Chapter 20 #2
“Will do. Thanks, Sadie, Todd.” By the time Bert reached the compound, lights were already on in the main building. Logan’s truck was in the parking lot, and Sadie and Todd pulled in right behind him.
Bert walked in to find the operations center already humming with activity.
Logan stood at the main console, coordinating.
Sadie moved to her station, multiple screens lit up as she worked.
Todd leaned against the wall with a cup of coffee, alert and ready.
Cole, Cory, and Timothy walked in soon, clearly brought in by Logan for backup.
“Okay,” Logan said as Bert entered. “Bring everyone up to speed.”
Bert laid out everything Mary had told him, watching as the team processed the information with focused attention. These were people trained to identify threats, assess situations, and act decisively. And right now, they were focused on helping Mary.
“Sadie, what have you got?” Logan asked.
Sadie’s fingers flew across her keyboard, pulling up information on the main screen.
“Colin Morrison, age thirty-seven, born in Montreal but grew up primarily in Toronto. Parents were Michael and Catherine Morrison, both killed in a small plane crash fifteen years ago. Michael was a pilot, owned his own plane, and died when it went down in bad weather over Lake Ontario.”
She pulled up a photo from a newspaper article at the time of the death announcement, showing Colin and his parents smiling at the camera.
The paper mentioned that the photo was taken just a few weeks before his parents were killed.
Bert looked at a handsome man with dark hair and an easy smile.
The kind of man who would be charming and trustworthy-looking, exactly the type who could manipulate an elderly aunt without raising suspicions.
“After his parents died, Colin completed college and moved back to Toronto.” After a few more clicks on her keyboard, Sadie continued.
“He lived in Toronto, working in finance. Mid-level position at an investment firm, nothing spectacular. According to social media and public records, he started living with or near his aunt Diane about three and a half years ago.”
“Diane Sutherland?” Logan asked.
“Diane Margaret Sutherland, age sixty-four, widow of Robert Sutherland, who died a little less than four years ago. Old shipping family money… very old. Robert’s family owned one of the major shipping companies in Nova Scotia until they sold it in the 1980s.
Her current net worth is approximately thirty-two million dollars, most of it in investments and real estate. ”
Todd whistled low. “That’s a lot of motivation for someone to want control of.”
“Keep going,” Bert said, his stomach tight with growing concern.
“Diane and Robert had no children. Colin is her closest living relative… the son of her sister, Catherine.” Sadie pulled up more documents. “Here are some financial documents, but it will take a while for me to go through these to see if there are any concerns.”
“Can you tell who the beneficiaries are now?” Bert asked, though he already suspected the answer.
“Colin Morrison on everything. He’s also been added as a joint owner on most of her bank accounts, which means he has legal access to all her funds.”
Bert’s jaw clenched. This was exactly what Mary had suspected, only now they had evidence to support it. “What about Colin’s background? Any criminal history, any complaints, anything that would suggest he’s done this before?”
“Nothing in the criminal databases.” Sadie kept typing, pulling up more screens.
“Mary said Diane seemed confused about recent financial decisions,” Bert said, his mind working through the implications. “What if he’s drugging her? Keeping her just compliant enough to sign documents but not alert enough to remember doing it?”
“That would explain the confusion,” Sisco said.
He was their medic, the one who’d served as a medic for Logan’s SEAL team and trained as a paramedic before joining LSIMT.
“If he’s using benzodiazepines or something similar, he could create short-term memory issues without causing obvious impairment.
She’d seem lucid in the moment, capable of signing documents, but wouldn’t remember it later. ”
“And if anyone questions it, he can point to her confusion as evidence of cognitive decline,” Cole added. “It’s a perfect setup. He’s her trusted nephew, he’s living with her, and he’s managing her affairs. Who’s going to question his motives?”
“Mary did,” Bert said, pride mixing with concern in his chest. “She saw something that didn’t seem right and wasn’t willing to just let it go without checking.”
“Because she’s trained to see patterns and assess situations,” Logan said.
“I don’t get it,” Timothy said. “If Colin is her legal heir, all he has to do is sit back, and when she dies naturally, he gets everything.”
“Yeah, but she’s only in her sixties,” Bert growled. “She could easily live another twenty years or more. If he wants the money now, he can’t wait for her to die of natural causes.”
Cory added, “We need to know his finances and his habits… does he gamble, spend a fortune on cars, women, trips?”
“This is interesting,” Sadie said, gaining everyone’s attention. “According to financial records I probably shouldn’t have access to but do, there have been significant changes to Diane’s accounts over the past eighteen months.”
“What kind of changes?” Logan asked.
“Transfers of funds from her investment accounts to cash accounts. Liquidation of some long-term holdings. Changes to beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement accounts. All of it legal, all of it properly documented with her signatures.” Sadie looked up from her screens.
“But the pattern suggests someone is positioning themselves to be able to get their hands on cash quickly, even before they inherit everything once she dies.”
“He’s got it made. He’s living off her money now,” Cory said from his position at the table.
Sadie added, “There’s also evidence of increased credit card activity on cards in Diane’s name. Nothing huge, but consistent charges that suggest someone is using her cards regularly for personal expenses.”
“He travels with her and gets to live high with luxury accommodations. If he wants to keep up this level of living and not wait until she dies, he might be making it happen easier,” Cory said, leaning back in his chair.
“Or when he can get her declared incompetent,” Todd added grimly. “If he can establish that she has dementia or some other cognitive decline, he can get power of attorney and legal control of everything.”
Logan nodded. “We need everything on him.”
Bert’s heart began to pound. “Mary is also now a potential problem for Colin if he realizes she’s suspicious.” All he could think of is what would happen if a strong man decided to attack Mary… she’d be at a huge disadvantage.
“Call her,” Logan ordered, but Bert’s hands were already on his phone.