Paulson called at eight forty-seven.
“I spoke to a colleague at the medical examiner’s office,” he said.
“Given the circumstances — the nurse’s statement, the timeline, the fact that your father’s condition changed acutely after an unsupervised visit — they’re willing to take a closer look before the death certificate is finalized.
That buys us time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time to do this correctly.
I also ran Gerald Marsh through the system last night.” A pause.
“He has a civil judgment against him from 2019.
Fraud case, settled out of court.
And there’s a restraining order filed in 2014 — a woman named Diane Kowalski.
It was dropped after six months.”
I wrote the names down on the back of an envelope.
“He’s not who he presents himself as,” Paulson said.
“I want you to meet with me today.
Bring everything Frank gave you — the letter, the birth certificate, the nurse’s statement.
