Meanwhile Dorothy spent the night reviewing police reports and witness statements. Everything appeared to point toward Victor, but several details did not make sense. A neighbor named Harold Price first told police he had seen an unknown man leaving the house around eleven o clock, yet three days later he suddenly insisted the man had been Victor. The forensic report had also been completed unusually fast, allowing prosecutors to arrest Victor almost immediately.
The lead prosecutor on the case had been Charles Bennett, Daniel’s longtime business partner in several real estate deals that involved properties once owned by Victor and Angela’s family.
Dorothy called Frank again and asked him to gather every record connected to Daniel’s financial transactions.
The next morning Daniel Bennett arrived at Oakridge Children’s Residence in a shiny black SUV and announced that he had come to take his niece home because circumstances had changed. Margaret stood firmly in the doorway and reminded him that he had voluntarily given up guardianship months earlier.
When Avery stepped into the hallway and saw her uncle, her face turned completely pale. For a brief second Daniel’s confident smile disappeared and something cold appeared in his eyes. Margaret noticed the change immediately and ordered him to leave.
“This is not finished,” Daniel said before walking away.
Security cameras recorded every word of that conversation.
For the first time in five years the truth behind Angela Bennett’s death had begun to rise to the surface.
