Chapter 14 - Margaret Baird’s Trust
Eleanor did not celebrate.
“This is a conflict problem.”
Jenna understood.
“You are investigating people whose deal you can block.”
“Yes.”
“What happens?”
Eleanor contacted independent trust counsel immediately.
She suspended herself from making any substantive trust decision until legal review determined whether she could continue.
No dramatic power grab.
No “I own the diner now.”
She had one fiduciary role tied narrowly to employee benefit protection.
That was enough.
The trust attorney concluded Eleanor remained successor independent trustee unless she resigned or a court replaced her.
Could she serve while also forensic consultant?
Potential conflict.
She resigned from Samuel’s investigative engagement.
That surprised Jenna.
“You are leaving?”
“From the audit.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust role must be independent.”
“Who finishes the investigation?”
Another forensic firm.
Eleanor handed over copies.
Chain documented.
Then she stayed involved only as a witness and trustee through counsel.
That distinction mattered.
Colin’s lawyers could no longer argue she manipulated evidence to gain control.
She gained nothing personally from the trust.
Employees did.
Then altered trust copy became serious.
Who removed Eleanor’s page?
Heartland legal assistant who scanned it said she received only pages Colin provided.
Colin said Samuel’s office sent incomplete copy.
Samuel’s file contained full original.
Rachel had emailed full PDF to Colin four months earlier.
Full.
Including Eleanor.
So he knew.
Then an email:
Colin to Todd:
E Shaw could be issue if she reappears.
Todd:
Ava’s grandmother?
Colin:
Same.
Todd:
You’ve got to be kidding.
Colin:
Keep her away from staff.
Date:
Six weeks before Jenna’s slap.
Exactly when Samuel hired Eleanor.
How did Colin know she was investigating?
Samuel had not told him.
Then they found source.
Samuel’s attorney sent an IT preservation request to Heartland corporate legal.
Routine.
Name:
Eleanor Shaw listed as authorized consultant.
Corporate legal forwarded to Colin because his region affected.
He knew from day one.
That explained Todd watching Eleanor.
Had Jenna noticed?
She remembered.
Todd visited Booth 7 twice that evening.
Refilled water personally.
Asked Eleanor if she needed anything.
Unusual.
He knew who she was.
Then why did he ask “Who the hell are you?”
Performance.
For customers.
Maybe he hoped she would reveal role publicly and compromise investigation.
Or panic.
Instead she stayed calm.
Then the security footage caught something else at 7:16.
Two minutes before the slap.
Todd walked behind Eleanor’s booth.
He reached toward her handbag.
Did not touch.
She moved it closer.
He knew drive might be inside.
Then he confronted Jenna.
Was slap partly distraction?
Todd denied.
He said he was furious over acknowledgment.
Probably both.
Then new forensic accountants completed Heartland review.
Colin’s potential improper benefits:
Prairie Horizon equity contingent on low price.
Prairie Staff marital income.
Heartland bonuses tied to labor cost reductions.
Not all illegal.
Undisclosed conflicts.
Todd’s direct gains smaller.
Yet Todd committed the most visible harm.
Again, power and violence were not proportional to money.
Then Colin entered cooperation discussions.
He admitted attempting cloud deletion.
Why?
“I panicked.”
“Because Todd assaulted Jenna?”
“Because if the footage was preserved, Eleanor would have access to the whole system.”
“What whole system?”
“Employee surveillance.”
Todd’s staff risk scores.
Vote tracking.
Security archives.
Colin knew those existed.
“How much?”
“I knew Todd categorized employees.”
“Did you know he recorded leverage like single mother, financial instability?”
Colin looked down.
“I saw the spreadsheet once.”
“Did you stop it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it worked.”
There.
Then:
“Did you know about Ava?”
“Yes.”
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
“Did you believe Todd assaulted them?”
“I believed he probably crossed lines.”
“Then why keep him?”
“Results.”
No elaborate excuse.
Then Colin said something unexpected.
“Prairie Horizon was not the reason I wanted Maple sold.”
“What was?”
“Heartland.”
If Maple Street left Heartland management, auditors would review Prairie Staff billing.
A sale to Prairie Horizon would likely terminate diner operations and end Heartland contract cleanly.
Records could be archived.
Colin wanted the site gone before Samuel discovered invoice fraud.
The property deal was also an exit strategy.
Then:
“Who created the fake temp names?”
Colin answered:
“Not Todd.”
“Who?”
“My wife’s office manager.”
Melissa denied.
Name:
Grace Nolan.
Beth Nolan’s older sister.
Jenna stared when she heard.
Beth’s family was suddenly connected.
Too convenient?
Grace had worked for Prairie Staff bookkeeping for two years.
Beth never told staff because she barely spoke to her sister after a family dispute.
Grace created payroll profiles under Colin’s instructions.
She claimed she thought they were “placeholder worker IDs.”
Some used real identities from contractor lists.
One dead man.
She eventually realized they were being billed as labor.
She quit six months earlier.
Why not report?
She saved records instead.
Where?
A flash drive.
She gave it to Beth.
May you like
Beth had said nothing.
Continue to the next part: Beth Nolan has been holding a flash drive from her sister containing the original Prairie Staff billing records for six months, but she never told Samuel or the staff.
