Chapter 4: The Secret Beneath the Garage
For several seconds, Cole couldn't move.
Travis's words hung in the hot garage like smoke.
"Your brother isn't the only one we buried.""
Mason had backed into a shelf of old tires. His breathing came in short, frightened bursts, and his hands were wrapped tightly around his mother's necklace.
Cole slowly placed Rachel's letter inside his vest.
"What did you just say?""
Travis tilted his head.
"You heard me.""
Cole stepped forward.
"Who else did you bury?""
Travis looked at Mason.
"Ask the kid. His mother knew exactly what happened.""
Mason shook his head.
"Stop lying.""
Travis laughed.
"Your mother spent the last six months of her life trying to undo something she helped create.""
"You're lying!"" Mason shouted.
Cole put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Easy, son. Don't let him control this conversation.""
Travis spat onto the concrete.
"You think you're some kind of hero, Bennett? You ride into town with your little motorcycle club, hand a kid a bottle of water, and suddenly you believe you can fix fourteen years of history?""
Cole's expression remained cold.
"I'm not here to fix history. I'm here to find out what happened to my brother.""
"Then open the envelope.""
Cole looked down at Rachel's letter.
The red wax seal was still intact.
He carefully broke it.
Inside were three handwritten pages and a small photograph.
The first page began:
Dear Cole,
If Mason has found you, then I have failed to keep him safe. I am sorry. I wanted him to grow up without knowing what happened to his father. I wanted him to have an ordinary childhood.
Cole swallowed.
He continued reading.
Daniel did not abandon us. He discovered that your father, Raymond Bennett, had been using the old garage as a meeting place for people involved in stolen vehicle transactions.
Cole stopped.
His father?
Raymond Bennett had died six years earlier.
He had been a mechanic, a stern man who rarely spoke about his past. Cole remembered him as someone who worked long hours and kept his promises.
But he also remembered the garage.
The family had owned a repair shop outside Little Rock for decades.
It had been sold shortly after Raymond's death.
Cole looked at the next paragraph.
Daniel found records showing that vehicles were being stripped, repainted, and given false identification numbers. He confronted Raymond. Two days later, Daniel disappeared.
Cole's jaw tightened.
Jace leaned over his shoulder.
"What does it say?""
Cole handed him the first page.
Jace read quickly.
"Jesus Christ.""
Travis began laughing.
"Now you understand.""
Cole turned.
"Did my father know what happened to Daniel?""
Travis shrugged.
"Your father knew a lot of things.""
"Answer me.""
"He knew enough to stay quiet.""
Cole stepped toward him, but Duke moved between them.
"Let him talk," Duke said.
Cole stopped.
Mason tugged at his vest.
"There's more.""
He pointed toward the photograph inside the envelope.
Cole picked it up.
It showed a concrete floor covered with dust. A red toolbox sat beside a metal workbench.
On the back was a handwritten note.
The second entrance. Under the floor.
Cole looked at Mason.
"Have you seen this place before?""
Mason nodded slowly.
"Travis used to make me clean the back room.""
"Where is it?""
Mason pointed toward a narrow door behind the storage shelves.
Travis immediately began struggling against Duke.
"Don't go back there!""
Jace turned.
"Why not?""
"Because it's private property!""
Cole looked at him.
"Funny. You didn't seem concerned about private property when you kept a thirteen-year-old locked inside.""
Duke tightened his grip.
Cole and Jace moved toward the narrow door.
It was secured by a rusty padlock.
Jace found a heavy wrench on the workbench and struck the lock twice.
It broke.
The door opened with a long metallic groan.
Behind it was a cramped room filled with discarded tires and empty oil containers.
A single fluorescent bulb flickered overhead.
Mason stood at the doorway.
"I hate this room.""
Cole looked down.
"Why?""
"Sometimes Travis locked me in here when I asked about my mom.""
Cole felt his stomach tighten.
He stepped inside.
At first, everything looked ordinary.
Then he noticed the floor.
One section of concrete was newer than the rest.
It had been patched with a different shade of gray cement.
Jace crouched.
"That doesn't look right.""
Cole ran his fingers along the edge.
There was a narrow metal ring embedded in the concrete.
He pulled.
Nothing happened.
Jace found a pry bar and worked it beneath the edge.
After several minutes, the concrete panel shifted.
A dark opening appeared underneath.
Cold air rose from below.
Mason covered his mouth.
Cole switched on his phone flashlight.
A narrow set of metal steps descended into darkness.
At the bottom, something reflected the light.
A metal door.
And beside it, carved into the concrete wall, were two letters.
D.B.
Cole gripped the railing.
"Daniel.""
Mason stepped forward.
"Is my dad down there?""
Cole didn't answer immediately.
He couldn't.
Then Travis shouted from the other room.
"Don't open that door!""
Everyone turned.
For the first time, Travis looked genuinely terrified.
Cole stared at him.
"What did you do?""
Travis shook his head.
"I didn't do anything.""
"Then why are you afraid?""
Travis's eyes moved toward the staircase.
"Because you don't know what's waiting down there.""
Cole took another step toward the opening.
Then Mason spoke.
"There's something else.""
Cole looked back.
Mason's face was pale.
"Last night, Travis made a phone call. He said somebody was coming to finish the job.""
"Who?""
Mason looked toward the garage entrance.
"I don't know.""
May you like
Then he whispered:
"But he said the man was bringing a shovel.""
