Chapter 14 - The Grave That Lied
The cemetery was almost empty.
A thin mist had settled over the ground.
The investigator parked near the main gate.
We entered on foot.
Evan walked beside me.
Rachel and Diane followed.
Richard remained behind with two officers.
The Brooks family graves were toward the back.
David’s stone stood beneath a large oak tree.
Evan stopped in front of it.
He stared at his father’s name.
“I've stood here hundreds of times.”
I said nothing.
He crouched.
There were fresh footprints in the mud.
Small.
Child-sized.
“These are his.”
Rachel pointed toward the grave.
“Look.”
Someone had placed a photograph there.
A woman.
Evan picked it up.
His hands shook.
“Anna.”
Diane closed her eyes.
I looked at the photograph.
She was young.
Dark-haired.
Beautiful.
And beside her stood a little boy.
Maybe three years old.
Samuel.
On the back, someone had written:
He was here.
Evan looked around.
“Who?”
The investigator scanned the cemetery.
“Spread out.”
We did.
Seconds later, one officer called.
“Found something.”
A small metal box had been buried behind another gravestone.
Inside were letters.
Dozens of them.
All addressed to Samuel.
All signed by David.
The first was twelve years old.
The last was dated six months ago.
Evan opened one.
He read aloud.
Sam,
If you are old enough to understand this, know that I never left because I stopped loving you.
I left because someone inside the family was willing to trade your life for control of the company.
Evan stopped.
His voice cracked.
“Keep reading.”
He did.
There are people who will tell you that I was weak.
People who will tell you I chose money over family.
Do not believe them.
I chose distance because distance was the only thing keeping you alive.
I promised your mother I would come back.
I am trying.
I haven't been able to keep that promise yet.
Evan dropped the letter.
Diane began crying.
Rachel picked up another.
“What does it say?”
I read it.
David had named three people he feared.
Victor Lane.
Richard Brooks.
And someone called “M.”
Richard was standing thirty yards away.
I walked toward him.
“Who is M?”
He looked at the letter.
Then at me.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“David named you.”
Richard shook his head.
“M could be anyone.”
The investigator came over.
“What's happening?”
I showed him the letter.
He looked at Richard.
“Who is M?”
Richard’s eyes hardened.
“I told you. I don't know.”
Then Rachel said quietly, “I do.”
Everyone turned.
She held up her mother’s letter.
“My mother used the same initial.”
I stared.
“M.”
“Yes.”
“Your mother’s name was Anna?”
“No.”
Rachel shook her head.
“My mother was named Grace.”
I frowned.
“Then why M?”
“Because she knew who M was.”
“Who?”
Rachel unfolded the letter.
There was a sentence near the bottom.
I know what M did to David.
I know why he ran.
And if anything happens to me, look for the blue ledger.
My pulse quickened.
“What blue ledger?”
Rachel shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The investigator looked around.
“Where would David keep it?”
Evan answered immediately.
“His office.”
Richard’s face changed.
I saw it.
So did the investigator.
“You know where it is,” I said.
Richard looked at me.
“No.”
“You just reacted.”
He looked away.
The investigator grabbed his shoulder.
“Mr. Brooks.”
Richard sighed.
“David had a private office.”
“Where?”
“Behind the old company headquarters.”
Evan stiffened.
“That building was demolished.”
“No.”
Richard’s voice was barely audible.
“Part of it wasn't.”
We drove there before dawn.
The old headquarters sat behind an abandoned construction site.
Most of the building had been stripped.
But the underground archive remained.
Richard had the access code.
He claimed he remembered it.
I wasn't sure whether I believed him.
The steel door opened.
Inside were shelves of records.
Boxes.
Files.
Ledgers.
The investigator turned on his flashlight.
We searched for nearly twenty minutes.
Then Evan found a blue metal box.
He opened it.
Inside was a ledger.
And a key.
The ledger contained years of financial transactions.
Payments.
Shell companies.
Offshore accounts.
Names.
Victor Lane’s name appeared repeatedly.
But so did another.
M.
I turned the page.
The full name was there.
Marcus Hale.
Evan stared.
“Who is that?”
Richard looked like he'd seen a ghost.
“You know him.”
“No.”
Richard swallowed.
“He was David’s attorney.”
The investigator took the ledger.
“Where is he now?”
Richard didn't answer.
I flipped another page.
There were payments made to a private security company.
The dates stretched across twelve years.
The final payment was only six weeks old.
Someone was still funding the protection operation.
For Samuel.
Evan looked at me.
“Then someone knows where he is.”
Before anyone could answer, the lights went out.
A loud metallic crash came from upstairs.
The investigator drew his weapon.
“Everyone stay together.”
Then came a second sound.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Someone was running down the corridor.
Evan moved toward the noise.
The investigator caught him.
“No.”
Another sound.
A door slammed.
Then silence.
The officer searched the hallway.
Nobody was there.
But on the floor lay a single envelope.
Evan picked it up.
His name was written on the front.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Samuel.
Taken that morning.
He was standing beside Elaine.
And behind them was another person.
An older man.
David Brooks.
Evan stared at the photograph.
May you like
Then whispered the words none of us wanted to hear.
“My father is alive.”
