Chapter 22 - THE SIGNATURE
Elena wanted an explanation from a dead man.
Instead she had lawyers.
The handwriting expert's preliminary opinion was uncomfortable.
The signature might have been written by Marcus.
Valerie's attorney immediately accused Marcus of forging an intellectual-property transfer after Thomas died.
If true, Sophie could have a substantial claim.
Diane reacted differently.
“No.”
Elena looked at her.
“You don't know.”
“Yes, I do.”
“How?”
“Because I witnessed Thomas sign something for Marcus.”
“When?”
“Two months before Thomas died.”
Elena froze.
“Why were you there?”
Diane looked embarrassed.
“Thomas was dating one of my friends.”
Valerie's face hardened.
Diane continued.
“He came to my apartment. Marcus arrived. They argued about some invention.”
“What did Thomas sign?”
“I didn't read it.”
Valerie laughed.
“Convenient.”
“It was twenty-nine years ago.”
Daniel asked:
“Do you remember anyone else present?”
Diane thought.
“Carol.”
“Last name?”
“Jensen.”
Elena stared.
Carol Jensen.
One of the women Diane later borrowed money from while pretending to support Elena after the crash.
The same Carol.
Daniel found her.
Carol remembered the meeting.
More importantly, she had something none of them expected.
An old photograph.
Taken because the women were leaving for a birthday dinner.
In the background, Thomas sat at Diane's table.
A paper lay in front of him.
Marcus stood nearby.
The date printed on the film envelope matched the transfer agreement.
It did not prove which document Thomas signed.
But it destroyed the theory that Marcus invented the entire meeting after Thomas's death.
Then Samuel Ortiz, Marcus's former patent partner, provided the technical answer.
Thomas's device was real.
It also did not work.
The basic concept involved temperature monitoring.
Marcus later developed something different with Park and Ortiz: a sensor calibration and communication system suitable for commercial refrigerated shipping.
“The ideas were related,” Samuel said.
“But Marcus didn't steal Thomas's patent.”
“Why pay a dollar for the design?” Sophie asked.
Samuel sighed.
“Because Thomas wouldn't stop claiming Marcus stole his idea.”
The agreement was a peace offering.
Thomas transferred whatever rights he believed he had.
Marcus paid a nominal amount.
“Then why does the signature look like Marcus's?” Elena asked.
Samuel became quiet.
“Because Thomas's hand was injured.”
Everyone stared.
“He dictated his name. Marcus physically wrote it. Thomas made his mark beside it.”
Daniel looked again.
Next to the signature was a tiny X everyone had assumed was a stray pen mark.
It wasn't.
The document had two witnesses.
One signature belonged to Samuel.
The second name was faded.
Daniel enhanced the scan.
Diane leaned closer.
Her face changed.
“I know that name.”
Elena looked at her.
“Who?”
Diane whispered:
“Valerie Reed.”
May you like
Valerie had witnessed the agreement she was now claiming was forged.
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