"How are you doing?"Barrett said.
Cadie took a breath."I'm more angry than anything."
"Good."
She glanced at him."Good?"
"Angry means you're not scared.Angry means you're thinking clearly."He squeezed her hand gently."You handled it well back there."
"I didn't do much.You took care of everything."
"You kept your head.You didn't touch anything in the room.You texted me immediately.And you had the journals with you.That's the most important thing."
Cadie was quiet for a moment."I've been carrying that bag everywhere since I arrived.At first, it was just habit.Now I understand why I couldn't leave it behind."
"Your instincts are good," Barrett said."Trust them."
"But how did anyone know about the journals, or that they are so important?"
"My guess," Barrett said, "is that no one knows that."
Cadie's eyes widened.
"It's more likely the room break-in was just to scare you," Barrett said."If it had the intended effect, you might sell the property rapidly so you can go home."He paused."But I don't believe that anyone knows what we do, or suspects that we have evidence."
"If anyone did," Cadie said, "then I imagine there would be a threat to deal with."
"Well, I've been working with Detective Sullivan to effectively handle the source of any threat.And to conclude this investigation."
They turned a corner and walked along a quieter street lined with live oaks.The branches arched overhead and created a canopy of green that filtered the sunlight into shifting patterns on the sidewalk.Cadie seemed to relax.The morning air and the rhythm of walking were doing what he had hoped they would.
"I want to share something with you," Barrett said."Before dinner last night, I spent time with Detective Sullivan going over a timeline reconstruction."
Cadie looked up at him.
"We laid out everything we have in chronological order, including the financial evidence, the witness statements, and the journal entries."Barrett kept his voice even and measured."When you put it in order, the picture comes into focus."
"Tell me," Cadie said.
Barrett wanted to give her the information in a way that was precise and complete without overwhelming her.
"Kal Davis and Olivia Stewart began meeting approximately seven to eight months before your aunt's death," he said."The barista at the coffee shop confirmed regular visits over that period.They always sat in the back corner.The meetings started around the same time that Kal's business records show consulting fee expenses, and those expenses match the deposits in Olivia's bank account."
Cadie's hand tightened in his, but she didn't speak.
"The money started flowing from Kal to Olivia at the beginning of that same window," Barrett said."Five hundred to a thousand dollars every two to three weeks.It added up to approximately eight thousand dollars total over the course of those months."
"And the meetings were regular," Cadie said.
"Until shortly before your aunt's death," Barrett said."The barista told me that they stopped coming in about a month to six weeks before the end."Barrett paused."And your aunt's journal entries show her health declining during that same period.That aligns with the timeline of payments and meetings."
Cadie was quiet for several steps."So…they planned it for months."Her voice was steady, but Barrett heard the weight beneath the words.
"That's what the evidence shows.Their actions weren't impulsive."
"Olivia sat with my aunt every day, gave her medications, and cooked her meals."Cadie appeared distressed."And the whole time, she was meeting with the man who wanted the building."
Barrett waited.He'd learned a long time ago that a person processed difficult information at their own pace, and the worst thing to do was rush them through it.
