Chapter 7: Dennis
Arthur forwarded the message to Detective Marsh before he left the house.
She called back within ten minutes.
"Don't respond to it," she said.
"Don't delete it.
I'm going to need you to come in now, not this afternoon."
"Is Lily safe at school?"
"I'm going to make a call and have a car near the school within the hour.
Standard precaution." Her tone was measured.
"Mr.
Calloway, how much do you know about Dennis Farrow's current situation?"
"Only what Roland told me."
"Roland Ashby has been cooperating with us for fourteen months.
The case against Farrow has been building for a long time.
What's in that envelope is the last piece we needed." A pause.
"He knows that.
That's why he sent the message."
"He's trying to scare me off."
"He's trying to buy time." Another pause.
"He's also trying to find out how much you know and whether you're willing to deal."
"I'm not."
"Good.
Come in.
Bring the envelope.
We'll talk through everything."
Arthur drove to the station.
He sat across from Detective Marsh in a small room with a window overlooking the car park.
She was younger than he'd expected, mid-forties, with the kind of focused attention that made him feel she had already read the room before he sat down.
He handed her the envelope.
She opened it without ceremony.
Read in silence.
Turned each page with care.
When she reached the financial document, she stopped.
"She kept this for twenty years."
"Yes."
"She never came forward."
"He threatened Roland's family.
She explains it in the note on page five."
Marsh read the note.
Set it down.
"We have corroborating records from two of the original investors' families," she said.
"We have testimony from a former associate of Farrow's.
What we didn't have was a primary document placing him as the authorizing signatory." She tapped page seven.
"This is it."
"What happens now?"
"We move today." She looked up.
"I want you to understand — once we execute the warrant, Farrow will know it's over.
Men like him, when they know it's over, sometimes make one last move.
It's usually impulsive.
It's usually a mistake." She held his gaze.
"Is there anywhere you and Lily can stay tonight that isn't your home address?"
Arthur thought of his sister in the next town over.
"Yes."
"Go there after you leave here.
Don't go home first." She slid a card across the table.
"My direct number.
If you hear from him again — call me immediately.
Don't engage."
Arthur pocketed the card.
"Detective." He hesitated.
"My wife kept this for twenty years.
She protected it.
She protected Lily." He stopped.
"Will her name be part of the record?"
Marsh was quiet for a moment.
"Her name will be in the case file," she said.
"As a witness.
As someone who preserved critical evidence at significant personal cost." She paused.
"That's not a small thing, Mr.
Calloway."
Arthur nodded.
He didn't trust his voice.
He stood to leave.
His phone rang as he reached the door.
The unknown number.
He turned and showed the screen to Marsh without answering.
She nodded once.
"Let it ring.
We're already on it."
It rang four more times.
Then stopped.
Then a text arrived.
*Last chance.
Give me the documents and walk away.
May you like
Or I come to the school.*
Marsh was already on her radio before Arthur finished reading it.
