Daniel took the phone from my hand and stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
The image had been shot through Caleb\u2019s bedroom window from across the yard or street. The angle was slightly elevated, perhaps taken from inside a vehicle. Daniel\u2019s shoulder was visible beside me. The laptop screen glowed between us.<\/p>\n
There was no doubt about timing.<\/p>\n
The picture had been taken while Frank Delaney\u2019s confession played.<\/p>\n
\u201cDownstairs,\u201d Daniel whispered.<\/p>\n
I resisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause anyone outside can see us here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed the laptop but did not shut it down.<\/p>\n
We moved into the hallway without turning on lights.<\/p>\n
My house, the place that had held two decades of birthdays, illnesses, arguments, Christmas mornings and grief, suddenly felt unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
Every window became an opening.<\/p>\n
Every shadow a possibility.<\/p>\n
Daniel checked the front room through the side of the curtains.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo vehicle parked directly outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could\u2019ve left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr parked farther down.\u201d<\/p>\n
I locked the deadbolt although it was already locked.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall the police,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid specifically warned against local police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was ten years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone photographed us five minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel ran a hand over his face.<\/p>\n
He knew I was right about one thing: blindly trusting the nearest uniform suddenly felt impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cState police, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne Holt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m finding out.\u201d<\/p>\n
I carried David\u2019s letter to the kitchen.<\/p>\n
The old number he had written beneath Marianne Holt\u2019s name had a local area code. I entered it into my phone.<\/p>\n
Disconnected.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Ten years was a long time.<\/p>\n
Daniel searched the name online.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are several Marianne Holts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdd investigator.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned the screen toward me.<\/p>\n
Marianne J. Holt.<\/p>\n
Former investigator with the state attorney general\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Retired.<\/p>\n
A photograph showed a woman in her sixties with close-cropped gray hair and dark glasses.<\/p>\n
The article was five years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe retired after thirty-one years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we find a number?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Another text.<\/p>\n
YOU HAVE WHAT DAVID LEFT. THAT IS ENOUGH.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could\u2019ve watched you search.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe garage windows.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr Caleb told someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the ceiling, toward Caleb\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hid the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich means he expected someone to need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
I hated that it was true.<\/p>\n
We searched Caleb\u2019s laptop again, this time from the kitchen where the curtains were heavier.<\/p>\n
The folder labeled D.M. contained more than a hundred items.<\/p>\n
Caleb had organized everything by categories.<\/p>\n
BELLWATER.<\/p>\n
THOMAS.<\/p>\n
COLE.<\/p>\n
DELANEY.<\/p>\n
HALE.<\/p>\n
EMILY.<\/p>\n
And one folder labeled P.S.<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
Patricia Shaw.<\/p>\n
Inside were screenshots from property databases, an old obituary, social media pages and a scanned newspaper clipping.<\/p>\n
Patricia Bennett Shaw had been Thomas\u2019s older sister by four years.<\/p>\n
She had worked as a middle-school librarian before retiring.<\/p>\n
According to Caleb\u2019s notes, she lived seventy-three miles away in a small town called Millhaven.<\/p>\n
One line was highlighted:<\/p>\n
CONTACTED. AGREED TO MEET.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb already found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the next document.<\/p>\n
There was a date.<\/p>\n
Five weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
Caleb had met Patricia before meeting Delaney.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did he talk to Delaney afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe Patricia told him something he wanted confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I clicked another file.<\/p>\n
It was a text document titled MEETING NOTES.<\/p>\n
The first line read:<\/p>\n
Patricia is afraid but not confused.<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
Caleb wrote that Patricia initially refused to discuss Thomas. He told her he was David Mercer\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
That changed everything.<\/p>\n
According to the notes, Patricia remembered David\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Thomas had spoken about him before disappearing.<\/p>\n
He told Patricia that David had tried to help.<\/p>\n
More importantly, Thomas arrived at Patricia\u2019s house with Emily before dawn after the Bellwater incident.<\/p>\n
Thomas was injured.<\/p>\n
Bleeding from a cut near his scalp.<\/p>\n
His left shoulder was badly damaged.<\/p>\n
Emily was soaked and barely responsive.<\/p>\n
Patricia demanded they go to a hospital.<\/p>\n
Thomas refused at first.<\/p>\n
Eventually he allowed Patricia to take Emily.<\/p>\n
Before they separated, Thomas gave Patricia something.<\/p>\n
I read faster.<\/p>\n
A small black memory card.<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s notes continued.<\/p>\n
Thomas told Patricia to hide it.<\/p>\n
He said people had died because of what was on it.<\/p>\n
Patricia asked whether David was dead.<\/p>\n
Thomas began crying.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cNot when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Those words aligned with Delaney\u2019s confession.<\/p>\n
David was alive.<\/p>\n
Thomas knew it.<\/p>\n
Patricia asked why Thomas left him.<\/p>\n
According to Caleb\u2019s notes, Thomas said David ordered him to take Emily and go.<\/p>\n
Thomas wanted to stay.<\/p>\n
David told him the girl mattered more than evidence.<\/p>\n
So Thomas took her.<\/p>\n
For the first time, some of my anger toward Thomas loosened.<\/p>\n
He had not simply abandoned David.<\/p>\n
David sent him away.<\/p>\n
That sounded like my husband.<\/p>\n
Infuriatingly.<\/p>\n
Painfully.<\/p>\n
Exactly like him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the card?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
Patricia hid it for years.<\/p>\n
Not in her house.<\/p>\n
She refused to tell Caleb where.<\/p>\n
He apparently pushed.<\/p>\n
She refused again.<\/p>\n
Then came a line that made my heart speed up.<\/p>\n
She says she no longer has it.<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who does?\u201d<\/p>\n
I scrolled.<\/p>\n
Patricia told Caleb that six years after Thomas died, she received an envelope with no return address.<\/p>\n
Inside was a photograph of her front porch.<\/p>\n
On the back someone had written:<\/p>\n
WE KNOW.<\/p>\n
She panicked.<\/p>\n
Within days, she moved the memory card.<\/p>\n
Not to a bank.<\/p>\n
Not to a friend.<\/p>\n
She gave it to someone who could disappear it legally.<\/p>\n
Caleb had written:<\/p>\n
Attorney? Clergy? State investigator? She would not say.<\/p>\n
Below that:<\/p>\n
She agreed to contact me if she decides to reveal location.<\/p>\n
Then another note dated thirteen days later:<\/p>\n
PAT CALLED. WANTS SECOND MEETING.<\/p>\n
My hands trembled.<\/p>\n
I opened the next file.<\/p>\n
There were no notes.<\/p>\n
Only an audio recording.<\/p>\n
Daniel and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
I pressed play.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s voice came first.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatricia, I\u2019m recording this because I don\u2019t trust myself to remember everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
An older woman replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want, I\u2019ll turn it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Leave it. Maybe somebody should have done this years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice was gentle.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
She sounded nothing like the frightening figure the secrecy had created in my mind.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cYou said you wanted to tell me where the card is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I would tell you something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia breathed deeply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father should not have died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean medically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb said nothing.<\/p>\n
Patricia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas believed David was injured, but conscious. He told Thomas to leave. Thomas thought police would come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cHow did Thomas know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called someone the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrank Delaney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel swore softly.<\/p>\n
On the recording, Caleb asked the same question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Delaney?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas found his card in David\u2019s jacket pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
David had apparently carried Delaney\u2019s contact information.<\/p>\n
I felt sick at the implication.<\/p>\n
Perhaps David thought Delaney was trustworthy before that night.<\/p>\n
Patricia said Thomas called from a pay phone.<\/p>\n
Delaney told him David died at the scene.<\/p>\n
Thomas did not believe him.<\/p>\n
He insisted David had been alive.<\/p>\n
Delaney told him to disappear if he wanted Emily to stay safe.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cDid Thomas ever talk to him again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDelaney warned him people were looking for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCole?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia went silent.<\/p>\n
Caleb immediately noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas wrote it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a notebook.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI burned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb sounded frustrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I had an eight-year-old niece sleeping in my guest room and a brother hiding under another name. I wasn\u2019t thinking about preserving evidence for a case. I was thinking about keeping them alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut before I burned it, I read everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Hale was in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Hale. Thomas believed he was the person feeding information to Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he at Bellwater?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
Caleb said, \u201cThought?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never saw his face clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVoice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
Thomas heard the second man.<\/p>\n
Patricia explained.<\/p>\n
Thomas recognized the voice because Hale had called him before.<\/p>\n
Hale had apparently warned Thomas that David was asking dangerous questions.<\/p>\n
When the second vehicle arrived at Bellwater, Thomas heard the same voice.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cSo Hale was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas believed he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he see Hale hurt my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another long pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a fight. Raymond Cole attacked Thomas. David tried to intervene. Someone drove one vehicle toward them. It struck another car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was driving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid got Emily behind the barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matches her memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was hurt. Cole was hurt. David helped Thomas up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Hale do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said Hale disappeared for several minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did Delaney arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas never knew exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cThen why did Thomas run?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia\u2019s voice became strained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause David told him to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed police were coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why take the memory card?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid made him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned toward the laptop.<\/p>\n
Caleb sounded surprised too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas tried to give it to him. David refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Thomas had to keep it away from everyone until he could get Emily safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed the sequence again.<\/p>\n
David knew evidence might still be compromised.<\/p>\n
He trusted Thomas with the card.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cDid Thomas ever try to give it to authorities afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne Holt.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
There she was again.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cDid she get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas never made the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cGod.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas called me that morning. He said he was done running. He had arranged to meet Holt in another state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then his car burned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccident?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Holt know about the card?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew Thomas claimed to have evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not where he kept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo after Thomas died, you still had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cWhere is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatricia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it to someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised I would never say over a phone or recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen turn the recording off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if anything happens to me, I want this much preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb was quiet.<\/p>\n
Patricia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will tell you only in person, without electronics, if I decide you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought your phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can leave it outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you afraid of?\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed sadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my age? Mostly that I will survive long enough to regret another decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb did not push immediately.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes my mother need to know what\u2019s on the card?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia answered quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on it?\u201d Caleb asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransaction records. Names. Dates. Insurance claim numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything about my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one audio file.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned toward the speaker.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAudio?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas recorded a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Bellwater?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it prove?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Hale knew David was investigating him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia\u2019s breathing became audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas recorded Hale saying that if David came to the lake, they would make sure he stopped asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen felt suddenly colder.<\/p>\n
Caleb said, \u201cThat sounds like a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Hale admit to killing him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the card proves conspiracy but not murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt proves enough to reopen everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb went quiet.<\/p>\n
Then he asked the question I would have asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you turn it over years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia started crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no defense in her voice.<\/p>\n
Only shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was dead. David was dead. I had Emily in my life. Laura barely knew what Thomas had gotten involved with. Somebody was watching my house. I convinced myself the truth wouldn\u2019t bring anyone back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb replied softly, \u201cI understand fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording grew quiet.<\/p>\n
Then Patricia said, \u201cThere is something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone contacted me after you first came here.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t give a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat David Mercer\u2019s son was dying and should spend his remaining time with his mother instead of digging up old graves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb did not speak for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew I was sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen whoever called was already watching me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you recognize the voice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMan or woman?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything distinctive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said one thing that frightened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Frank should have kept his mouth shut the first time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cDelaney?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen whoever called knows I contacted Frank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him about the card?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase sounded almost identical to Delaney.<\/p>\n
Caleb replied, \u201cEveryone keeps telling me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t bravery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot protect your mother by making someone angry enough to hurt her.\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I need to finish before I die.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Patricia began to cry again.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo nineteen-year-old should have to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
After several seconds, she said, \u201cI\u2019ll make you a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t give you the card.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d Patricia continued, \u201cI will leave instructions for your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes snapped open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat instructions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can retrieve it if two things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, she must hear the truth from Frank Delaney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cDone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb asked, \u201cAnd second?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia said, \u201cShe must bring me David\u2019s letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the pages on the table.<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither Daniel nor I moved.<\/p>\n
Then my phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n
Another unknown text.<\/p>\n
This time there was no photograph.<\/p>\n
Only an address.<\/p>\n
Millhaven.<\/p>\n
Patricia Shaw\u2019s address.<\/p>\n
Below it:<\/p>\n
SHE WILL GET YOU KILLED.<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone really doesn\u2019t want you going there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at David\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
Then at Caleb\u2019s notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is exactly why I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel took the phone from my hand and stared at the photograph. The image had been shot through Caleb\u2019s bedroom window from across the yard or street. The angle was … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8477","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\/8477","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=8477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8520,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8477\/revisions\/8520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}