mom was going to die?"
I looked at the photograph again.
I couldn't answer.
Not yet.
Click here to continue reading: PART 16: The Photograph From the Night Evelyn Died Put Lenora at the Scene, and the Police Finally Had Evidence They Could Follow
I Thought I Was Bringing My Daughter the Best Birthday Surprise, Until I Opened the Door to the Bedroom That No Longer Belonged to Her
Part 15 of 20
