{"id":14195,"date":"2026-10-05T16:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14195"},"modified":"2026-10-05T16:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:34:48","slug":"part-18-the-midnight-exchange-at-unit-214-revealed-who-had-been-guiding-us-but-daniels-captor-wanted-more-than-eddies-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14195","title":{"rendered":"PART 18 \u2013 The Midnight Exchange at Unit 214 Revealed Who Had Been Guiding Us, but Daniel\u2019s Captor Wanted More Than Eddie\u2019s Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We did not bring the original notebook.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca photographed every page, then placed a different black notebook inside Eddie\u2019s worn rubber band.<\/p>\n<p>Russell looked unconvinced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ll open it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey might.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we adjust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdjust how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He gave me a look.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcellent plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff had been informed.<\/p>\n<p>That part mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Two plainclothes deputies positioned themselves outside the storage facility.<\/p>\n<p>The caller had demanded no police.<\/p>\n<p>I no longer cared.<\/p>\n<p>We entered through the gate at 11:54.<\/p>\n<p>Unit 214 waited beneath harsh white security lights.<\/p>\n<p>The orange door was closed.<\/p>\n<p>Russell carried the decoy notebook.<\/p>\n<p>I wore the locket.<\/p>\n<p>That felt intentional, though no one had asked for it.<\/p>\n<p>At midnight exactly, the unit door rose.<\/p>\n<p>Martin Hale stood inside.<\/p>\n<p>I was surprised only by how little surprise I felt.<\/p>\n<p>Behind him, Daniel sat in a folding chair.<\/p>\n<p>His wrists were tied.<\/p>\n<p>A bruise darkened one cheek.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked tired.<\/p>\n<p>Not frantic.<\/p>\n<p>Not wild.<\/p>\n<p>That frightened me more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell stepped forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelease him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at the notebook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me Eddie\u2019s records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelease Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel said, \u201cRussell, don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin glanced back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have been extraordinarily difficult for an eighty-five-year-old man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should meet older people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin ignored him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNotebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell held it up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want from it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne page.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeptember fourth, 1981.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We had read that page.<\/p>\n<p>Robert came home alive.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s expression remained controlled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Eddie removed something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the notebook?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA folded message.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charles Hale.<\/p>\n<p>My pulse tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is what I intend to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin snapped, \u201cBe quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s calm slipped.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered.<\/p>\n<p>Russell noticed too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Charles write?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel met Martin\u2019s gaze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Harlan planned to kill Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy grandfather had already tried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles wasn\u2019t my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked confused.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone thinks blood explains loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The echoes of my own story were everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Martin extended his hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell tossed it.<\/p>\n<p>Martin caught it.<\/p>\n<p>He immediately began flipping pages.<\/p>\n<p>Too quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca\u2019s decoy would fail in seconds.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer to Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I said so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has been a poor argument throughout my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pulled a pistol from his waistband.<\/p>\n<p>Russell froze.<\/p>\n<p>Outside, somewhere beyond the rows, deputies waited for the signal.<\/p>\n<p>Martin pointed the gun toward the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Not yet aiming at anyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Bennett, I am trying very hard not to hurt anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou kidnapped an old man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel muttered, \u201cThank you for the emphasis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin ignored him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family has spent decades containing damage caused by people who should have left the past buried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou mean evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He found the relevant page.<\/p>\n<p>Then frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t Eddie\u2019s notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell moved.<\/p>\n<p>Not toward Martin.<\/p>\n<p>Toward Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Martin raised the gun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat word seems to mean different things to different families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Then he surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t care about the whole notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen tell us why September fourth matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked toward the open unit door.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps calculating how long he had.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father wrote a message that day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo Eddie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did it say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told Eddie where Leon went after meeting Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered the notebook.<\/p>\n<p>September 3: Robert met L.M. river landing.<\/p>\n<p>September 4: Robert came home alive.<\/p>\n<p>September 5: L.M. gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere did Leon go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s eyes shifted toward Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo find him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert gave Leon Daniel\u2019s location?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father followed Robert after the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel swore softly.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles already suspected Robert knew where Thomas Bell was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he followed Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo a farmhouse near Poplar Bluff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe saw Robert meet Thomas Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Charles told Leon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Leon do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrove south.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever came back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That contradicted everything.<\/p>\n<p>Leon lived until 1996, supposedly.<\/p>\n<p>Walter attended a funeral.<\/p>\n<p>Caleb knew him as his father for years after 1981.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Leon Mercer who returned after September 1981 was not Leon Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Russell stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert and Daniel switched him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed because the statement was impossible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSwitched him with whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel said, \u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTell them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked old suddenly.<\/p>\n<p>Far older than he had at the crash site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis name was Paul Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Caleb\u2019s uncle?<\/p>\n<p>Leon\u2019s cousin?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho was Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeon\u2019s second cousin. Similar build. Similar voice. He had worked for him for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy impersonate Leon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Leon disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stepped closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisappeared where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked toward Martin.<\/p>\n<p>Then back to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInto federal custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That changed everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan arrested him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn agent from St. Louis named Margaret Sloan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A legitimate federal agent.<\/p>\n<p>Someone outside Harlan\u2019s compromised network.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert gave me enough evidence to contact her after Riverglass collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blue package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still had it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParts of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Leon was arrested secretly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHeld as a cooperating witness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s hand tightened around the pistol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Leon give them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNames. Payments. murders. Enough to destroy half his own organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy cooperate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause he discovered Harlan planned to kill him too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even alliances built on corruption ended in fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to Leon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at the concrete floor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe died in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1982.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The funeral Walter attended in 1996 had been false.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen who lived as Leon until 1996?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Caleb know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach turned.<\/p>\n<p>Caleb had spent fifteen years with a man he believed was his father.<\/p>\n<p>A substitute.<\/p>\n<p>A criminal continuation of a dead man\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy keep the impersonation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo prevent Leon\u2019s network from realizing he had cooperated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal operation?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnofficial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLegal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin said, \u201cAnd my father knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charles Hale had followed Robert.<\/p>\n<p>Discovered Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>Discovered Leon\u2019s secret arrest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Charles do with that knowledge?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackmailed everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Charles learned Leon was dead.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was pretending to be him.<\/p>\n<p>Harlan\u2019s corruption was exposed privately.<\/p>\n<p>Federal agents wanted secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>He suddenly possessed leverage over every side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe missing letter,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Martin nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father documented the agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone stays quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn exchange for?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarlan walks away from prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared.<\/p>\n<p>The corrupt agent had avoided prison because exposing him would reveal an illegal federal cover-up.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel said, \u201cThat is the letter stolen from the farmhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one marked C.H.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharles wrote to Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne copy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Mother?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did the second say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Martin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Evelyn had one obligation under the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep you away from Russell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We had returned to the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Russell had seen Leon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRussell saw Mercer all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Leon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe real Leon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell looked stunned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were concussed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeon visited St. Anne\u2019s the night of August nineteenth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell touched his temple.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo find out whether you had opened the blue package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he speak to me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell looked toward Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin did.<\/p>\n<p>Because Charles told him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou called him Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew Leon\u2019s cousin Paul casually from the garage. When the real Leon entered your room, you asked why he looked like Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recognition.<\/p>\n<p>That was the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Russell could distinguish the two men.<\/p>\n<p>Later, if Paul impersonated Leon, Russell could expose everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMother kept us apart because if Russell came back into my life, the people protecting the false Leon feared he might notice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<p>My anger became almost calm.<\/p>\n<p>All those adults.<\/p>\n<p>All those crimes.<\/p>\n<p>And two teenagers were separated partly because Russell had good eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel spoke quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn agreed because Charles threatened you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he threaten?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo make Harlan finish what he started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kill Russell.<\/p>\n<p>Use me as leverage.<\/p>\n<p>My mother had believed separation was survival.<\/p>\n<p>Again, wrong method.<\/p>\n<p>Real fear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Dad agree?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe opposed it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did he keep quiet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Charles threatened to expose Robert\u2019s burglary and Evelyn\u2019s role in Samuel\u2019s shooting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cage closed from every direction.<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked again at the false notebook.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou wasted my time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sirens suddenly erupted outside.<\/p>\n<p>He spun.<\/p>\n<p>Russell moved immediately.<\/p>\n<p>This time he hit Martin\u2019s gun wrist with the cane.<\/p>\n<p>The pistol fell.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel kicked it beneath a shelving unit.<\/p>\n<p>Deputies rushed in.<\/p>\n<p>Martin did not resist.<\/p>\n<p>That almost disappointed me.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted villains to look like villains.<\/p>\n<p>He looked like a tired lawyer in expensive shoes.<\/p>\n<p>While deputies untied Daniel, Martin looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou still don\u2019t understand what the letter says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father did not write the deal alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert Turner signed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad opposed keeping us apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe opposed it initially.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin was handcuffed.<\/p>\n<p>He looked toward Russell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRobert learned what Russell said in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russell frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did I say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou told Leon Mercer where Thomas Bell was hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everything stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Russell shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were drugged. Confused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know where Daniel was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew a place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat place?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe old Bellamy farmhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel went pale.<\/p>\n<p>Russell stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew that house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had been there with your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A memory moved across Russell\u2019s face.<\/p>\n<p>Summer.<\/p>\n<p>Fishing trip.<\/p>\n<p>His father stopping at a farmhouse.<\/p>\n<p>A man introduced as Tom.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou saw me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel asked softly.<\/p>\n<p>Russell closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At seventeen, concussed and frightened, Russell had unknowingly given Leon a location connected to Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>That explained why my father changed his mind.<\/p>\n<p>Why Russell suddenly became dangerous to the secret operation.<\/p>\n<p>Why everyone decided he had to leave.<\/p>\n<p>But Martin wasn\u2019t finished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeon went to the farmhouse that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said Charles followed Robert in September.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe farmhouse was already empty by September.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we moved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Leon found it in August.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered quietly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone shot Leon Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin looked at Russell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Tate.<\/p>\n<p>Russell stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>And suddenly the missing days after Russell\u2019s hospital stay\u2014the blood on Thomas Tate\u2019s sleeve, Margaret crying, the unexplained disappearance\u2014had an entirely new meaning.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Tate had not simply been searching for Frank.<\/p>\n<p>He had gone to the Bellamy farmhouse.<\/p>\n<p>He had found Leon Mercer there.<\/p>\n<p>And according to Martin Hale, he had shot him.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=14196\">Click here to continue reading: PART 19: Russell\u2019s Father Had Shot Leon Mercer Before the Secret Arrest, but the Bullet Wasn\u2019t What Forced Everyone Into the Final Deal<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We did not bring the original notebook. Rebecca photographed every page, then placed a different black notebook inside Eddie\u2019s worn rubber band. Russell looked unconvinced. \u201cThey\u2019ll open it.\u201d \u201cNot immediately.\u201d &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14242,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195\/revisions\/14242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}