Chapter 10 - The Woman at the Airport
Mom called Detective Ellis immediately.
We forwarded Elaine's messages and asked the gardening group's administrator to help us reach her directly.
Elaine Porter was seventy-five.
She lived in Charlotte.
She had lost her husband three years earlier.
And for five months, she had been talking to a man named Robert who claimed to own a waterfront property near Tampa.
He had promised to show her a beautiful garden and discuss an investment opportunity.
The details were painfully familiar.
Elaine had booked a flight.
She had packed a suitcase.
And she had prepared a financial document she believed would secure her place in a retirement project.
Mom looked at me.
"We have to help her."
"We're trying."
"No," she said. "I mean I need to speak with her."
I understood.
Elaine wasn't going to believe a stranger's daughter who suddenly called accusing her boyfriend of fraud.
But perhaps she'd listen to another woman who had been deceived by the same promises.
The group administrator arranged a telephone call after Elaine confirmed she wanted to speak.
Mom put the phone on speaker.
"Hello?"
A cautious voice answered.
"Carol?"
"Yes. Thank you for talking to me."
Elaine sounded nervous.
"I don't understand what's happening. Robert said people online might try to sabotage our relationship."
Mom closed her eyes.
Peter had said almost exactly the same thing.
"He told me that too," she said softly.
Elaine was silent.
Mom continued.
"He made me feel special. He remembered little things. He told me I deserved happiness after losing my husband."
A pause.
"That's what Robert says."
"He promised me a place with beautiful gardens."
Elaine inhaled sharply.
"Seabright Grove?"
Mom covered her mouth.
"Yes."
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Then Elaine whispered:
"Oh, dear God."
Mom's voice remained steady.
"Elaine, I don't know everything about the person you've been speaking with. But I know the man who contacted me used false photographs and wanted nearly all my savings."
Elaine started crying.
"But he knows so much about me."
"I know."
"He says he loves me."
Mom looked at the photograph of Dad on the mantel.
"I know that feeling too."
Elaine told us she was already at the airport.
Her boarding time was approaching.
Detective Ellis was coordinating with the appropriate authorities and advised Elaine to remain in a public area and contact airport personnel if anyone approached her.
Mom stayed on the phone.
She didn't shout.
She didn't demand.
She simply told Elaine what had happened.
Finally, Elaine whispered:
"I don't think I should board that plane."
Mom closed her eyes.
"Then don't. Take the time you need to verify everything safely."
We heard Elaine speak with an airline employee.
Then she returned to the call.
"I've stepped away from the gate."
Mom began to cry.
Not from fear this time.
From relief.
An hour later, Elaine confirmed that she had contacted her daughter and was arranging to go home.
We had helped stop another woman from walking into the same situation.
But that evening, Peter sent Mom a voicemail.
His voice sounded different.
Gone was the gentle warmth I'd heard in old recordings.
"Carol, I trusted you."
There was a long pause.
"You've caused problems for people who were only trying to help."
Another pause.
Then his voice became cold.
"You should have gotten on that plane."
Mom looked at me.
The recording continued.
"And Rebecca needs to understand that interfering in other people's business has consequences."
I stopped the playback.
My hands were shaking.
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Because until that moment, the messages had mostly been about money.
Now they were about us.
