Chapter 16: What the Red Roses Were Hiding
The garden looked different under police floodlights.
Daniel stood beside the rose bushes, holding Charlotte's message on his phone while Detective Carter examined the ground.
"Your mother never mentioned anything buried here?"" Carter asked.
"She told me Dad planted these roses before he died. Every spring, he used to bring her a new variety. She kept them alive long after he was gone.""
Daniel crouched beside the oldest bush.
Its branches were thick and twisted, and several red roses had opened despite the cold night air.
Christopher approached with a flashlight.
"There's something strange about this one.""
He pointed toward a small stone marker half-hidden beneath the leaves.
Daniel brushed away the dirt.
Three numbers had been carved into its surface.
*3-1-7.*
The same number as his father's bank box.
Daniel looked at Carter.
"Can we move it?""
Carter signaled to an officer, who carefully lifted the stone.
Beneath it was a narrow metal container.
Daniel's hands trembled as he pulled it free.
The container was sealed with an old brass lock.
He took the key from his pocket.
It fitted perfectly.
Inside lay a folded letter, a small cassette recorder, and a photograph of James Bennett standing beside a young woman Daniel had never seen before.
On the back of the photograph were four words.
*For the children I failed.*
Daniel unfolded the letter.
The handwriting was unmistakably his father's.
Margaret, if Daniel ever finds this, it means Richard has finally reached the end of the road.
Tell him the roses were never meant to hide money. They were meant to hide the truth.
The original agreement is in the factory archive, but the final evidence is here. Richard did not cause the accident alone. Someone else was in the car that night, and that person has spent twenty years believing silence was the only way to survive.
Daniel stopped reading.
Christopher leaned closer.
"Who?""
Daniel turned the letter over.
There was another paragraph.
The person who changed the ambulance report was not the person who ordered the crash. Find the driver who brought Richard to the scene. He knows where the second half of the recording is.
Carter frowned.
"Your father believed there was another person involved.""
Daniel nodded.
"Someone who drove Richard to the accident.""
"Do you know who?""
Daniel shook his head.
Then he noticed the photograph again.
The young woman standing beside James wore a small silver pendant.
Margaret had worn the same pendant for years.
Daniel stared at it.
"That's my mother.""
Christopher examined the image.
"No. Look at her face.""
The woman was younger than Margaret had been in the old photographs.
But there was something familiar about her eyes.
Daniel turned the photograph over again.
A name had been written beneath the message.
*Elizabeth.*
Helen arrived from the house, carrying a folder.
"Daniel, I found something in Margaret's bedroom.""
She handed him a faded photograph.
It showed James, Margaret, and a woman holding a baby.
The baby was Sarah.
Daniel looked from one photograph to the other.
"Elizabeth Graves?""
Helen nodded.
"Sarah's mother.""
Daniel examined the picture.
"Why was Dad with her?""
"Because Elizabeth was more than Martin Graves's daughter," Helen said.
"She was one of the people who helped James investigate Edward and Richard.""
Daniel felt the pieces shifting.
"She knew about the fraud?""
"Apparently. And she may have known what happened the night James died.""
Carter took the letter.
"We need to identify the driver.""
A voice came from behind them.
"His name was Peter Collins.""
Everyone turned.
Margaret stood at the garden gate.
Her coat was torn, one sleeve dark with dirt, but she was alive.
Daniel ran to her.
"Mom!""
He wrapped his arms around her carefully.
"Are you hurt?""
"Only enough to make me regret trusting old men with expensive suits.""
Daniel laughed, though tears filled his eyes.
"How did you get away?""
"Richard made one mistake. He believed I was too frightened to fight back.""
She looked toward the rose bushes.
"You found it.""
Daniel held up the letter.
"Who was Peter Collins?""
Margaret's expression changed.
"Richard's driver. He was there the night James died.""
"Where is he now?""
"Dead, according to the papers. But James never believed the story.""
Carter stepped forward.
"Do you know where he lived?""
Margaret nodded.
"He had a daughter. Her name was Rebecca. She worked at the old factory before it closed.""
Sarah approached.
"Rebecca Collins?""
Margaret looked at her.
"Yes. Why?""
Sarah pulled out her phone and showed them a company photograph.
A woman stood beside a filing cabinet at Whitmore Holdings.
Daniel recognized her from the archive.
"She's still working there.""
Sarah nodded.
"She's the woman who accessed the security system during the blackout.""
Helen stared at the photograph.
"Then she wasn't working for Richard to steal the recording.""
Sarah's face went pale.
"She was looking for something else.""
Margaret took the cassette recorder from Daniel.
"Your father wanted us to find her because she has the missing part of the truth.""
Carter called for an officer to secure the evidence.
But before anyone could move, Daniel's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
"Daniel Bennett?""
"Who is this?""
"My name is Rebecca Collins.""
Daniel looked at the photograph.
"Where are you?""
"Somewhere Richard can't reach me. I know what happened to your father.""
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone.
"Then tell me.""
There was a pause.
Then Rebecca said:
"Your father was alive when Richard ordered the second car to leave the scene.""
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
"What second car?""
"The one carrying Martin Graves.""
The line crackled.
Rebecca spoke again, barely audible.
"And Martin wasn't alone.""
A man's voice sounded in the background.
Rebecca gasped.
"He's here.""
The call ended.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Carter immediately began tracing the number.
Margaret gripped her son's arm.
"Daniel, what did she say?""
He looked at her.
"Martin wasn't alone that night.""
May you like
Then he turned toward the dark road beyond the garden.
"Someone else helped them.""
