Before he could respond, Charles approached from the manor. As always, his presence brightened Genevieve's mood. The realization still irritated Nathaniel; it simply irritated him less now because he had accepted the truth: Charles was not the enemy; the enemy was whatever secret had been poisoning Carter Estate for years.
"I found something," Charles announced.
Genevieve immediately straightened. "What?"
Charles handed her a folded sheet. "I spent part of the morning reviewing county expenditure records."
Nathaniel blinked. "You reviewed county records?"
Charles smiled. "I have been spending time with Genevieve. Curiosity is contagious."
Genevieve laughed softly. The sound eased some of the tension lingering from the previous night.
Charles pointed toward the document. "The repair funds for the bridge passed through three separate authorizations before disappearing."
Nathaniel's attention sharpened instantly. "Three?"
"Yes." Charles nodded. "And one approval signature appears on every transfer."
Genevieve scanned the page quickly. Her expression changed: excitement mixed with concern. "This name again."
Nathaniel moved closer. "Who?"
Genevieve looked up. "Edgar Wilkes."
The name meant nothing to Nathaniel. Charles noticed his confusion. "Assistant estate accountant twenty years ago."
"Former employee?" Nathaniel asked.
"Former employee who vanished shortly after the bridge collapse," Genevieve replied.
Silence settled over the group: another missing person, another suspicious disappearance. The pattern was becoming impossible to ignore.
Later that afternoon, Genevieve proposed something unexpected: "We need to stop relying entirely on estate records."
Nathaniel looked up from the ledger he had been studying. "What do you suggest?"
"Outside sources." Her eyes brightened. "People who had no reason to alter documents."
Charles immediately understood. "Contractors."
"Exactly." Genevieve nodded. "If repair work was approved, someone must have been hired."
Nathaniel felt anticipation growing. "And if they were hired, they left records: invoices, receipts, correspondence."