He tried to talk over me. He started saying something about how he had to pay for gas and storage and all the time he spent cleaning the shed. He was trying to justify theft as a business expense.
“Friday morning, Kevin,” I repeated. “Or I take these printed pages and the notarized letter to the sheriff. You know as well as I do that forgery and theft are not just family problems.”
He stopped talking. I could hear him breathing on the other end of the line. He knew I wasn’t bluffing. I had the records. I had the proof. I had everything I needed to make his life very difficult.
“Fine,” he whispered. “I’ll get it to you.”
He hung up before I could say another word. I put the phone back on the cradle and sat in the kitchen. The house was finally quiet again, but it was a different kind of silence. It wasn’t the heavy, grief-filled quiet from before. It was the sharp, cold quiet of a lesson learned.
I don’t think I can ever look at Kevin the same way again. I don’t think I can ever look at my own family the same way again. Trust is a funny thing. You spend your whole life building it up, thinking it’s a solid wall. Then you realize it’s just a house of cards.
I’m waiting for the bank to show me that deposit on Friday. If it’s not there, I’m going to the police station. I’ve already got the folder ready on my desk. I’ve lived long enough to know when to stop being nice and start being smart.
Walter always said that the right tool for the job makes all the difference.
I guess I finally found the right tool for this mess. It just happens to be a legal demand letter instead of a wrench.
I’m sitting here now, looking at the empty space where the workbench used to be. The sun is setting over the garden, and for the first time in months, I don’t feel like crying. I just feel tired. But at least I know the truth.
I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know what happens after Friday. Maybe he pays, maybe he doesn’t. But I know one thing for sure. He’ll never get to steal my peace of mind again.
“I want the rest of the money in my account by Friday morning.”
That was all I had to say.
