The detective introduced herself as Sofia Ramirez of the Dallas financial crimes unit. She confirmed Daniel's identity, then asked whether I was Valerie Carter. I nodded and showed her my employee identification and a government-issued card from my travel wallet. She glanced at the forged page I held, but did not take it from me immediately.
"Mr. Whitmore contacted our unit yesterday afternoon," she said. "A bank fraud investigator has also provided documents and a written statement. We have been working with the district attorney's office. I understand you've just been shown material bearing your name."
"None of those signatures are mine," I said.
"We will need to verify that carefully. We also need to establish where you were when the documents were supposedly signed. For now, I would like you to preserve anything you've seen and tell me who has handled it."
I gave her the details in the order they happened. My father had taught me that when a mechanical problem looked complicated, you started with the facts you could prove and worked outward from there. I told her about the argument over the land, the bank envelope, the date of the supposed notarization, and my flight duty in Seattle. She listened without telling me what she thought the story meant.
"Can you stop the money from going through?" I asked.
"The bank has already placed a fraud hold on the proposed transaction. That doesn't resolve ownership or establish criminal liability, but it prevents the scheduled release while the documents are reviewed. We are also examining transactions involving the construction company."
I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding. "My mother lives on the property."
"I understand. We'll need the title records and the estate documents. A lawyer who represents you can help address the property issue separately from our investigation."
Daniel stood a few feet away, listening. When Detective Ramirez mentioned the company transactions, his eyes dropped to the floor. It was the expression of a man who knew where certain answers would lead and had no reason to feel proud about how long it had taken him to face them.
"Do you have grounds to keep Ryan from boarding?" I asked.
"He's already boarded," Priya observed gently.
Detective Ramirez gave a small nod. "We have a warrant related to the suspected fraudulent financial instruments, based on evidence gathered before today. That authority does not come from anything you told me just now. We need to verify the passenger's identity and ask him to come with us. We'll do that with the captain and airport personnel, without creating a scene in the cabin if we can avoid one."
I looked toward the curtain. My husband was sitting in a leather first-class seat, probably trying to decide what story would make him look most innocent when we finally spoke alone. He did not know that the next conversation he was going to have would involve a detective and paperwork he could not explain away with a sigh.
"I don't want the other passengers put at risk," I said.