The discovery changed the investigation immediately.<\/p>\n
Robert was no longer simply a missing suspect carrying stolen records.<\/p>\n
He was a man who might be searching for someone Grandpa had deliberately hidden from him.<\/p>\n
Mercer cleared the kitchen of everyone except June, Vernon and two deputies.<\/p>\n
I remained because June refused to let go of my hand.<\/p>\n
Thomas was questioned separately.<\/p>\n
Dale was taken back to town.<\/p>\n
Mark and Carol waited on the porch.<\/p>\n
For once, neither protested.<\/p>\n
Mercer opened the recovered black ledger on Grandpa\u2019s kitchen table.<\/p>\n
The book looked painfully ordinary.<\/p>\n
Black cover.<\/p>\n
Worn corners.<\/p>\n
Yellowed pages filled with Harold Parker\u2019s compact handwriting.<\/p>\n
Decades of grievances reduced to numbers and dates.<\/p>\n
Loans to relatives.<\/p>\n
Equipment purchases.<\/p>\n
Payments for debts.<\/p>\n
Notes beside entries.<\/p>\n
Names underlined.<\/p>\n
Amounts circled.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had recorded everything.<\/p>\n
June stared at the missing page.<\/p>\n
The paper had been torn carefully near the binding.<\/p>\n
Not ripped in panic.<\/p>\n
Removed with intention.<\/p>\n
Mercer shone a light across the next sheet, revealing impressions from Grandpa\u2019s pen.<\/p>\n
Most were too faint to read.<\/p>\n
One line had already given them the reference to Rebecca\u2019s second child.<\/p>\n
Another contained a date.<\/p>\n
October 3, 1999.<\/p>\n
June counted silently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vernon searched Rebecca\u2019s letters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
He found one dated November 1999.<\/p>\n
June read quickly.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says, \u2018I cannot let Robert know about Daniel.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
June continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says, \u2018After what happened with June, I cannot risk another child.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
The letter did not explicitly call Daniel her son.<\/p>\n
It did not need to.<\/p>\n
June\u2019s hands began shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had another baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Vernon said softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Dad the father?\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter answered.<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrote that Robert had contacted her during a brief return to Kansas.<\/p>\n
They met once.<\/p>\n
She described the decision with shame and anger at herself.<\/p>\n
Several months later, she discovered she was pregnant.<\/p>\n
June sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my brother is also Dad\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat appears likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad never knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Grandpa\u2019s note, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked at the torn page.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he may know now.\u201d<\/p>\n
They searched every letter in Sarah\u2019s box.<\/p>\n
Nothing gave Daniel\u2019s surname.<\/p>\n
Nothing listed an address.<\/p>\n
Then Vernon found a photograph.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood outside a small house holding a baby.<\/p>\n
On the back, Grandpa had written:<\/p>\n
DANIEL \u2014 SAFE WITH M.<\/p>\n
June touched the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is M?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody knew.<\/p>\n
Mercer asked whether Harold had other contacts in New Mexico.<\/p>\n
Vernon searched his records.<\/p>\n
One name appeared repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Margaret Hale.<\/p>\n
June frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cRelative?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca\u2019s mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words sounded almost absurd after everything else.<\/p>\n
Margaret had received several payments from Harold between 1999 and 2012.<\/p>\n
Most were modest.<\/p>\n
One was much larger.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
June looked at Vernon.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa buy silence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the notation says education fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer searched public records.<\/p>\n
Margaret Hale had died in 2017.<\/p>\n
Her obituary listed one surviving grandson.<\/p>\n
Daniel Hale.<\/p>\n
Age twenty-two at the time.<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The obituary said he lived in Santa Fe.<\/p>\n
Mercer immediately contacted authorities there.<\/p>\n
June sat completely still while he made calls.<\/p>\n
I watched the night press against Grandpa\u2019s kitchen windows.<\/p>\n
How many times had June stood in this exact room chopping onions while Grandpa complained about the price of groceries?<\/p>\n
How many secrets had surrounded her while she washed his dishes?<\/p>\n
She finally spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he doesn\u2019t know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vernon looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I supposed to say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do not have to say anything tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight seems determined to disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer ended his call.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel Hale currently lives in Colorado Springs.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s head snapped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cColorado.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room changed.<\/p>\n
Robert lived in Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far from Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately forty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa hid Daniel\u2019s identity because he was afraid Dad would go after him. Daniel ends up living forty minutes away from Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCoincidence is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in this family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer made another call.<\/p>\n
Several minutes later he looked concerned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
June asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2019s employer says he did not report for work today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere does he work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA commercial electrical company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did anyone last see him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing directly to voicemail.\u201d<\/p>\n
June turned toward the door.<\/p>\n
Mercer caught her attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cColorado authorities are checking his residence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis known Colorado address is also being checked.\u201d<\/p>\n
June paced the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad found the ledger page sometime this evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t drive to Colorado that fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if Daniel disappeared before Dad took the page, Dad already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stopped.<\/p>\n
June had found the contradiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
She asked.<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas appeared in the doorway under deputy supervision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
June turned.<\/p>\n
Mercer did not look pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were instructed to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert knew Daniel\u2019s first name before today.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told us he didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said Harold kept the truth from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stepped inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight months ago, when Robert found me, he was already asking about Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found old payments in Harold\u2019s financial records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew almost nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remembered Sarah.\u201d<\/p>\n
June clenched her jaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him Sarah had a sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Dad started searching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he find her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found the name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he believed Rebecca had a son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know the son was his?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what did he think?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought Daniel might have documents Rebecca left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
June understood immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the adoption. Sarah. Grandpa\u2019s payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Dad wasn\u2019t looking for a son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was looking for a witness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
His face changed within seconds.<\/p>\n
June watched him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He finished the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cColorado Springs police reached Daniel\u2019s apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe isn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
June closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny sign of trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoor unlocked. No obvious struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot located.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cA neighbor saw him leave this morning with an older man.\u201d<\/p>\n
June opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe neighbor is being shown photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLate fifties or early sixties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad is fifty-eight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
June whispered, \u201cDad went to Daniel before Grandpa\u2019s will was even read.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat appears increasingly possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert wasn\u2019t sure Harold had died naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
June turned slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas immediately regretted speaking.<\/p>\n
Mercer stepped between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at June.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert said the timing was too convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat timing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold finishing the trust. Discovering the forged papers. Preparing evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad thought Grandpa was murdered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was afraid other people would think it.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would they?\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
She moved toward Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer blocked her gently.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert was at the farm nine days before Harold died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came back later.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night before Harold died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen became silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d June said.<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded reluctantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called me from outside the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little after midnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy was he there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he needed to talk to Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Grandpa alive when he left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
June\u2019s voice rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have an answer for everything except the thing that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Dad say afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Harold had made his final mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cExact words?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs close as I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared toward Grandpa\u2019s bedroom hallway.<\/p>\n
Harold Parker had been found dead in his bed the next morning.<\/p>\n
There had been no autopsy.<\/p>\n
His physician signed the death certificate based on his advanced heart disease.<\/p>\n
Natural causes.<\/p>\n
Expected.<\/p>\n
No reason for suspicion.<\/p>\n
Until now.<\/p>\n
June sat down abruptly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Dad alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hear anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA door closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could be anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman spoke.\u201d<\/p>\n
June looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat woman?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t hear the words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine is dead. Rebecca lives in New Mexico. Who else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer was already contacting the medical examiner.<\/p>\n
June watched him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to exhume Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pressed a hand to her mouth.<\/p>\n
A few hours earlier, she had been grieving him.<\/p>\n
Now the family might have to dig him back up because nobody knew whether his death had truly been natural.<\/p>\n
Mercer ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more before an exhumation order is likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
June nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen find more.\u201d<\/p>\n
A deputy approached from the porch.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigator.\u201d<\/p>\n
He held a tablet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got the traffic-camera hit from earlier cleaned up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The image showed Robert driving the blue sedan.<\/p>\n
This time the passenger side was visible.<\/p>\n
There was a man in the seat.<\/p>\n
Younger.<\/p>\n
Dark-haired.<\/p>\n
Mid-twenties.<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer compared the image to the obituary photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
June grabbed the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Dad was already with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was this image taken?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight forty-two tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the cellar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
June thought through the timeline.<\/p>\n
Robert and Daniel had been together.<\/p>\n
Robert went to the cellar.<\/p>\n
The black ledger was found there.<\/p>\n
Robert disappeared again.<\/p>\n
Daniel had vanished from Colorado earlier that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was the next camera?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn\u2019t one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich direction?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWestbound.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas suddenly stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Robert has Daniel and the ledger page, he isn\u2019t running west.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was seen driving west.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to the old quarry.\u201d<\/p>\n
June frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat quarry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLand Harold and I used when we were young.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that\u2019s where Robert met Sarah the night she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room froze.<\/p>\n
June whispered, \u201cYou told us you weren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert told me years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Sarah confronted him there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the forged adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe drove away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer was already heading for the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas gave it.<\/p>\n
June followed.<\/p>\n
Mercer turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have never met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not make you bulletproof.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
The anger left her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen take me in your car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stay inside unless I tell you otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He knew it was not fine.<\/p>\n
But there was no time.<\/p>\n
We drove west through the darkness.<\/p>\n
June sat beside me in the back of Mercer\u2019s SUV.<\/p>\n
She did not speak.<\/p>\n
The radio crackled continuously as units converged on the quarry.<\/p>\n
Finally June whispered, \u201cWhat if Grandpa knew Dad came the night before he died?\u201d<\/p>\n
I squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he probably wrote it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
She almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quarry road appeared ahead.<\/p>\n
Deputies killed their sirens.<\/p>\n
Vehicles moved in darkness.<\/p>\n
At the bottom of the quarry, a blue sedan sat beneath a stand of cottonwoods.<\/p>\n
Its driver\u2019s door was open.<\/p>\n
A man stood near the edge of the excavation.<\/p>\n
Robert.<\/p>\n
June leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another figure was beside him.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Robert had one hand gripping Daniel\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
The other held something dark.<\/p>\n
Mercer swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cGun.\u201d<\/p>\n
June went white.<\/p>\n
Deputies spread out.<\/p>\n
A loudspeaker ordered Robert to show his hands.<\/p>\n
He pulled Daniel closer.<\/p>\n
June reached for the door.<\/p>\n
Mercer locked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he is holding a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shouted something from the quarry.<\/p>\n
Mercer lowered the window slightly to hear.<\/p>\n
The words carried through the dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only want the page.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you I don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shoved him.<\/p>\n
June stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat page?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe missing ledger page.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Dad took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n
June understood.<\/p>\n
Someone else had removed the page.<\/p>\n
Robert had found the ledger already missing the evidence he needed.<\/p>\n
The blood in the cellar.<\/p>\n
His jacket and wallet.<\/p>\n
The carefully torn sheet.<\/p>\n
Someone had been there before him.<\/p>\n
Then Robert shouted again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother gave it to you!\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel froze.<\/p>\n
June did too.<\/p>\n
Rebecca.<\/p>\n
The missing page had not merely named Daniel.<\/p>\n
It may have documented something Rebecca possessed.<\/p>\n
Something she gave her son.<\/p>\n
Robert raised the gun.<\/p>\n
June grabbed the door handle.<\/p>\n
Mercer caught her wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
June stared through the windshield at the brother she had discovered existed less than two hours earlier.<\/p>\n
Robert shouted one final demand.<\/p>\n
Daniel slowly reached inside his jacket.<\/p>\n
He removed an envelope.<\/p>\n
Even from a distance, June could see the handwriting across the front.<\/p>\n
Harold Parker\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n
The same hand that had addressed her envelope after his death.<\/p>\n
Daniel held it up.<\/p>\n
Robert stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
And June whispered the realization before anyone else understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa sent Daniel one too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discovery changed the investigation immediately. Robert was no longer simply a missing suspect carrying stolen records. He was a man who might be searching for someone Grandpa had deliberately … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988","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\/1988","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=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2008,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions\/2008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}