Chapter 7: My Dead Brother Was Alive
I stared at the photograph until the edges of the paper began to blur.
David.
My little brother.
The boy who used to steal my baseball caps and hide them in the freezer. The teenager who once drove my motorcycle into a ditch and blamed a deer. The man whose funeral I'd attended eight years earlier.
He was alive.
I looked at Daniel.
"Where did this come from?""
He examined the message again.
"An unknown number.""
"Can you trace it?""
"Not immediately.""
I grabbed the photograph.
"That's my brother.""
Daniel nodded.
"I can see that.""
"I buried him.""
"I know.""
"I stood beside his coffin.""
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Michael, listen to me. We need to establish whether this photograph is recent.""
I pointed at the scar.
"That wasn't there before.""
"Then it might be.""
I sat down heavily.
Eight years earlier, David had been twenty-six. He'd been riding his motorcycle home from a friend's birthday party when police supposedly found his wrecked bike beside a highway.
The official report said he'd lost control on a curve.
His body had been identified through dental records.
I remembered the funeral.
I remembered my mother collapsing against my shoulder.
I remembered Sarah holding my hand while I cried.
And I remembered one thing more clearly than anything else.
Three days before the accident, David had called me.
I'd been working late at the shop.
I hadn't answered.
He left a voicemail.
"Hey, big brother. Call me back. It's important. I found something, and I think you're going to want to hear it.""
I never called him back.
For eight years, that voicemail had been the heaviest thing I carried.
Now Sarah was telling me his death had been staged.
"Daniel," I said, "I need to see him.""
"We'll contact Detective Bennett.""
"I don't care how. I need to know he's alive.""
Daniel nodded slowly.
"I'll make the call.""
An hour later, Detective Bennett arrived.
She examined the photograph and immediately requested a copy.
"Where did you get this?""
"Someone sent it after the hearing.""
She looked at the timestamp.
"Twenty minutes ago.""
"Can you find him?""
"We'll try.""
"Try harder.""
Her expression remained calm.
"Mr. Carter, if your brother is alive, someone has kept that information hidden for eight years. We need to assume the person who sent this photograph may be watching him.""
I rubbed my face.
"Sarah said Richard knows where he is.""
"Then Richard is someone we need to question.""
"Has he been arrested?""
"Not yet. We're waiting on the digital evidence.""
I stared at her.
"How much evidence do you need?""
She didn't flinch.
"Enough to make sure he doesn't walk away.""
That afternoon, Daniel received another message.
This one contained an address.
A small roadside motel in Springfield, Ohio.
And a sentence.
*Come alone. No police. No lawyers. David has something you need to hear.*
Detective Bennett immediately advised against going.
"Absolutely not," she said.
I paced the room.
"That's my brother.""
"It could be a trap.""
"What if it's not?""
"Then we'll find another way to contact him.""
Daniel agreed.
"Michael, if someone has been hiding your brother for eight years, walking into an unknown location could put both of you in danger.""
I stopped pacing.
"What if they move him again?""
Detective Bennett considered that.
Then she made a call.
Two hours later, an unmarked vehicle transported me to a building near the motel.
I was accompanied by Detective Bennett and two officers.
The plan was simple.
I'd enter the motel room.
The officers would remain nearby.
If anything felt wrong, I'd leave immediately.
Room 214.
I knocked three times.
Nothing.
I knocked again.
Then I heard footsteps.
The door opened a few inches.
A man's eye appeared in the gap.
"Mike?""
My knees almost gave way.
"David?""
The door opened wider.
He looked older.
His hair was shorter, his face thinner, and the scar above his eyebrow was unmistakable.
But it was him.
My brother.
He stepped backward.
I walked inside.
For several seconds, we just stared at each other.
Then David grabbed me.
We collided in a hug so hard that I nearly lost my balance.
"You're alive," I whispered.
He pressed his forehead against my shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Mike.""
I pulled back.
"Where the hell have you been?""
He looked toward the window.
"Not here.""
"What does that mean?""
"It means I was told you'd be safer if I stayed away.""
"By who?""
He swallowed.
"Sarah.""
I stepped backward.
"Sarah?""
David nodded.
"She found me eight years ago. A few days after the accident.""
I felt dizzy.
"What accident?""
"There was a crash. But it wasn't mine.""
I stared at him.
"Then whose body did we bury?""
David looked down.
"An unidentified rider. Someone who had my jacket and my motorcycle.""
I couldn't speak.
"How did you survive?""
"I was supposed to meet someone that night. Richard Hale.""
My stomach tightened.
"Richard?""
David nodded.
"He was involved in a property scheme. I discovered he'd been using fake identities to purchase houses, empty their accounts, and transfer the properties into shell companies.""
I remembered the money Sarah had taken from our savings.
"Why would you meet him?""
"Because he offered to pay me to repair some motorcycles. I found documents hidden inside one of the saddlebags.""
David sat on the edge of the bed.
"They contained names, bank accounts, and property transfers. Richard wasn't just stealing houses. He was using people's identities to finance the deals.""
I stared at him.
"And Sarah?""
"She was helping him.""
My stomach turned.
David continued.
"She was younger then, but she was already working with him. She knew what he was doing.""
"Why didn't you tell the police?""
"I tried.""
He looked at me.
"Richard found out. He threatened Mom. He threatened you. Then he staged the accident.""
I felt my hands trembling.
"Why didn't you come home?""
"Sarah visited me in the hospital. She told me you had agreed to help Richard.""
I shook my head.
"I never agreed to anything.""
"I know that now.""
David reached into his jacket and removed a small black envelope.
"Before the accident, I copied everything onto a memory card.""
He placed it in my hand.
"Richard has spent eight years trying to find this.""
I stared at the envelope.
"Why didn't you give it to the police?""
"I didn't trust anyone. Then I saw the news about your arrest.""
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
"I knew Richard was doing it again.""
I closed my fingers around the envelope.
"Can this prove what Sarah did?""
"It can prove much more than that.""
A sudden noise came from the parking lot.
A car door slammed.
Detective Bennett's voice came through my earpiece.
"Michael, step away from the window.""
David went pale.
"He's here.""
"Who?""
"Richard.""
I moved toward the door.
Through the curtains, I saw a black Mercedes entering the parking lot.
The same car from the photograph.
The same car that had appeared outside my house.
David grabbed my arm.
"Mike, don't let him get that card.""
A sharp knock sounded.
Then a familiar voice came from the hallway.
"David? I know you're in there.""
Richard paused.
Then he added something that made my blood run cold.
"Your mother is waiting for you.""
David's face collapsed.
Because our mother had died three years earlier.
And Richard knew exactly what he was doing.
He was telling us that he had someone else.
Someone alive.
May you like
Someone we loved.
Someone he could use against us.
