Chapter 5 - THE NEIGHBOR WITH TWO NAMES
Z
Mrs. Campbell was seventy-four.
She baked terrible banana bread, complained about Chicago winters, and kept a small garden of roses that never seemed to bloom at the proper time.
She had lived beside the Ellises for as long as Dora could remember.
After their father's death, she'd brought groceries.
When Caleb became sick, she'd driven them to urgent care.
When Dora couldn't afford a proper Thanksgiving dinner, Mrs. Campbell had invited them over and pretended she'd accidentally cooked too much.
Dora loved her.
Which made the photograph unbearable.
Dora waited until Helen could accompany her.
Mrs. Campbell opened the door wearing slippers and a blue cardigan.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Then she saw the photograph.
Her smile disappeared.
“Where did you get that?”
Dora felt her throat tighten.
“Who are you?”
The older woman closed her eyes.
“My name is Evelyn Campbell.”
“Is that your real name?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you with my father and Marco Costas?”
Evelyn stepped aside.
“Come inside.”
Her living room smelled of lavender and old books.
Evelyn sat slowly.
“Before I moved here, I worked as an accountant for Costas Logistics.”
Dora stared.
“What?”
“I was responsible for auditing freight invoices.”
“And?”
“I found discrepancies.”
She looked toward the window.
“Shipments billed twice. Insurance claims for cargo that hadn't been lost. Maintenance expenses used to conceal payments.”
Helen leaned forward.
“Did you report your findings?”
“I tried.”
“To whom?”
“Victor Costas.”
Dora gave a bitter laugh.
“That must've gone well.”
Evelyn nodded sadly.
“He told me I'd misunderstood.”
“Then what happened?”
“Marco approached me. He'd been investigating the same accounts.”
Dora felt cold.
“And my father?”
“Thomas discovered that unsafe vehicles were being used to move shipments outside the approved schedule.”
Evelyn looked directly at her.
“He refused to sign the inspection certificates.”
Dora's eyes filled.
“That's why they fired him.”
“Yes.”
“And then he died.”
Evelyn's expression crumpled.
“I know.”
“Did somebody kill him?”
Evelyn wiped her eyes.
“I never knew for certain. But I was afraid.”
Dora stared.
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Your father asked me to protect you and Caleb if anything happened. I thought staying nearby was the safest way.”
Dora stood.
“You let us spend eleven years believing it was an accident.”
Evelyn began crying.
“I thought knowing more would put you in danger.”
Dora's voice shook.
“You didn't have the right to make that decision forever.”
Evelyn lowered her head.
“You're right.”
Before Dora left, Evelyn opened a locked cabinet.
Inside was a sealed package.
She placed it on the table.
“Thomas gave me this.”
Dora stared.
“When?”
“The week before he died.”
“Why didn't you give it to us?”
“Because he told me to wait until someone came asking about Marco.”
Helen examined the package without opening it.
“What's inside?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“The freight ledger.”
Dora looked at her.
The room seemed to tilt.
Eleven years.
Eleven years of bills, exhaustion, and wondering why her father never came home.
And the evidence had been sitting next door the entire time.
Then Evelyn said something even more shocking.
“Marco didn't disappear because he was afraid of Victor.”
Dora looked up.
“Then why?”
Evelyn's voice dropped.
“Because he found out who was really running the fraudulent shipments.”
May you like
She looked toward the window.
“And it wasn't Victor Costas.”
