Chapter 4: The Signature on the Flood Notice
Quentin read the photograph again.
Then he read the message beneath it.
Your mother was here yesterday afternoon, before the evacuation center opened.
His thumb hovered over the screen.
“Mom, I'm asking you one more time. What did you sign?””
Marva kept driving.
“Quentin, you have always been too trusting. That's your problem.””
He turned toward her.
“Too trusting of who?””
“People who don't have your best interests at heart.””
“Like Simone?””
Marva sighed dramatically.
“Here we go again.””
Quentin looked at the photograph.
The yellow notice had been placed on the front door of the house he shared with Simone. Their house. The house they'd purchased three years earlier after saving for nearly a decade.
He remembered the mortgage application.
He remembered the closing attorney.
He remembered Simone crying when they received the keys.
And now his mother's signature was on an insurance document he knew nothing about.
“Pull over.””
“What?””
“Mom, pull over.””
Marva glanced at him.
“Don't start giving me orders.””
“I need to read this properly.””
She finally pulled into the parking lot of a closed pharmacy.
Quentin opened the photograph and zoomed in.
The document was an authorization form permitting a third party to communicate with the insurance company and coordinate certain property-related decisions.
The name listed as the authorized representative was Marva Black.
His mother's address appeared beneath it.
But there was something else.
A second page showed an emergency payment request.
The estimated amount was $38,500.
Quentin's eyes widened.
“What is this?””
Marva looked out the windshield.
“It's insurance money.””
“I can see that. Why is there a payment request?””
“The house needs repairs.””
“And why are you involved?””
“Because someone had to take charge.””
He stared at her.
“Did Simone know?””
Marva turned sharply.
“Simone doesn't understand these things.””
“She's my wife.””
“And I'm your mother!””
Her voice filled the car.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Marva adjusted her purse on her lap and lowered her voice.
“Listen, sweetheart. I was trying to protect you. You work hard. You don't understand how quickly people can take advantage of a man when he's dealing with a crisis.””
Quentin rubbed his forehead.
“Did you receive any money?””
Marva didn't answer immediately.
That silence was enough to make him nervous.
“Mom?””
“I paid some expenses.””
“What expenses?””
“Things that needed to be handled.””
“Whose expenses?””
Marva's expression hardened.
“Don't interrogate me like I'm some criminal.””
Quentin looked down at the document.
At the bottom, beneath the authorization, was a handwritten date.
The day before the flood.
He remembered that day.
Simone had been preparing dinner while he was at work. Marva had called him twice, saying she wanted to discuss something important about the house.
He hadn't called back.
Now he wondered what she'd been doing while he ignored her calls.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Marcus appeared.
Call me when you're alone. I have the original paperwork.
Quentin immediately typed.
What paperwork?
Marcus responded.
The one your mother left at the house. Simone found another copy in the kitchen drawer.
Quentin looked at Marva.
“Did you go inside our house before the flood?””
She sighed.
“I have a key.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“I went to check something.””
“What?””
“Quentin, I am not doing this tonight.””
He opened the message again.
Your mother left the documents in an envelope addressed to you.
Then another message arrived.
There's also a letter from the insurance company. You need to see it.
Quentin felt a chill move through him.
“What letter?””
Marva reached for his phone.
“Give me that.””
He pulled it away.
“Why?””
“Because Marcus is trying to turn you against me.””
Quentin looked at her.
“Why are you afraid of me reading a letter?””
Marva's mouth tightened.
For the first time, she had no immediate answer.
Across town, Simone sat at Marcus's kitchen table.
Nyla was asleep upstairs in a warm bed, wearing pink pajamas Marcus had bought for her on the way home.
A small bowl of soup sat in front of Simone.
She had barely touched it.
Marcus placed a folder on the table.
“Simone, I need you to tell me exactly what happened before the evacuation.””
She looked up.
“Why?””
“Because I found something in your kitchen.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of several documents.
Simone recognized the insurance company's logo.
“What is that?””
“A copy of an authorization form.””
She picked it up.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
“Marva?””
Marcus nodded.
“Your mother-in-law authorized herself to communicate with the insurance company.””
“She doesn't own the house.””
“I know.””
“She isn't on the mortgage.””
“I checked.””
Simone slowly lowered the paper.
“Then how did they accept this?””
Marcus leaned back.
“That's what I want to find out.””
She looked at another page.
There was a handwritten note attached to the authorization.
It mentioned an emergency payment and a separate account.
Simone felt her stomach tighten.
“Marcus, this says the payment was supposed to go somewhere else.””
“That's right.””
“Where?””
He pointed to the account information.
Simone read the name.
Marva Black.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then she whispered, “She was trying to take the insurance money.””
Marcus nodded.
“And I don't think she was acting alone.””
Simone looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
He turned over the final page.
There was a second signature beneath Marva's.
A signature Simone recognized immediately.
May you like
Quentin Black.
Her husband.
