Voss turned the color of spoiled milk. “What… what is this? Who are you?”
“I’m Anna Ellis’s father,” I said, leaning in close so he could smell the peppermint on my breath and see the absolute lack of mercy in my eyes. “And you are the man who helped steal her life.”
“I didn’t know!” he stammered, looking around frantically for an exit. “He just paid me a grand to stamp the paper! He said she was in rehab and couldn’t be there!”
“You’re a suspended notary, Carl. You stamped a legal document knowing you had no authority, and you abetted the theft of half a million dollars. That’s federal time. You’ll be drawing a pension before you see the outside of a cell.”
His breathing turned ragged. “Please. I have a kid.”
“So does my daughter.” I pulled a miniature digital voice recorder from my pocket and set it between his whiskey glass and the envelope. “You have exactly one chance to save your own skin. You tell me everything. The money, the meetings, the instructions Mark gave you. If you lie, if you leave out a single syllable, I will personally hand this file to the US Attorney.”