Chapter 16: The Second Letter
Raymond drove faster than he ever had in his life.
Angela sat in the passenger seat, one hand gripping the dashboard and the other holding her phone. Two patrol vehicles followed them, their lights flashing silently through the morning traffic.
“Call Grace again,” Raymond ordered.
Angela dialed.
No answer.
“Again.””
She tried a second time.
Straight to voicemail.
Raymond tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“She said she was at home.””
“Maybe she's scared,” Angela said.
“She has every reason to be.””
Angela looked at him.
“Sheriff, what are you going to do if your daughter is involved?””
Raymond didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Grace had been the one person he believed was untouched by the corruption surrounding his family. She had grown up without her mother, watched her father work endless hours, and learned to survive without asking too many questions.
If she had hidden something for eight years, he needed to understand why.
But he also needed to protect her.
When they reached her apartment building, Raymond was out of the car before it stopped moving.
The front door was unlocked.
“Grace!””
No answer.
He ran upstairs.
Her apartment door stood open.
A lamp lay broken on the floor. Papers were scattered across the living room, and a chair had been knocked over.
Raymond drew his weapon.
“Sheriff's department!””
Angela entered behind him.
“Clear left.””
Raymond moved through the kitchen, then the bedroom.
Nobody.
On the dining table sat an open envelope with his name written across it.
He approached slowly.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Dad,
If you're reading this, then somebody finally found out what happened to Mom.
I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd lose everyone you had left.
Grandpa came to see Mom the night before she died. He told her he had been involved in something terrible. He said he wanted to confess, but he needed her to keep the evidence safe.
Grandma came later. She brought an envelope and told Mom it contained the truth about the weapons shipments.
Mom didn't trust her.
She told me that if anything happened, I should never give the second letter to anyone.
Especially not Grandpa.
I love you.
Grace.
Raymond read it twice.
Then he looked at Angela.
“Where is the second letter?””
Angela scanned the room.
“Someone took it.””
Raymond crouched beside the overturned chair.
There was a smear of blood on the wooden floor.
He touched it with a gloved finger.
“Grace.””
A patrol deputy appeared in the doorway.
“Sheriff, we found something outside.””
He held up a small silver earring.
Raymond recognized it immediately.
Grace wore a pair just like it every day.
“Get the building cameras,” he ordered.
“Every entrance. Every vehicle.””
Angela's phone rang.
She answered.
“Davis.””
Her expression changed.
“Where?””
She listened, then looked at Raymond.
“Sheriff, we have a witness.””
“Who?””
“A delivery driver. He saw a woman being forced into a black SUV.””
Raymond stood.
“Did he see the driver?””
Angela hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“Eleanor Whitaker.””
For a moment, Raymond couldn't hear anything.
Then he shook his head.
“No.””
Angela lowered the phone.
“The witness is certain.””
Raymond stepped toward her.
“My mother is seventy-nine years old.””
“I know.””
“She was with us at the training facility. She was terrified.””
“I know.””
“She didn't take Grace.””
Angela looked at him carefully.
“Then somebody wants us to believe she did.””
Raymond stared at the letter.
His mother had sent him a warning.
Don't trust Grace.
Now someone had taken his daughter, and the only person who could explain the second letter was missing.
He turned toward the patrol deputy.
“Put out an alert for Eleanor's vehicle. Don't approach her without backup.””
Then he looked at Angela.
“And find out who owns that SUV.””
Twenty minutes later, Malik called.
“Raymond, you need to hear this.””
“I'm listening.””
“Dre and I found something in the security footage from the training facility.””
“What?””
“The black SUV was there before Carter brought Eleanor in.””
Raymond's stomach tightened.
“Who was inside?””
“Couldn't see the driver. But the passenger got out.””
“Describe him.””
Malik paused.
“Looked like an older man. Gray hair. Limp in his left leg.””
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Edward.””
“That's what I thought.””
Raymond looked at Angela.
His father had been in the hospital.
Or at least, Raymond had believed he was.
“Where is Edward now?”” he asked.
Malik answered immediately.
“Hospital security says his room was empty when they checked ten minutes ago.””
Raymond's phone nearly slipped from his hand.
His father had vanished.
His daughter had been taken.
His mother was being blamed.
And the second letter was gone.
Then Malik spoke again.
“Raymond, there's something else. Dre found a message written on the inside of the SUV's rear window.””
“What did it say?””
Malik paused.
“Ask your father what happened to the first shipment.””
Raymond looked toward Angela.
The first shipment.
The missing military weapons.
The original convoy.
And suddenly the entire conspiracy seemed to be moving toward one final piece of evidence.
“Malik, stay where you are,” Raymond said.
“I'm coming.””
But before he could leave, a message appeared on his phone from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
Grace was sitting in a dark room, her hands tied.
Beside her stood Edward.
And behind them, holding a pistol, was Raymond's mother.
May you like
The message beneath the photograph contained only six words.
*Bring the original manifest. Come alone.*
