Brooke's Old Mentor

Brooke's old mentor was not Kells.

That surprised Nora because Brooke had worn Kells's disappointment like weather for days. The real mentor was a woman named Adair Moss, retired chief claims counsel, who lived in a brick ranch house with motion lights, three cats, and a shotgun she referred to as "the mail opener."

"You brought a claimant to my house," Adair said.

"I brought the case the company buried," Brooke answered.

Adair looked Nora over. "Do you cry on command?"

"No."

"Good. Never trust witnesses who perform better than facts."

Inside, Adair read the hearing notice, the settlement offer, the quiet clause template, and Miles's redacted call transcript. She asked no emotional questions. Nora found this restful.

"They narrowed scope to current claim validity," Adair said.

"Yes," Brooke said.

"So make validity impossible without resolving prior death status."

"That's our plan."

"No, that is your slogan. Your plan is to force authentication. The company cannot deny a current claim based on a prior settled death and then refuse to authenticate the prior settled death."

Nora leaned forward. "Meaning?"

"Meaning the first death is not background. It is the reason for denial. They put it in play."

Brooke smiled for the first time that day.

Adair handed Nora a yellow legal pad. "Questions. Short. Boring. Lethal. Who authenticated the first death? Who witnessed Lila's spouse status? Who approved foundation review authority? Who amended the Sophie trust? Who opened the contested claim before Miles died?"

Nora wrote as fast as she could.

Adair looked at Brooke. "And find the internal handler."

"We think Petra."

"Petra is counsel. Counsel protects handlers. Handlers touch systems."

"Kells?"

Adair's face hardened. "No. Martin is a coward, not a designer."

"Then who?"

Adair tapped the old transcript. "The person who gave Judith a family liaison field before she married Vale."