Chapter 5: The Founder's Rule

I dropped Finley with my neighbor, Mrs. Lindqvist, and drove to the pier.

Whitlow's on the Pier opened for lunch at eleven.

At ten-forty, the dining room was full of staff folding napkins and setting silver.

Graham was at the bar going over invoices, reading glasses on his nose.

Douglas was beside him, freshly showered, in a gray suit.

He'd made it in fast after my call.

Brynn stood at the hostess stand, looking anywhere but at me.

Every head in the room turned when I walked in.

"Kate," Graham said carefully. "You shouldn't be here like this."

"Like what?"

He didn't have an answer.

"There's a letter at Finley's preschool with Douglas's name on it," I said. "Ask him if he signed it."

A busboy stopped folding.

Graham took off his glasses.

"That's not possible."

Graham looked at his son.

Douglas's mouth opened and closed.

"Mom was just trying to help."

"By lying to a preschool," I said.

"You're twisting everything."

"Then untwist it. Did you sign it?"

Douglas looked at the floor.

"No."

The room was so quiet I could hear the ice machine drop a load of cubes.

Graham rubbed his face with both hands.

"What do you want, Kate?"

"I want to know why you picked Ardley Diagnostics."

He blinked.

"Patricia picked it. She said Philip's nephew would keep it out of the papers."

"The report on that screen last night was forged," I said. "And now the person who put it there chose the lab for the real one."

Graham said nothing.

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