Chapter 20
I called Daniel from the hospital parking lot.
He answered immediately.
“Emily?”
“Where are you?”
“At the warehouse.”
“Stay there.”
A pause.
“What happened?”
“Stay there.”
“Emily.”
I ended the call.
Detective Bell wanted to speak with Diane first.
Claire wanted me nowhere near Daniel until police did.
I agreed.
This time, anger didn’t make me reckless.
It made me patient.
Police reviewed Daniel’s history.
His father’s history.
Bank accounts.
Old phone records.
Employment records.
Then Bell found something.
At age twenty-two, Daniel had interned for Gray Finch Consulting.
Martin Shaw’s company.
Daniel had never told me.
Worse, Charles Mercer had been one of Gray Finch’s clients.
I sat in Bell’s office when he showed me.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“Daniel worked for the same company that surveilled Dad?”
“For one summer.”
“Under Martin?”
“Yes.”
My stomach tightened.
That alone proved nothing.
But secrets were stacking up.
Bell continued.
“We also recovered part of the encrypted flash drive.”
“What’s on it?”
“Audio.”
My pulse jumped.
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
The first file was dated two days before his death.
Bell played it.
My father’s voice filled the room.
Clear.
Tired.
“If you’re hearing this, then I’ve made the same mistake twice. First with Thomas. Now with Emily.”
I covered my mouth.
Dad continued.
“Robert is dead, but the arrangement he made with Mercer may still be active through Daniel.”
I stopped breathing.
Claire whispered, “Oh my God.”
Dad’s voice:
“I do not believe Daniel understands everything his father did. But I know he has been meeting with Mercer.”
My eyes closed.
Three years ago.
Daniel had been meeting Charles Mercer.
Dad continued.
“I confronted him tonight. He says he is trying to gather evidence. I want to believe him. He is my nephew. I love him.”
The recording crackled.
“But trust without verification is how Thomas died.”
The file ended.
I felt numb.
Another recording.
This one dated the night Dad died.
10:31 p.m.
“Rebecca is coming. Daniel too. Diane says she has the payment record. Mercer called me twenty minutes ago. He knows.”
A pause.
“I told Emily I was going to bed early.”
My heart broke.
Dad had been lying to protect me until the end.
“I should have told her everything. She would be angry. She would have every right.”
Then something hit the background.
Dad whispered,
“Someone’s outside.”
Recording ended.
The third file began at 11:09.
Road noise.
Dad breathing heavily.
Then his voice.
“Daniel, if you get this, don’t follow me.”
A second voice.
Faint.
Male.
I couldn’t identify it.
Dad shouted, “Stay back!”
Tires.
Horn.
Then the recording cut.
Bell paused it.
“Audio enhancement is working on the second voice.”
I stared at the waveform.
“Could it be Mercer?”
“Possibly.”
“Daniel?”
“Possibly.”
I hated that word.
The office door opened.
An officer entered.
“Detective.”
He handed Bell a paper.
Bell read it.
His expression darkened.
“What?”
“We have Daniel’s toll records from the night Henry died.”
I braced myself.
“They show his car entered the toll road at 11:41 p.m.”
I frowned.
“After the crash.”
“Yes.”
“But he said he was already there.”
Bell nodded.
“So either someone else was driving his registered car later…”
“Or he had another car.”
“Exactly.”
“Do we know?”
“We’re checking.”
My phone buzzed.
Daniel.
I didn’t answer.
Again.
Then a message.
WHY ARE POLICE SEARCHING MY RECORDS?
I stared at it.
Claire said, “Don’t respond.”
Another message.
EMILY, DIANE IS LYING TO YOU.
Then:
ASK HER WHO TOOK THE DIARY.
I typed before Claire could stop me.
WHO?
Three dots appeared.
DANIEL: YOU’RE LISTENING TO A DEAD MAN, A KIDNAPPER, AND A HUSBAND WHO TARGETED YOU. I’M THE ONE WHO STOOD BY YOU.
I stared at the message.
Then wrote:
WHO TOOK THE DIARY?
His response arrived.
REBECCA.
I called her immediately.
Straight to voicemail.
Bell checked with the officer assigned to her.
Then his face changed.
“What?”
“Rebecca dismissed her attorney this morning.”
“So?”
“And left her hotel.”
“Where did she go?”
“No one knows.”
My stomach dropped.
Again.
Bell’s phone rang.
He listened.
His eyes moved to me.
“What now?”
“The hospital just reported Diane had a visitor.”
“Who?”
“Rebecca.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
I stood.
“Is Diane okay?”
“She’s gone.”
May you like
“What?”
“Diane and Rebecca both disappeared from the hospital.”
