Chapter 12: The Man Behind the Mask
Detective Mitchell stared at the photograph.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she turned toward the officer holding the phone.
“Where was this taken?””
“Outside the rehabilitation center. The transport vehicle's camera captured it.””
“Who is the man we arrested?””
“We're checking his identity.””
Mitchell looked toward the interrogation room.
“Get him back here.””
Frank stood beside Daniel.
His brother was staring at the photograph as if he had seen a ghost.
“Danny?””
Daniel shook his head.
“That's not Dad.””
Frank looked at the image again.
The man in the transport vehicle had Thomas's clothes, Thomas's hairstyle, and even Thomas's familiar posture.
But something about the face was wrong.
The nose was slightly different.
The jaw was narrower.
And the eyes were not quite the same.
Daniel whispered:
“It's Dean.””
Frank turned.
“What?””
“Dean Miller.””
Frank looked closer.
The resemblance was obvious now.
The expensive watch.
The scar near the ear.
The same man who had grabbed Lily at the bus stop.
But how could Dean look like their father?
Daniel took a step backward.
“They've been using disguises for years.””
Mitchell approached.
“Explain.””
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Dean's father was Thomas's business partner. They used medical procedures and false identities to move people around. Sometimes they used other men to impersonate patients, relatives, even officials.””
Frank stared.
“So the man we arrested was Dean?””
“Most likely.””
Mitchell's radio crackled.
“Detective, we have a situation.””
She answered immediately.
“Go ahead.””
“The transport vehicle is empty.””
Mitchell closed her eyes.
“Of course it is.””
“There's a second vehicle missing from the parking area.””
“Who was assigned to it?””
A pause.
Then the officer answered.
“An unidentified driver.””
Mitchell looked at Frank.
“Thomas is gone.””
The Steel Ravens returned to the clubhouse with Lily.
She was exhausted.
A child protection officer had examined her and confirmed she had no serious injuries.
But she refused to sleep.
Every time someone closed a door, she jumped.
Every time a vehicle passed outside, she looked toward the window.
Frank sat beside her in the clubhouse kitchen.
Ray placed a plate of pancakes in front of her.
“Made these myself.””
Lily looked at the plate.
“Are you sure?””
Ray frowned.
“What?””
“Are you sure you made them?””
The men laughed.
Ray placed a hand over his chest.
“That's hurtful. I've been cooking for forty years.””
Marcus called from the other side of the room.
“That's exactly why she's asking.””
Even Lily managed a small smile.
Frank watched her take a bite.
Then he pulled a chair closer.
“Your grandmother is safe?””
Lily nodded.
“Mom said Grandma would keep the recording.””
“Do you know where she lives?””
“Pennsylvania. Near a place called Millbrook.””
Frank nodded.
“What's her phone number?””
Lily hesitated.
“I memorized it.””
“Good. We'll call her.””
But before Frank could reach for his phone, Daniel entered the kitchen.
He looked exhausted.
“Frank, we need to talk.””
Frank stood.
“About what?””
Daniel glanced at Lily.
“Something she shouldn't hear yet.””
Lily immediately put down her fork.
“Is it about Mom?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
Frank sat beside her again.
“Whatever it is, we're not going to keep secrets from her.””
Daniel sighed.
“It's about the insurance policy.””
Frank frowned.
“What about it?””
Daniel placed a document on the table.
It was a copy of the original policy.
The beneficiary had been changed to Dean Miller four days after Emily disappeared.
But underneath the beneficiary designation was another name.
A secondary beneficiary.
*MARGARET CARTER.*
Frank looked at the document.
“Why would Emily list her mother as a secondary beneficiary?””
Daniel answered quietly.
“Because Emily knew she might disappear. She wanted the money to go to someone who could protect the children.””
Frank nodded slowly.
“Then why did Dean change it?””
“Because the original policy wasn't the only one.””
Daniel opened another folder.
Inside were details of a second policy.
Five million dollars.
The insured person was Eleanor Callahan.
The beneficiary was Thomas Callahan.
Frank stared.
“Mom?””
Daniel nodded.
“She was never supposed to be declared dead. The insurance company had been receiving medical updates showing she was alive.””
Frank felt sick.
“So someone has been collecting money from a policy on our mother?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Daniel looked down.
“Dad.””
Frank pushed the papers away.
“He's been making money from keeping her alive?””
Daniel nodded.
“And the money funded the underground facilities.””
Lily looked between them.
“Does that mean Grandma was right?””
Frank turned.
“What do you mean?””
“Mom always said someone was making money from people being missing.””
Daniel looked at her.
“She was right.””
Lily lowered her eyes.
“Then why didn't anybody help her?””
Nobody answered.
Because it was the question that hurt most.
At 4:20 a.m., Detective Mitchell arrived at the clubhouse.
She looked tired and angry.
“Frank, I need everyone to listen.””
Ray stood.
“What's happened?””
“We've identified the man who was impersonating Thomas.””
“Dean?”” Frank asked.
Mitchell nodded.
“He's been using several identities. His real name is Dean Miller, but his medical records show he underwent reconstructive surgery years ago.””
Daniel shook his head.
“That doesn't explain the photograph.””
Mitchell handed him a second image.
It showed two men standing together.
One was Dean.
The other was Thomas.
Both had almost identical faces.
Frank stared.
“That's impossible.””
“Apparently, they're identical twins.””
Daniel looked as though someone had struck him.
“Twins?””
Mitchell nodded.
“Thomas and his brother were separated as children. One was raised under the Callahan name. The other was registered under a different surname.””
Frank stared at the photograph.
The man he had believed was his father might not have been his father at all.
Or perhaps the man he had just seen was his uncle.
Daniel looked at the image again.
Then he whispered:
“That's why the records never matched.””
Frank turned.
“What records?””
“Dad used to tell us he was an only child. But I found an old birth certificate years ago. It listed two boys.””
Mitchell placed another document on the table.
The second boy's name was Thomas Miller.
Frank looked at Daniel.
“Dean Miller…”
“Could be his son.””
Mitchell shook her head.
“There's more. The man we arrested has been positively identified as Dean. But the man who escaped is likely Thomas Callahan.””
Frank rubbed his forehead.
“So we have two men who look almost identical, both connected to this operation.””
“Yes.””
Ray sighed.
“This family reunion keeps getting worse.””
A little later, Frank received a call from Margaret Carter.
Lily immediately recognized the number.
“Grandma!””
Frank placed the phone on speaker.
“Oh, sweetheart. Are you safe?””
Lily started crying.
“I'm with Frank.””
Margaret's voice broke.
“Thank God.””
Frank leaned toward the phone.
“Mrs. Carter, this is Frank Callahan.””
“I know who you are.””
There was a pause.
“Emily told me everything.””
Frank looked at Daniel.
“Then you know Daniel is alive.””
“I do.””
“Why didn't you contact us?””
Margaret sighed.
“Because your brother asked me not to.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Margaret, where's the recording?””
“Safe.””
“Where?””
“I sent a copy to someone I trust.””
“Who?””
Margaret hesitated.
Then she said something that made Daniel's expression change.
“Your mother.””
Frank gripped the table.
“Eleanor?””
“Yes.””
“She's here. She's alive.””
Margaret began crying.
“I know, Frank. I've been trying to reach her for months.””
Frank looked at Daniel.
“Why would you send the recording to Mom?””
Daniel answered quietly.
“Because she made it.””
Everyone went silent.
Frank looked at his brother.
“What?””
Daniel took a deep breath.
“The original recording wasn't made by Emily. It was made by Eleanor in 2006. She recorded Thomas explaining how the operation worked.””
Frank felt the room spinning.
“And Emily found it?””
Daniel nodded.
“She copied it. But the original was hidden somewhere nobody would ever think to look.””
“Where?””
Daniel looked toward the clubhouse wall.
“Inside the old family house.””
Frank stared.
The house had been sold years ago.
The property was now owned by a private development company.
But there was something else.
A locked basement room.
A room their father had forbidden them to enter when they were children.
Daniel continued.
“Mom told me she hid the original recording there before she was transferred.””
Frank slowly reached into his pocket.
He pulled out the silver key.
D.C. — 11/02.
Daniel stared at it.
Then he smiled sadly.
“That's not a key to Room 17.””
Frank frowned.
“Then what does it open?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“The basement at our old house.””
Before Frank could respond, Margaret spoke again.
“Frank, there's something else you need to know.””
“What?””
Her voice became almost inaudible.
“Eleanor didn't record that conversation alone.””
Frank looked toward Daniel.
Margaret continued.
“Your father confessed something else that night.””
“What?””
“He admitted that one of the children in the family wasn't biologically related to him.””
Frank's blood ran cold.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Margaret whispered:
“And Emily knew which child it was.””
The call ended.
Frank slowly turned toward his brother.
Neither spoke.
May you like
Then Daniel looked at him and said:
“Frank, there's something I've never told you about the night Dad died.””
