Thomas Mercer stayed on the phone.<\/p>\n
That surprised Arthur more than the apology.<\/p>\n
Men who ran usually hung up once they realized law enforcement was listening. Thomas instead sounded like someone who had finally understood that every person he had protected was preparing to abandon him.<\/p>\n
Agent Reyes spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Mercer, I need your location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you promise I won\u2019t be turned over to local custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Lily.<\/p>\n
She understood immediately.<\/p>\n
Thomas was afraid of Wallace.<\/p>\n
Reyes said, \u201cI cannot negotiate immunity over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t ask for immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you asking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing came unevenly through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd protection from my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Even her own brother feared her now.<\/p>\n
Reyes motioned to another agent to begin tracing the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Evelyn thinks I still have Ortega\u2019s package.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows federal agents recovered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may know now. She didn\u2019t when she called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she tell you to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas recognized his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to bring the package to Keene.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear. She said she would send the location once I confirmed I had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes asked, \u201cDid you confirm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I opened my office safe and realized the package wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou moved it to your campaign office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t trust Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
That family seemed to have survived through distrust as efficiently as Mallory had built his safeguards around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy steal the package at all?\u201d Lily asked.<\/p>\n
Thomas went silent.<\/p>\n
Lily repeated the question.<\/p>\n
Finally he answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn told me it contained documents that could destroy Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you stole mail addressed to one of your prosecutors to protect him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice became colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Richard was hurting me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas did not answer quickly enough.<\/p>\n
Arthur stood.<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew there were problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProblems?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard told me you were volatile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur took one step toward the phone as though Thomas were physically present.<\/p>\n
Claire touched his arm.<\/p>\n
Lily did not need him speaking for her.<\/p>\n
She asked, \u201cDid you see the photographs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photographs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones Richard took after he hurt me and then made me delete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sounded genuinely confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Evelyn tell you I was unstable?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever ask me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt Lily more than Arthur expected.<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Lily said. \u201cYou should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes returned to the immediate threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Mercer, did Evelyn tell you anything about Keene\u2019s location?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny property?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVehicle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhrase? Landmark? Anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas breathed slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she was going to finish what Peter started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt a chill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018Peter thought splitting the tokens made him clever. It only delayed the inevitable.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn understood the system completely.<\/p>\n
Reyes asked, \u201cWhere would she take Keene after obtaining token one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur did not believe him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou grew up with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s twelve years older than me. I grew up being told not to ask her questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded plausible.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas said, \u201cThere is one place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur father owned an old warehouse near East Marlow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original redevelopment zone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTransferred years ago. Shell company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas gave it.<\/p>\n
Reyes\u2019s team searched.<\/p>\n
The company still existed.<\/p>\n
Its registered agent had changed repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Current controlling entity: Mercer Renewal Holdings.<\/p>\n
Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Reyes issued orders immediately.<\/p>\n
Thomas finally surrendered his location.<\/p>\n
A motel outside Richmond.<\/p>\n
Federal agents were sent.<\/p>\n
Before the call ended, Lily spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cUncle Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re actually sorry, stop protecting Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s voice weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was your family too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Lily disconnected the call herself.<\/p>\n
Arthur watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave him a small, tired smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Mom said speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The warehouse search began twenty-eight minutes later.<\/p>\n
Arthur and Lily watched only fragments through Reyes\u2019s secure feed.<\/p>\n
Agents entered through two doors.<\/p>\n
Dusty offices.<\/p>\n
Empty loading bays.<\/p>\n
Old redevelopment maps curled on walls.<\/p>\n
No Evelyn.<\/p>\n
No Keene.<\/p>\n
Then they found blood.<\/p>\n
Fresh.<\/p>\n
A larger amount than at Ortega\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt his stomach tighten.<\/p>\n
The trail continued into a rear office.<\/p>\n
A chair had been knocked over.<\/p>\n
Zip ties lay on the floor.<\/p>\n
One broken.<\/p>\n
A spent cartridge near the doorway.<\/p>\n
Lily whispered, \u201cSomeone was shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes did not speculate.<\/p>\n
An agent called from the loading dock.<\/p>\n
A security camera remained mounted high above a rear entrance.<\/p>\n
Its recorder had been damaged but not removed.<\/p>\n
Technicians recovered partial footage.<\/p>\n
Timestamp: that afternoon.<\/p>\n
Keene entered first.<\/p>\n
Not restrained.<\/p>\n
He carried a small case.<\/p>\n
A second vehicle arrived nine minutes later.<\/p>\n
Evelyn stepped out.<\/p>\n
Lily stared.<\/p>\n
No disguise.<\/p>\n
No attempt to hide.<\/p>\n
Her mother-in-law walked into the warehouse as though arriving for a board meeting.<\/p>\n
Two men accompanied her.<\/p>\n
Arthur recognized neither.<\/p>\n
Keene and Evelyn disappeared inside.<\/p>\n
Twenty-three minutes passed.<\/p>\n
Then one of Evelyn\u2019s men ran outside holding his shoulder.<\/p>\n
Blood darkened his shirt.<\/p>\n
He climbed into the SUV.<\/p>\n
Evelyn followed.<\/p>\n
Alone.<\/p>\n
No Keene.<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay the loading dock after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
They did.<\/p>\n
Six minutes later, Keene appeared.<\/p>\n
He was limping.<\/p>\n
One hand pressed against his side.<\/p>\n
But alive.<\/p>\n
He reached another vehicle parked beyond camera range and disappeared.<\/p>\n
Reyes said, \u201cThey both survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd neither got what they expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
They replayed her exit.<\/p>\n
She was furious.<\/p>\n
Even at low resolution, Arthur recognized the movement: one hand striking the SUV door before she entered.<\/p>\n
Keene\u2019s escape had not been part of the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened inside?\u201d Lily asked.<\/p>\n
Forensic teams answered part of that.<\/p>\n
Two bullet impacts.<\/p>\n
One from near Keene\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
One from near Evelyn\u2019s men.<\/p>\n
No evidence Evelyn fired.<\/p>\n
A table had been overturned.<\/p>\n
A leather document case lay empty beneath it.<\/p>\n
Then an agent found something near the chair.<\/p>\n
A tiny brass fragment.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cToken?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes waited for the close image.<\/p>\n
Not the token itself.<\/p>\n
A broken chain.<\/p>\n
Paula had said Keene pocketed the brass plate.<\/p>\n
Maybe he later wore it around his neck.<\/p>\n
Arthur said, \u201cEvelyn tried to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the token?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur was not sure.<\/p>\n
Then another item appeared.<\/p>\n
A folded paper under the overturned table.<\/p>\n
Blood along one edge.<\/p>\n
Reyes ordered it photographed before removal.<\/p>\n
The paper contained only an address.<\/p>\n
Arthur recognized the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Matthew\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church.<\/p>\n
Reyes looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Keene carry the church address?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn could have brought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily said, \u201cOr Keene wanted her to find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur thought of the staged empty confessional.<\/p>\n
Someone had deliberately left evidence of being there first.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Keene had been controlling the trail from the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho sent Victor Ames to the church?\u201d Arthur asked.<\/p>\n
Reyes looked through Paula\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Keene had known about St. Matthew\u2019s before Evelyn raided the bank box.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur asked.<\/p>\n
Nobody knew.<\/p>\n
But someone had given Keene information Mallory intended only for Arthur and Margaret.<\/p>\n
Arthur thought again of the old federal leak.<\/p>\n
Benton.<\/p>\n
Keene.<\/p>\n
Vance.<\/p>\n
The line might have remained active for fifteen years.<\/p>\n
Reyes\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
Keene\u2019s vehicle had been located at a private urgent-care clinic.<\/p>\n
He was not there.<\/p>\n
A doctor admitted treating a gunshot wound under pressure.<\/p>\n
Keene had arrived bleeding but conscious.<\/p>\n
He left twenty minutes later with another man.<\/p>\n
\u201cDescription?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes listened.<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlder. Late seventies. White hair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur already knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenton.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be.\u201d<\/p>\n
A security image confirmed it.<\/p>\n
Harold Benton had collected Martin Keene after the warehouse shooting.<\/p>\n
The retired prosecutor and the political fixer were together.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt the structure clarify.<\/p>\n
Benton was not running from Keene.<\/p>\n
He was working with him.<\/p>\n
Lily asked, \u201cWhere would they go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur thought of the address found in the warehouse.<\/p>\n
St. Matthew\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Too obvious.<\/p>\n
Unless obviousness was now useful.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Nora.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes did.<\/p>\n
The parish administrator answered after several rings.<\/p>\n
She was safe.<\/p>\n
No unusual visitors.<\/p>\n
Arthur relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n
Then Nora said something that made Reyes stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur asked.<\/p>\n
Reyes put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
Nora repeated herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cFather Brennan called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The retired priest in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether Arthur Hale had come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nora hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he had made a terrible mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Peter Mallory gave him two envelopes fifteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nora\u2019s voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he mailed the second one yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur heard the fear in her silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Harold Benton.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
Father Brennan had sent Benton something from Mallory.<\/p>\n
Yesterday.<\/p>\n
Just as the dormant conspiracy erupted back to life.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Reyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet Brennan protected now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was already moving.<\/p>\n
The call to Florida produced no immediate answer.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Then local agents were dispatched.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt a familiar pressure behind his eyes.<\/p>\n
They had assumed Father Brennan was merely a custodian.<\/p>\n
Mallory had trusted him with more.<\/p>\n
Perhaps too much.<\/p>\n
Thirty-four minutes later, federal agents entered Brennan\u2019s assisted-living apartment.<\/p>\n
The priest was alive.<\/p>\n
Barely.<\/p>\n
He had been found unconscious beside his bed.<\/p>\n
Possible overdose.<\/p>\n
An empty medication bottle nearby.<\/p>\n
Arthur did not believe the appearance for one second.<\/p>\n
Neither did Reyes.<\/p>\n
Brennan was transported.<\/p>\n
On his desk lay a handwritten note.<\/p>\n
Not a suicide note.<\/p>\n
A confession.<\/p>\n
Peter told me never to send Benton the envelope unless Arthur failed to return before Margaret died. I misunderstood what happened. Benton told me Arthur had abandoned the matter. I believed him.<\/p>\n
Arthur felt rage.<\/p>\n
Benton had manipulated a priest who thought he was following a dead man\u2019s contingency.<\/p>\n
Reyes continued reading.<\/p>\n
I sent the envelope yesterday because Benton said Lily Hale had been killed.<\/p>\n
Lily stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told him I was dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur understood the cruelty and brilliance.<\/p>\n
Brennan believed the condition had been met.<\/p>\n
Arthur had failed.<\/p>\n
Margaret was dead.<\/p>\n
Lily supposedly dead.<\/p>\n
So he released Mallory\u2019s backup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in the envelope?\u201d Lily asked.<\/p>\n
The note answered.<\/p>\n
A location.<\/p>\n
Not the ledger itself.<\/p>\n
The place where the original archive could be accessed.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Reyes.<\/p>\n
Benton had the location.<\/p>\n
Keene had the first token.<\/p>\n
Federal custody held the second.<\/p>\n
Unless Keene no longer had his.<\/p>\n
Then Reyes\u2019s phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
A photograph arrived from the warehouse evidence team.<\/p>\n
The bloodied jacket Keene had discarded contained a torn inner pocket.<\/p>\n
Inside the lining was a rectangular impression.<\/p>\n
But no brass token.<\/p>\n
Evelyn had gotten it after all.<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at the image.<\/p>\n
Keene escaped alive.<\/p>\n
Benton had the location.<\/p>\n
Evelyn had token one.<\/p>\n
Federal agents had token two.<\/p>\n
The conspiracy had split the three things necessary to reach the archive among three opposing sides.<\/p>\n
And each one would now be hunting the others.<\/p>\n
Thomas Mercer stayed on the phone. That surprised Arthur more than the apology. Men who ran usually hung up once they realized law enforcement was listening. Thomas instead sounded like … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29801"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29858,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29801\/revisions\/29858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}