Chapter 6 - THE LAST DEPOSIT
James Bennett’s final bank deposit was for $9,800.
Cash.
Made six days before his death.
Nia had never noticed it.
Why would she?
Her father’s finances were ordinary after her mother died.
Pension.
Small consulting income.
Savings.
Nothing dramatic.
But the anonymous message specifically mentioned the deposit.
Aaron pulled the bank camera footage.
James entered alone.
Carrying a white envelope.
He counted the cash.
Deposited it.
Then left.
The teller remembered him.
“He seemed nervous.”
“Did he say where the money came from?”
“No.”
“But he asked if cash deposits were reported.”
That mattered.
James wanted a record.
Not anonymity.
A trace.
Nia searched his old tax folders.
Inside one, she found a receipt.
Handwritten.
Received from D. Price — $9,800.
Nia stared.
Daniel Price.
The sheriff.
Aaron’s father.
She called Aaron.
His silence told her he had no idea.
State investigators confronted Daniel Price.
For the first time since his arrest, he asked for a cooperation agreement.
Aaron refused to attend.
Nia did.
Daniel looked smaller without his uniform.
He stared at her.
“You look like James.”
“People keep saying that.”
“He was difficult.”
“So am I.”
A faint smile.
“Yes.”
The prosecutor placed the receipt down.
“Why did you give James Bennett $9,800?”
Daniel looked at it.
“Because I was trying to get out.”
“Out of what?”
“Mercer’s system.”
“What system?”
“Payoffs. favors. pressure.”
“You took money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Over the years? About forty thousand.”
“Then why give James 9,800?”
Daniel inhaled.
“That was the last payment Mercer sent me.”
“You gave it to James?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Proof.”
Nia leaned forward.
“You were helping him?”
“At the end.”
“At the end?”
Daniel nodded.
“James came to me with the ledger.”
Aaron’s father had not only known.
He had seen the evidence.
“I told him I could testify.”
Nia’s anger rose.
“Then why did you cover up his death?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Because I panicked.”
“There’s that word again.”
“I know.”
“You were sheriff.”
“I know.”
“You had a badge.”
“I know.”
“My father trusted you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“No. He didn’t.”
The honesty stopped her.
“He used me because he needed a witness with inside knowledge.”
“Fine.”
“He told me he thought Mercer might kill him.”
“And you still left him alone.”
Daniel’s face cracked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Mercer threatened Aaron.”
Nia looked toward the one-way mirror.
Aaron was likely behind it.
Daniel continued:
“He sent me photographs of my son’s house. His wife. My grandson.”
Aaron had been divorced since.
He had one son.
Nia’s anger shifted.
Not disappeared.
Shifted.
“So you chose your family.”
“Yes.”
“And sacrificed mine.”
Daniel cried.
“Yes.”
Nia sat back.
There was nothing satisfying about watching guilt destroy someone.
No victory.
Only waste.
The prosecutor asked:
“Why deposit the money through James?”
“James said if Mercer ever claimed I took bribes willingly, he needed proof I tried to return at least one payment.”
“Why $9,800?”
“Below the old reporting threshold Mercer used. He liked amounts that looked deliberate.”
“What was James planning?”
“To meet federal investigators.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
James died Saturday.
Nia stared at the table.
Two days.
Her father had been two days from taking everything public.
Daniel continued.
“He gave me a copy of the ledger.”
“Where is it?”
“I destroyed it.”
Nia laughed once in disbelief.
“Of course.”
“After he died, I got scared.”
“You got paid too?”
“No.”
“Then why remove the threat report?”
“To protect Aaron.”
“From what?”
“Mercer’s attention.”
Nia leaned forward.
“You understand that by protecting your son from a threat, you helped the man who threatened him?”
Daniel looked broken.
“Yes.”
Fear did not make people safe.
It made them manageable.
That was the lesson running through every part of the case.
The anonymous text sender remained unknown.
But the bank deposit clue suggested whoever sent it knew private details.
Maybe someone inside Mercer’s network.
Maybe someone helping.
Maybe someone manipulating Nia.
Aaron warned her not to respond.
Nia responded anyway.
WHO ARE YOU?
No answer.
Then:
ASK RAYMOND WHY HE REALLY BOUGHT THE WEST PARCEL.
Nia stared.
Raymond again.
She was getting tired of secrets.
She drove to his office without calling.
Madison was there.
So was Raymond.
Nia placed her phone on the desk.
“Explain.”
Raymond read the message.
His expression changed.
Madison folded her arms.
“Dad?”
Raymond sat.
“The west parcel wasn’t for development.”
“What was it for?”
“To stop Northstar.”
Nia stared.
“You bought land to stop them?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“Why didn’t Dad know?”
“He did.”
“What?”
Raymond opened a safe.
Inside were land deeds.
One showed joint beneficial interest.
James Bennett.
Raymond Keller.
The parcel had been purchased through an LLC.
Nia looked at him.
“You two were still working together.”
“Quietly.”
“After the betrayal?”
“Sometimes people hate each other and still want the same thing.”
Nia almost laughed.
“That might be the most honest thing you’ve ever said.”
Raymond continued.
“The west parcel controls the only practical access road for large construction equipment.”
“So if Northstar wanted the lake…”
“They needed it.”
“And you held it.”
“Yes.”
“Why hide James’s interest?”
“To protect it from liens and legal pressure.”
Nia looked at Madison.
She was as surprised as Nia.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Raymond sighed.
“Because the title structure is legally complicated, and I was afraid Mercer’s people would challenge it once they knew you inherited James’s interest.”
“So instead you let me think you betrayed him completely.”
“I did betray him.”
“But not completely.”
“No.”
Nia hated complexity.
Simple anger was easier.
Raymond handed her another document.
A buyout offer from Northstar.
Thirty million dollars.
He had rejected it one month before James died.
Nia looked up.
“You said no?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because James finally convinced me.”
“Of what?”
“That some things are worth more when you don’t sell them.”
Nia looked away.
Her father would have enjoyed hearing that.
Maybe he had.
The anonymous number texted again.
HE’S STILL NOT TELLING YOU EVERYTHING.
Nia showed Raymond.
His face went pale.
Madison noticed.
“Dad.”
Nia’s voice hardened.
“What else?”
Raymond stood.
“Nothing.”
“Wrong answer.”
“Nia.”
“What else?”
He looked at Madison.
That told Nia the secret involved her.
Madison saw it too.
“What did you do?”
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Your mother.”
Madison froze.
“What about Mom?”
Madison’s mother, Caroline, had died when Madison was twelve.
Car accident.
At least that was what everyone knew.
Raymond spoke slowly.
“Caroline worked for Northstar.”
Madison stared.
“No.”
“She was in legal compliance.”
“You told me she worked for a consulting company.”
“She did. Northstar retained them.”
“What does this have to do with James?”
Raymond looked at Nia.
“Caroline was the person who first gave your father internal payment records.”
Nia’s mouth went dry.
“She was his source?”
“Yes.”
Madison stepped backward.
“My mom knew Mr. Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she died because of it.”
Silence.
Madison’s face drained.
“What?”
Raymond’s voice broke.
“Her accident happened three weeks after she copied the records.”
Nia looked at him.
“Was it an accident?”
Raymond shook his head.
“I don’t believe so.”
Madison covered her mouth.
Raymond continued.
“The brakes failed.”
Police investigated.
No criminal finding.
But Caroline had told Raymond days earlier that Mercer knew someone leaked files.
James had promised to keep her identity secret.
He did.
Even after her death.
That was why Raymond remained trapped.
His wife died after helping James.
His daughter remained.
Mercer used that fear for years.
Madison started crying.
“You let me grow up thinking Mom just crashed.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that!”
Her voice cracked through the office.
“You all hide things and call it protection!”
Nia flinched.
Because Madison was right.
The entire case was built from adults hiding truths from people they loved.
Raymond reached toward her.
Madison stepped away.
“No.”
She turned to Nia.
“Did your dad know?”
“About your mother?”
Nia looked at Raymond.
“Yes.”
Madison stared at her.
For one dangerous second, anger flashed.
Then it disappeared.
Because this time Madison did not blame the nearest person.
She looked at her father.
“I’m done with secrets.”
Then she walked out.
Nia followed.
Outside, Madison stood beside her car crying.
Nia hesitated.
Then handed her a tissue.
Madison laughed through tears.
“This is weird.”
“Extremely.”
“My mom helped your dad.”
“Looks like it.”
“And then she died.”
“Yes.”
Madison stared at the road.
“What if Mercer killed her too?”
Nia looked back at Raymond’s office.
“Then we prove it.”
Madison wiped her face.
“We?”
Nia sighed.
“Don’t make me regret the word.”
Madison nodded.
For the first time, they were not enemies.
Not friends either.
Something stranger.
May you like
Two daughters standing inside the same old crime.
And somewhere, an anonymous sender was guiding them toward truths their fathers had buried.
