Chapter 2 - The Gift List That Was Never Supposed To Exist
By Monday morning, Ethan had already called three people.
By nine-thirty, he knew the school wasn't dealing with a simple paperwork error.
He stood in the conference room of Carter, Wells & Price while Marcus placed a thick folder on the table.
"Four families," Marcus said. "Same pattern. Low income. Approved through the school's assistance program. All four had their names removed before the Christmas event."
"Who approved them?"
"Initial approvals came through the counselor's office."
"And who removed them?"
"That's the interesting part."
Marcus slid over a document.
The final distribution spreadsheet showed a handwritten correction.
Grace Williams — withdrawn.
Next to it was a set of initials.
E.H.
Ethan stared at them.
"Emily Henderson."
"Looks that way."
"She told me the form never came back."
"That's not what the records show."
Ethan tapped the folder.
"Could somebody have forged her initials?"
"Possible."
"Could she have been told to do it?"
"Also possible."
"Did she profit?"
"Not directly."
"Then find out who did."
Marcus nodded.
Ethan spent the next two hours buried in invoices.
The school had a nonprofit arm called Bright Futures Community Partners.
Officially, it covered educational materials, holiday support, emergency transportation, and family aid.
Unofficially, it had a private vendor called Northstar Administrative Services.
Northstar had been paid $94,000 over eleven months for "processing and family coordination."
Ethan had never heard of the company.
Marcus had.
"Registered to a man named Daniel Price."
"Relation to the principal?"
Marcus gave him a look.
"Principal Thomas Price."
"Cousins?"
"Brothers."
Ethan sat back.
"That gets ugly quickly."
"It gets uglier."
Another document appeared.
Northstar's mailing address matched the address of a consulting firm attached to the school board treasurer.
Ethan was silent.
He had the first thread.
He just didn't know how deep it went.
At lunchtime, he drove back to the school.
Mrs. Henderson looked surprised.
"Mr. Carter?"
"I'd like to speak with you privately."
She led him to a small office.
He closed the door.
"Why did Grace's name disappear?"
Mrs. Henderson froze.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The distribution list had seventy-three children. Grace's name was removed three days before the party."
Mrs. Henderson looked down.
"I told you the form didn't come back."
"The signed form is in the school system."
Her face paled.
"Ethan—"
"Who told you to say that?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I have a job."
"You also have a conscience."
"I have a mortgage."
Ethan said nothing.
Mrs. Henderson looked toward the window.
"They told me Grace's family was no longer eligible."
"Who?"
"I was given a list."
"By whom?"
"The principal's office."
"Did you question it?"
"They said the funding had been reduced."
"Was it?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then why were families removed?"
Mrs. Henderson swallowed.
"Because they wouldn't pay."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Pay what?"
"A private administrative fee."
"To whom?"
"I never saw the money."
"But you know."
She closed her eyes.
"Northstar."
The room seemed to shrink.
"Mrs. Henderson, how long?"
"At least eighteen months."
"And the principal knows?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
She looked at him sharply.
"How dare you?"
"Because you're protecting someone."
"I'm protecting myself."
"I understand."
She stared at him.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
His voice softened.
"And that's why I'm not asking you to sign anything today."
She relaxed slightly.
"But I am telling you this."
He stood.
"Someone took money meant for children."
Mrs. Henderson looked away.
"And someone made Grace believe Santa forgot her."
The woman covered her face.
Ethan left.
Outside the school, he called Marcus.
"Get me a forensic accountant."
"Already did."
"Good."
"And Ethan?"
"Yes?"
"The apartment situation."
"What about it?"
"There is a lien notice on Maple Street Building C."
Ethan stopped.
"For Amanda?"
"No. The property owner."
"What does that have to do with them?"
"I'm still digging."
That evening, Ethan sat across from Amanda in a small diner near the courthouse.
She had accepted the foundation interview.
Not the job.
The interview.
Grace was at the apartment with a babysitter.
"You don't have to look so nervous," Ethan said.
Amanda wrapped both hands around her coffee.
"I'm sitting across from the man whose name is on half the buildings downtown."
"Not half."
She almost smiled.
"You're impossible."
"I've been told."
She looked at him.
"Why me?"
"You asked that before."
"And you didn't really answer."
Ethan leaned back.
"Because you kept your dignity when I expected you to ask for help."
"I wanted to."
"But you didn't."
"I had asked people before."
"And?"
"They helped until they got tired of helping."
That sentence stayed between them.
Amanda looked out the window.
"I was married once."
Ethan hadn't expected that.
"Grace's father?"
She nodded.
"Daniel."
Ethan felt the muscles in his back tighten.
"Daniel Williams?"
Amanda looked at him.
"How do you know his name?"
"I saw it in the records."
She laughed once, bitterly.
"Of course you did."
"Where is he?"
"Dead."
Ethan blinked.
"When?"
"Five years ago."
"How?"
"Car accident."
He studied her face.
"You're sure?"
She frowned.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A legal one."
"Yes. I'm sure."
"What did he do for work?"
"Accounts."
"Where?"
She looked down.
"Northstar Administrative Services."
Silence.
Ethan did not move.
Amanda noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That wasn't a nothing face."
He reached into his briefcase.
"There's something you need to know."
He slid a copy of a vendor registration across the table.
Northstar.
Daniel Williams listed as financial controller.
Amanda's face drained.
"No."
"He was connected to the company."
"He worked there."
"His name is still tied to the accounts."
She shook her head.
"No. Daniel died five years ago."
"I know."
"He couldn't be involved with a company that started billing the school later."
Ethan frowned.
"What year did Northstar register?"
"Three years ago."
"Then something is wrong."
Amanda stared at the page.
"My husband died before that."
"Which means somebody used his identity."
Amanda slowly looked up.
"For what?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Because he had just realized what the answer might be.
Someone needed a dead man to carry the financial risk.
Someone who could sign documents, open accounts, and never appear in court.
And that meant Daniel Williams might not have been the corrupt one.
He might have been the victim.
The next morning, Ethan hired a private investigator.
Two days later, the investigator called.
"We found the original company formation records."
"Who signed them?"
"A man named Richard Cole."
"Who is Richard Cole?"
"Former board adviser to Maple Street Community Housing."
Ethan stared at the ceiling.
Maple Street.
The apartment building where Amanda lived.
The building with the lien notice.
That night he went back to Maple Street.
Amanda answered the door with worry already in her eyes.
"What happened?"
"Ethan?"
"I need to ask you something."
"What?"
"Has anyone ever tried to buy your apartment?"
She hesitated.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"A man from a property company."
"Name?"
"Richard Cole."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
"What did he offer?"
"Less than half its market value."
"Why?"
"He said the building was being renovated."
"Did you sell?"
"No."
"Did he threaten you?"
Her silence was answer enough.
Ethan looked beyond her.
Grace was sitting at the kitchen table drawing.
She noticed him.
"Mr. Carter?"
"Hi, Grace."
"I drew your building."
She held up a crayon picture.
It showed a tall tower.
"Is that my office?"
"Yes."
"And what's this?"
She pointed to a tiny stick figure beside it.
"That's me."
Ethan smiled.
"Why am I so tall?"
She shrugged.
"Because you're rich."
Amanda covered a laugh.
Ethan laughed too.
Then Grace added quietly, "Mom says rich people can fix things."
The laughter disappeared.
Ethan crouched beside her.
"Sometimes."
"Can you fix our apartment?"
Amanda stiffened.
"Grace."
But Ethan looked at the child.
"I can try."
Grace nodded.
"Okay."
That night, Ethan made a decision.
He wasn't going to save Amanda.
He wasn't going to rescue Grace.
May you like
He was going to find the people who had decided that a child's Christmas could be stolen for profit.
And when he found them, he would make sure the law remembered their names.
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