Chapter 15: The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Raymond sat beside his father's bed, unable to speak.
He looked at the photograph again.
The man standing beside Melissa had a narrow face, dark hair, and a small scar near his chin.
Edward pointed toward the scar.
“That's Daniel Lawson.””
Raymond frowned.
“Melissa's brother?””
Edward nodded.
“He wasn't dead.””
Raymond shook his head.
“She told me she had no siblings.””
“She was protecting him.””
“From whom?””
Edward looked toward the door.
“From Miller.””
Raymond stood and paced.
“Why would Miller care about her brother?””
“Because Daniel Lawson worked for Northstar Logistics.””
Raymond stopped.
“You said Peter Lawson worked there.””
Edward nodded.
“Peter was an alias.””
Raymond looked down at the photograph.
“Daniel Lawson changed his name?””
“Yes. He had been working undercover to collect evidence against Miller.””
Raymond stared.
“And Melissa knew?””
“She discovered the truth shortly before her death.””
Raymond felt his stomach tighten.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
Edward looked at him.
“Because she didn't know who she could trust.””
Raymond turned away.
For fifteen years, he had believed Melissa had died in a simple accident.
He had never known she had been investigating a criminal network.
He had never known she had a brother.
And he had never known that the man in the photograph might still be alive.
“Where is Daniel now?””
Edward shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“Did you ever meet him?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The night Melissa died.””
Raymond stared.
“You saw him?””
Edward nodded.
“He was waiting outside the diner. He gave Melissa a small package.””
“What was inside?””
“Copies of the original financial records.””
Raymond leaned closer.
“Where did he go?””
Edward closed his eyes.
“He disappeared after the accident.””
Raymond stood.
“You keep saying people disappeared. Why does everyone disappear?””
Edward looked exhausted.
“Because Miller has spent his entire life making sure witnesses don't survive long enough to tell the truth.””
At 8:15 a.m., Raymond returned to the sheriff's department.
He hadn't slept.
His clothes were still stained with blood from his father's injury.
Angela met him at the entrance.
She looked exhausted too.
“Sheriff, we've got a lead.””
Raymond walked past her.
“Tell me.””
“Daniel Lawson used a different identity after Melissa's death. He was living in another state.””
“Where?””
“Pennsylvania.””
“Is he still there?””
“Not according to the latest records.””
Raymond stopped.
“Where is he now?””
Angela handed him a printed report.
“Three weeks ago, someone using his identity checked into a motel outside Mill Creek.””
Raymond looked at the date.
Three weeks.
Just before Daniel Brooks contacted Walter.
“Find the motel.””
Angela pointed toward a map.
“Already did.””
Raymond studied the address.
Then he noticed something.
The motel was less than two miles from the QuickStop gas station.
The same station where Walter had been assaulted.
Raymond looked up.
“Was Daniel at the gas station that day?””
Angela nodded.
“According to the security footage, a man matching his description was there.””
Raymond stared.
“Why didn't we notice?””
“He left before the deputies arrived.””
Raymond examined the footage still.
A man wearing a baseball cap stood near the ice machine.
His face was partially hidden.
But Raymond recognized the posture.
The same man from the photograph.
“Get me every frame of this footage.””
Angela nodded.
Then she lowered her voice.
“There's something else.””
Raymond looked at her.
“Go ahead.””
“The man who accessed the evidence archive before the original manifest disappeared wasn't using your credentials.””
Raymond frowned.
“You told me it was my code.””
“It was. But the login came from a different device.””
“Whose device?””
Angela hesitated.
“Mine.””
Raymond stared.
She quickly continued.
“I didn't access the archive. Someone cloned my credentials.””
Raymond studied her.
“Who had access to your computer?””
“Only a few people.””
“Names.””
“Samuel Carter. Robert Miller. And...””
She stopped.
“And who?””
Angela looked at him.
“Your daughter.””
Raymond went completely still.
“Grace?””
Angela nodded.
“She visited the department three days before the incident. She used my office computer to print some documents.””
Raymond stared at the report.
Grace was twenty-four.
She worked as a legal assistant at a private law firm.
She had been close to her mother and had struggled for years with the unanswered questions surrounding her death.
But she had never shown interest in the department's records.
“Why would Grace access the archive?””
Angela shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Raymond immediately called her.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then she answered.
“Dad?””
“Where are you?””
“At work.””
“Can you talk?””
“What's wrong?””
“I need to see you.””
A pause followed.
“Is it about Mom?””
Raymond looked at Angela.
“Yes.””
Grace went quiet.
Then she said something that made his stomach drop.
“Dad, I was wondering when you'd finally find out.””
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Find out what?””
Grace's voice trembled.
“I have something Mom left for me.””
“What?””
“A letter.””
“Where is it?””
“At home.””
“Grace, don't touch anything. Stay where you are. I'm coming.””
She hesitated.
“Dad?””
“Yes?””
“There's something you need to know before you get here.””
Raymond gripped the phone.
“What?””
Grace began crying.
“Mom knew Grandpa was alive.””
Raymond stopped breathing.
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Grace swallowed.
“Because he visited her the night before she died.””
Raymond looked toward the office window.
His father had just told him he met Melissa that night.
Now his daughter was confirming it.
“Grace, listen carefully. Did you know this before today?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Since I was sixteen.””
Raymond felt a sharp pain in his chest.
“Sixteen?””
“Mom left me a letter. She told me not to show anyone until I was old enough to understand.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she said you would try to find Grandpa.””
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Grace, I need you to tell me exactly what the letter says.””
His daughter began to cry harder.
“Dad, the letter says Grandpa wasn't the only person who visited Mom that night.””
Raymond looked at Angela.
“Who else?””
Grace whispered:
“Grandma.””
Raymond froze.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“But Grandma told me she hadn't seen Mom in years.””
Grace's voice broke.
“She lied.””
Raymond sat down slowly.
Then Grace delivered the final blow.
“Dad, Mom wrote that Grandma was the person who handed her the envelope containing the evidence.””
Raymond stared at the wall.
He had spent the entire night trying to uncover a conspiracy involving military officers, corrupt deputies, and a supposedly dead father.
But now the truth was pointing somewhere much closer.
His own mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who had buried his father.
The woman who had just been placed under his protection.
His phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
It came from Eleanor.
*Raymond, don't trust Grace. She doesn't know what your father did to Melissa.*
Then another message arrived.
*And whatever you do, don't let her open the second letter.*
Raymond slowly looked at Angela.
“Get the car.””
“Where are we going?””
He picked up his jacket.
“To my daughter's house.””
He paused.
May you like
Then added:
“And this time, nobody gets there before me.””
