Chapter 17: Before the Police Arrived
The original accident report was waiting for us when we returned to the investigation office.
It was incomplete.
Several pages were missing, and the surviving pages contained handwritten corrections.
Agent Collins placed the report on the table.
"According to the official version, your father lost control of his vehicle on a wet road at 11:42 p.m.""
I examined the page.
"Who reported the accident?""
"A civilian caller.""
"Name?""
"Not recorded in the surviving copy.""
"Who arrived first?""
She turned to another page.
"Colonel David Hayes.""
I stared.
"Before the police?""
"According to this document, yes.""
Elena frowned.
"That's unusual.""
"More than unusual," Collins said.
"Hayes wasn't listed as an emergency responder. He had no reason to be at the scene before local law enforcement.""
I looked at the time.
"How long before?""
"Twenty-three minutes.""
My father had called my mother before eleven.
The report said the accident happened at 11:42.
Hayes had arrived before the police.
And the official investigation had accepted his presence without explanation.
"Who identified my father?""
"Hayes.""
I pushed the report away.
"Was there an autopsy?""
"Yes. The medical examiner's report is available.""
Agent Collins opened another folder.
"The cause of death was listed as injuries sustained in a single-vehicle collision.""
"Was there evidence of another vehicle?""
"Not in the final report.""
"What about the vehicle itself?""
She turned to the photographs.
The car was badly damaged.
The driver's side had suffered the most impact.
But something caught my attention.
The passenger-side window was shattered.
I pointed.
"Why?""
"Possibly from the collision.""
"Then why is the passenger door intact?""
Elena leaned closer.
The photographs showed the car resting against a concrete barrier.
The passenger door had no visible damage.
But the window was broken inward.
"Could someone have broken it after the crash?"" I asked.
Agent Collins examined the image.
"Possibly.""
I looked at the next photograph.
A dark stain was visible near the passenger seat.
"What's that?""
"Blood.""
"Was it tested?""
Collins checked the report.
"The laboratory record is missing.""
I felt a familiar coldness spread through my chest.
My father might not have been alone.
"Who else was in the car?""
"The official report says nobody.""
"Then whose blood was that?""
Agent Collins didn't answer.
She called the records department and requested the original laboratory file.
While we waited, Elena examined the photograph from the storage locker.
"There's something I need to tell you.""
I looked up.
"What?""
"Major Caroline Shaw was investigating the same logistics discrepancies your father found.""
"Before she supposedly died?""
"Yes.""
"Why wasn't that in your report?""
"Because I didn't know.""
She turned the photograph toward me.
"Shaw disappeared from an internal project shortly before her reported accident. Her replacement was assigned without a formal transition.""
"Who replaced her?""
Elena looked at me.
"Me.""
I stared.
"You replaced her?""
"Not immediately. I was transferred into the department two years later. But the position was the same.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Then this goes back much further than Marcus.""
"Much further.""
Agent Collins returned with a document.
"We recovered the original laboratory entry.""
She placed it on the table.
The blood found inside my father's vehicle belonged to a second person.
The identity was listed as Daniel Voss.
I stared.
"Voss was in the car?""
"His blood was there. We don't know whether he was a passenger, injured during the collision, or present afterward.""
Elena's expression tightened.
"That would explain why he was so interested in Sergeant Price and the shipment records.""
I looked at Collins.
"Can we locate Voss?""
"He's already being monitored.""
My phone rang.
It was Marcus.
Agent Collins gestured for me to answer.
I did.
"Jessica.""
His voice sounded exhausted.
"Where are you?""
"Under investigation.""
"I know.""
"Then you know you have a lot to explain.""
A pause.
"Did you find the storage locker?""
I looked at Agent Collins.
"How do you know about that?""
"Michael told me.""
My jaw tightened.
"Where is he?""
"I don't know.""
"You're lying.""
"No, Jessica. I'm telling you the truth.""
I heard a metallic sound on his end.
Then a door closing.
"Listen to me," Marcus said.
"You found the photograph, didn't you?""
"Which one?""
"The one with Hayes and Warren.""
"And Michael.""
He went silent.
"Marcus, who was in my father's car?""
A long pause followed.
Then he spoke.
"Daniel Voss.""
"We found his blood.""
"Then Michael was there.""
"Was Hayes there?""
Marcus breathed heavily.
"Jessica, I never saw your father. I never met him.""
"But Michael did.""
"Yes.""
"Did Michael kill him?""
"I don't know.""
I closed my eyes.
"Why did you help him?""
"Because he told me your father had stolen something from him. He said he needed the records recovered.""
"And you believed him?""
"I wanted to believe him.""
"Why?""
Marcus's voice cracked.
"Because Michael was my brother.""
The answer didn't surprise me.
But the pain in his voice did.
"Where is he now?""
"I don't know. But there's something you need to understand. He didn't recruit me just to spy on you.""
"What else?""
"He wanted to know whether you had inherited your father's access.""
I frowned.
"What access?""
"Your father had a clearance profile. Michael believed it had been transferred to you when you entered government service.""
I stared at the table.
"That's impossible.""
"I told him that. He didn't believe me.""
"Why would he think that?""
"Because your father left something in the system. Something nobody could retrieve without your identity.""
Agent Collins gestured for me to put the call on speaker.
"Marcus, what is the name of the file?""
He hesitated.
"Project Lantern.""
Elena went pale.
I turned toward her.
"What?""
She looked at the others.
"Project Lantern was never supposed to exist.""
Agent Collins leaned toward the phone.
"Marcus, explain.""
"I don't know the details. Michael told me the file contained the original shipment records, the names of everyone involved, and proof that the accident wasn't an accident.""
"Who told Michael?""
"Hayes.""
The room fell silent.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
"Hayes gave Michael that information?""
"That's what Michael said.""
Agent Collins ended the call and immediately contacted the investigators handling Hayes.
But before she could finish, an alarm sounded on the evidence system.
The recovered storage device had been accessed remotely.
Someone had attempted to erase its contents.
The technician rushed into the room.
"We're isolating the drive, but the connection is coming from inside the government network.""
Agent Collins stood.
"Can you identify the source?""
The technician shook his head.
"Not yet.""
I looked at the screen.
A file had appeared briefly before disappearing.
*PROJECT LANTERN — SUBJECT: JESSICA REED.*
Then a second line flashed.
*STATUS: ACTIVE.*
Elena whispered:
"They didn't just use your identity.""
May you like
I stared at the screen.
"They've been waiting for me.""
