{"id":13544,"date":"2026-10-03T22:08:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T22:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13544"},"modified":"2026-10-03T22:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T22:08:44","slug":"part-25-the-fire-beneath-mercers-old-courtroom-exposed-thirty-years-of-records-but-thomas-had-already-removed-the-most-dangerous-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13544","title":{"rendered":"PART 25 \u2013 The Fire Beneath Mercer\u2019s Old Courtroom Exposed Thirty Years of Records, but Thomas Had Already Removed the Most Dangerous Box"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By the time the first fire engine reached the county records annex, flames were showing through a basement window.<\/p>\n<p>Dad watched the live feed from the sheriff\u2019s office with both hands braced against the desk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knew exactly where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold stood beside him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Mercer really hid the originals there, Thomas may have known for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why wait until tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause tonight he knows we know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the difference.<\/p>\n<p>For thirty-one years, secrecy had protected Thomas better than fire ever could.<\/p>\n<p>Now secrecy was collapsing.<\/p>\n<p>The courthouse complex occupied nearly an entire block. The original stone courthouse stood in the center, with the records annex attached decades later by a narrow administrative corridor. Mercer had worked in both buildings during his years as county judge.<\/p>\n<p>Fire crews entered through the annex.<\/p>\n<p>Deputies locked down the courthouse.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody was permitted in or out.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff called from the scene.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fire started in basement records storage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad leaned toward the speaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer\u2019s records?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don&#39;t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot located.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad cursed under his breath.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s evidence of forced entry through a maintenance door.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCamera?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChecking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold looked at the building plans on another monitor.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer\u2019s old courtroom sat directly above part of the basement archive.<\/p>\n<p>Under the law.<\/p>\n<p>Under Mercer\u2019s bench.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s phrase had been almost literal.<\/p>\n<p>Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThirty years hiding evidence beneath a courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold answered quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople rarely search where they assume the rules are strongest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The irony was not lost on anyone.<\/p>\n<p>Richard entered the room with a deputy.<\/p>\n<p>He had spent the previous hour reviewing old Bell firm files electronically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father represented Mercer personally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Thomas disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard handed Harold a printed index.<\/p>\n<p>A storage agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Boxes transferred from Bell &amp; Crane Legal Services to county archival custody under judicial privilege.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-two years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer moved private records into the courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsing his office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold scanned the list.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeven boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarked CM-1 through CM-7.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward the fire feed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many are still there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody knew.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff called again ten minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>Fire suppression was working.<\/p>\n<p>The blaze had been contained to two storage aisles.<\/p>\n<p>Several boxes were damaged.<\/p>\n<p>Many survived.<\/p>\n<p>Dad asked immediately about CM files.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff had already given investigators the identifiers.<\/p>\n<p>A firefighter located the shelf.<\/p>\n<p>Seven spaces.<\/p>\n<p>Six boxes remained.<\/p>\n<p>One space was empty.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCM-7.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s in seven?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard searched the transfer inventory.<\/p>\n<p>The description was maddeningly vague.<\/p>\n<p>Confidential corporate materials.<\/p>\n<p>Harold said, \u201cThomas took it before setting the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen the fire was cover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad paced once across the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy burn the other six if seven was what he needed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make us think everything was destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stopped.<\/p>\n<p>That fit Thomas perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>Destroy the context.<\/p>\n<p>Keep the leverage.<\/p>\n<p>The courthouse security system produced footage.<\/p>\n<p>At 11:37 p.m., a man in maintenance coveralls entered the annex through the rear service area.<\/p>\n<p>Cap low.<\/p>\n<p>Mask.<\/p>\n<p>But the build matched Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>He carried a tool bag.<\/p>\n<p>At 11:49, he emerged carrying a records box.<\/p>\n<p>CM-7.<\/p>\n<p>He placed it in a dark SUV parked beyond the camera\u2019s clearest angle.<\/p>\n<p>Then he returned inside.<\/p>\n<p>At 11:56, smoke appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared at the footage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe went back after he had the box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo start the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then another figure appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Not Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Someone entered the annex at 11:53.<\/p>\n<p>A woman.<\/p>\n<p>Dad leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The image was poor.<\/p>\n<p>Dark coat.<\/p>\n<p>Hair tucked beneath a hood.<\/p>\n<p>She entered through the same service door Thomas had used.<\/p>\n<p>She did not leave before the fire began.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone was inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff ordered another sweep.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters searched.<\/p>\n<p>Minutes later, they found her.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>Unconscious from smoke.<\/p>\n<p>Near the corridor connecting the annex to the courthouse.<\/p>\n<p>She was transported immediately.<\/p>\n<p>No identification was visible on the feed.<\/p>\n<p>Dad waited.<\/p>\n<p>Then the sheriff called.<\/p>\n<p>His voice had changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEdward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found identification.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff said the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire Jensen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same assistant who had access to Richard\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>The same office where Daniel\u2019s cassette had been hidden.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared at Richard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said she didn\u2019t know about the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought she didn&#39;t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently she knew about something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard looked genuinely stunned.<\/p>\n<p>Claire had worked for him for eight years.<\/p>\n<p>Managed his calendar.<\/p>\n<p>Filed property records.<\/p>\n<p>Prepared correspondence.<\/p>\n<p>Handled archived material from his father\u2019s firm.<\/p>\n<p>And, without Richard knowing, she had entered the courthouse minutes behind Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Dad asked the obvious question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas she working for him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid she know Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone knew Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn&#39;t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer recommended her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Dad laughed once.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course he did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eight years earlier, Richard needed a legal assistant.<\/p>\n<p>Mercer suggested Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Another person placed years in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe deliberately.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff reported that Claire\u2019s purse had been recovered near the basement stairs.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were two phones.<\/p>\n<p>Her personal phone.<\/p>\n<p>And a prepaid phone.<\/p>\n<p>The prepaid device contained messages with an unidentified number.<\/p>\n<p>The newest message had been sent that evening.<\/p>\n<p>HE\u2019S GOING FOR SEVEN. FOLLOW HIM. DO NOT LET HIM LEAVE WITH IT.<\/p>\n<p>Dad frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold agreed.<\/p>\n<p>It sounded like an instruction from Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Claire had not followed Thomas to help him.<\/p>\n<p>She had followed him to stop him.<\/p>\n<p>Another message, sent earlier:<\/p>\n<p>IF I CANNOT REACH YOU, BOX SEVEN CONTAINS THE ORIGINAL INDEMNITY AGREEMENT AND DANIEL MATERIAL.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at Richard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is an indemnity agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard\u2019s expression darkened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA contract allocating liability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the dumping?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold said, \u201cOr for the cover-up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That could explain why Thomas wanted the box.<\/p>\n<p>An original agreement might identify every participant.<\/p>\n<p>Not only the men we already knew.<\/p>\n<p>Companies.<\/p>\n<p>Executives.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps officials.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward the courthouse feed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Daniel material?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Richard shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The surviving six boxes were removed from the damaged archive under evidence protocols.<\/p>\n<p>CM-1 contained environmental correspondence.<\/p>\n<p>CM-2 contained property deeds.<\/p>\n<p>CM-3 held insurance communications.<\/p>\n<p>CM-4 contained legal memoranda about exposure risk.<\/p>\n<p>CM-5 held settlement calculations.<\/p>\n<p>CM-6 contained private correspondence between Mercer, Robert Bell, Walter Cole, and several corporate executives.<\/p>\n<p>Dad read none of them immediately.<\/p>\n<p>He wanted seven.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had seven.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff\u2019s search expanded.<\/p>\n<p>Traffic cameras caught the dark SUV leaving the courthouse district.<\/p>\n<p>The plate had been stolen.<\/p>\n<p>It traveled east.<\/p>\n<p>Then disappeared from coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at the map.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s east?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad went still.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff had the same thought.<\/p>\n<p>Units were dispatched.<\/p>\n<p>Vanessa was no longer at Dad\u2019s house; she had been moved to a secure location for questioning and protection.<\/p>\n<p>Grant remained elsewhere under supervision.<\/p>\n<p>The property should have been empty.<\/p>\n<p>Except for investigators near the north fence.<\/p>\n<p>Dad grabbed his coat.<\/p>\n<p>The deputy stopped him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s my house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd possibly Thomas Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody is letting you drive into that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked ready to argue.<\/p>\n<p>I touched his arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants you moving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time he needs control, he gives us somewhere urgent to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>Then removed his hand from the coat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was not surrender.<\/p>\n<p>It was learning.<\/p>\n<p>At 1:16 a.m., deputies reached Dad\u2019s property.<\/p>\n<p>No Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>No SUV.<\/p>\n<p>But the front door stood open.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared at the video feed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inside, nothing obvious had been stolen.<\/p>\n<p>Kitchen untouched.<\/p>\n<p>Study searched.<\/p>\n<p>Desk drawers opened.<\/p>\n<p>Closet emptied.<\/p>\n<p>Then a deputy reached Dad\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>The mattress had been shifted.<\/p>\n<p>Floorboards disturbed.<\/p>\n<p>Dad frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s under there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad thought.<\/p>\n<p>Then remembered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Dad died, I found an envelope beneath that floorboard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOld insurance documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless I missed something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The deputy removed the loose board.<\/p>\n<p>Beneath it was an empty rectangular space in the dust.<\/p>\n<p>Something had rested there for years.<\/p>\n<p>Recently removed.<\/p>\n<p>Dad whispered, \u201cHe found it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don&#39;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had taken something from Dad\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>Possibly after stealing CM-7.<\/p>\n<p>Or before.<\/p>\n<p>The deputy noticed a folded scrap of paper beneath the board.<\/p>\n<p>Dad recognized Granddad\u2019s handwriting from the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>It contained only a number.<\/p>\n<p>1947.<\/p>\n<p>Harold frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA year?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then I remembered the storage key.<\/p>\n<p>Unit 17.<\/p>\n<p>Granddad used numbers as location references.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if 1947 is another identifier?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold examined it.<\/p>\n<p>Four digits.<\/p>\n<p>Could be a combination.<\/p>\n<p>A box.<\/p>\n<p>A locker.<\/p>\n<p>A code.<\/p>\n<p>Dad looked toward the family photographs.<\/p>\n<p>Then froze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1947.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe year my father bought his first truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold waited.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Granddad\u2019s old hauling truck had not been scrapped.<\/p>\n<p>It had been sold decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>To Harold\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n<p>Later restored.<\/p>\n<p>Harold stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s still in my barn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>Dad almost shouted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still have Dad\u2019s truck?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold grabbed his phone.<\/p>\n<p>The barn was on his property.<\/p>\n<p>No one there.<\/p>\n<p>He called a neighbor.<\/p>\n<p>No answer.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff dispatched units.<\/p>\n<p>Dad paced again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas knows the truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf 1947 refers to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe worked with Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe would know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold looked sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Walter hid something in it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas might already be there.<\/p>\n<p>Units reached Harold\u2019s barn twenty minutes later.<\/p>\n<p>Door open.<\/p>\n<p>Lock cut.<\/p>\n<p>The restored truck sat inside.<\/p>\n<p>Its glove compartment had been ripped apart.<\/p>\n<p>Seat removed.<\/p>\n<p>Floor mat lifted.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had searched it.<\/p>\n<p>But the vehicle remained.<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared through the deputy\u2019s body-camera feed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1947.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold said, \u201cTry the toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mounted beneath the truck bed was an old steel toolbox.<\/p>\n<p>Restored but rarely opened.<\/p>\n<p>The lock had four rotating number wheels.<\/p>\n<p>Dad laughed in disbelief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUse 1947.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The deputy did.<\/p>\n<p>The lock opened.<\/p>\n<p>Inside were tools.<\/p>\n<p>Old chains.<\/p>\n<p>A grease gun.<\/p>\n<p>And beneath a false metal panel, an envelope wrapped in oilcloth.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had missed it.<\/p>\n<p>Dad whispered, \u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The envelope was removed and photographed.<\/p>\n<p>Inside was a letter addressed to Edward.<\/p>\n<p>Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Granddad had left him another truth.<\/p>\n<p>The letter was read at the sheriff\u2019s office through a scanned copy.<\/p>\n<p>Walter wrote that if Edward found it, then either Margaret had finally spoken or everything had gone wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Dad smiled bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter described CM-7.<\/p>\n<p>Walter knew Mercer had created an agreement after Daniel\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>The document was meant to protect the corporations and participants from turning on one another.<\/p>\n<p>But Walter had secretly added something before signing.<\/p>\n<p>A handwritten statement.<\/p>\n<p>Dad leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>Walter had written Daniel was alive when Thomas put him into the trench.<\/p>\n<p>The indemnity agreement therefore contained an eyewitness acknowledgment of murder.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas could not destroy only the confession tape.<\/p>\n<p>CM-7 independently proved Walter knew Daniel had been buried alive.<\/p>\n<p>Dad\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Walter had watched Thomas bury his son.<\/p>\n<p>And survived with that memory for eighteen years.<\/p>\n<p>The letter continued.<\/p>\n<p>Walter wrote that he had tried to stop Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas threatened Edward.<\/p>\n<p>Then Vanessa, still a baby.<\/p>\n<p>Walter chose silence.<\/p>\n<p>He called that choice the greatest cowardice of his life.<\/p>\n<p>Dad read the final paragraph twice.<\/p>\n<p>If the paper survives, Daniel may someday receive justice. If it does not, remember that men like Vale survive by convincing everyone else their fear is private. It never is.<\/p>\n<p>Dad folded the copy.<\/p>\n<p>For once, he did not defend his father.<\/p>\n<p>He did not condemn him either.<\/p>\n<p>He simply said, \u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then the sheriff\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Claire Jensen had regained consciousness.<\/p>\n<p>Her first words after being told she was safe were not about Richard.<\/p>\n<p>Not Mercer.<\/p>\n<p>Not the fire.<\/p>\n<p>She asked one question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Thomas get the box?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When told yes, she began crying.<\/p>\n<p>Then she said something else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Edward Cole is in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire answered weakly from the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Box Seven contains more than the agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her answer silenced the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas Vale standing beside Daniel\u2019s grave last week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dad stared.<\/p>\n<p>Last week.<\/p>\n<p>Before Vanessa called.<\/p>\n<p>Before the forged death announcement.<\/p>\n<p>Before the excavation.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas had returned to Daniel\u2019s grave before anyone supposedly knew it existed.<\/p>\n<p>Claire whispered, \u201cHe knew the body was about to be found.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=13545\">Click here to continue reading: PART 26: Claire Explained Why Thomas Returned to Daniel\u2019s Grave, and Her Secret Connection to Mercer Changed the Entire Investigation Again<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the time the first fire engine reached the county records annex, flames were showing through a basement window. 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