“They claim the Dubai leg was a personal holiday,” Robert said, shaking his head. “It’s a weak defense, and they know it.”

“What about the text message?” I asked.

“The number was a burner phone,” Robert said. “Registered to a shell name. But the location of the tower pinged near your town when it was sent.”

He reached into his drawer and pulled out a fresh document.

“This just came in from the forensic accountant,” he said, sliding it across the desk.

I looked at the header. It was a bank statement from an account in Luxembourg.

“What is this?”

“It’s the account Vanessa was using,” Robert said. “But look at the deposits.”

I scanned the columns of numbers.

The deposits weren’t coming from Mercer Development.

They were coming from a personal account registered to Patricia Mercer.

“Patricia was funding Vanessa?” I asked, looking up.

“Directly,” Robert said. “For the last eight months. Every medical bill, every apartment rental payment, every luxury purchase.”

“Why would Patricia do that?”