The Girl They Forgot to Love novel · Chapter 19 of 24
Chapter 19: Thirty-One Times
Two people came through the back doors.
One was a young man in a rumpled suit who held a leather book against his chest.
The other was a woman in a lanyard, carrying a laptop. She had the brisk walk of someone who checks numbers for a living.
Pierce stood up so fast his chair fell over.
"This is a family matter," he said. "Who let them in?"
"I did," the chair said. "Sit down, Mr. Brannigan."
"No."
"Then stand where you are and listen."
He turned to the young man.
"State your trade, please."
"I'm a notary," the young man said. His voice shook. "I was at the Brannigan house on the Monday of the reading."
"Did Elizabeth Brannigan appear before you?"
"No."
The room made one low sound.
"Mr. Pierce Brannigan brought me the paper already signed," the notary said. "He said she'd stepped out to the car, and she was too upset to come back in.
"I stamped it. I put a time in my book that wasn't true. He said he'd take care of me."
"Take care of you how?"
"He said there'd be a job at the company."
Pierce laughed, too loud.
"He's lying. We were fraternity brothers. He's been jealous of me since freshman year."
"Then explain the book," the chair said.
The notary opened it with shaking hands. Under Monday's date, the column marked Signer Present was empty.
"I should have left it blank," he said. "I wrote her name in later. I'm sorry."
I didn't look at him. I looked at Pierce.
He had gone red to the ears.
"The bank, please," the chair said.
The woman in the lanyard set her laptop on the table and turned the screen toward the room. A projector flickered on over the head of the table.
"This is branch camera two, the morning after the reading," she said. "A customer opened a new checking account in the name of Elizabeth Brannigan."
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