“Where?”
“On her kitchen counter.”
I leaned toward Evelyn and whispered.
“He was in my office.”
She did not look at me.
She simply turned another page.
“Mr. Brooks, during the October family dinner, did you enter Cassidy’s home office?”
His eyes moved toward mine.
“I took a wrong turn looking for the bathroom.”
“How long were you inside?”
“A few seconds.”
“I saw you leave fifteen minutes after you entered the hallway,” I said quietly.
Caldwell rose.
“Objection. The respondent is testifying from counsel table.”
Judge Harrison looked at me.
“Ms. Mercer, you will have your opportunity.”
“I apologize, Your Honor.”
Evelyn continued.
“Did you photograph any papers in Cassidy’s office?”
“No.”
“Did you remove mail?”
“No.”
“Did you obtain her routing number from documents stored there?”
“No.”
“Then explain why the supposed margin statement uses the number of her dormant utility account.”
Jamal’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
The confidence did not vanish. It fractured.
Evelyn handed the judge a certified letter from my bank.
“The bank confirms that this number belongs to a personal checking account with no brokerage function, no margin privileges, and no connection to the debt described in the petitioners’ exhibit.”
Judge Harrison compared the pages.
“Mr. Brooks,” he said, “why would a brokerage statement use a checking-account number?”
“I can’t explain the bank’s formatting.”
“This is your exhibit.”
“I compiled it from the documents I received.”
“From whom?”
“My mother-in-law provided some of the papers.”
My mother stared at him.
“I gave you mail,” Patricia said. “I didn’t make those pages.”
Caldwell turned sharply.
“Mrs. Mercer, do not speak from the gallery.”
Jamal’s eyes moved rapidly between them.
Evelyn remained calm.
“Let us discuss the interest rate. You represented this as an institutional margin facility charging eighteen percent.”
“That is what the record showed.”
“Your employer’s published range for comparable corporate accounts was between eight and eleven percent during the period in question, correct?”
“Rates vary.”
“Do they vary by seven percentage points without any explanatory fee schedule?”
“They can.”
“Can you identify one comparable account at your firm?”
“I do not have client records with me.”
“Convenient.”
“Objection.”
“Withdrawn,” Evelyn said.
She returned to our table and picked up a white envelope.
“This is the report of an independent forensic accountant retained after the emergency petition was filed. Copies have been provided to the court and opposing counsel.”
Caldwell opened his copy.
His expression tightened as he read.
Evelyn faced Jamal again.
“The forensic accountant concluded that the statement templates you submitted did not originate from Cassidy’s bank or any institution with which she has an account.”
“That is wrong.”
“The logos were copied, the account number came from her dormant checking account, and the footer codes belong to corporate statements used by Wellington Park Financial.”
Jamal’s fingers closed around the edge of the witness box.
“I received those papers as they appeared.”
“Where?”
“I told you.”
“You told us you constructed the review from stray mail. Now you are saying complete institutional statements simply appeared.”
“I am not responsible for where Patricia found them.”
My mother stood halfway.
“Don’t put this on me.”
Judge Harrison raised his voice.
“Mrs. Mercer, sit down.”
She obeyed.
Evelyn looked toward the sealed black folder on the judge’s desk.
“We are not finished.”
For the first time, Jamal appeared frightened.
Caldwell requested a short recess.
Judge Harrison denied it.
“You asked the court to decide an emergency matter today,” he said. “We will examine the emergency evidence today.”
Evelyn returned to her table and lifted a manila folder.
“This is a certified state registration record for Apex Holdings Group, LLC.”
The name meant nothing to my parents.
It meant something to Jamal.
His shoulders rose before he controlled them.
Evelyn handed copies to the judge, Caldwell, and Jamal.
“Are you familiar with that company?” she asked.
“No.”
“You did not create it?”
“No.”
“You have never managed funds through it?”
“No.”
“You are certain?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn turned toward the judge.
“Apex Holdings is the corporate entity associated with the four-hundred-thousand-dollar debt described in the petitioners’ exhibits.”
Whispers moved through the back row.
Judge Harrison lifted one hand, restoring silence.
Evelyn continued.
“The company was registered using Cassidy Mercer’s name and condominium address. However, the filing email belongs to an administrative account at Wellington Park Financial.”
Jamal swallowed.