I took the photograph straight to Dad.<\/p>\n
The drive back to Portland felt longer than the journey south.<\/p>\n
Jessica stayed in California to finish her statement.<\/p>\n
Elena remained with her.<\/p>\n
Neither seemed comfortable with the arrangement, but neither objected.<\/p>\n
Daniel stayed with Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Maya came with me.<\/p>\n
For hours, the photograph sat between us in a plastic evidence sleeve.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Linda.<\/p>\n
Cole.<\/p>\n
2004.<\/p>\n
Every time I looked at it, another explanation I wanted to believe collapsed.<\/p>\n
Dad was awake when we entered his hospital room.<\/p>\n
He looked relieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCole was shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
That brought his attention back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho shot him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she finally stopped pretending.\u201d<\/p>\n
I placed the photograph on his blanket.<\/p>\n
He looked at it.<\/p>\n
All color drained from his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you didn\u2019t know Linda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know that was her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re standing beside her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you barely dealt with Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor is right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what happened in 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya shut the door.<\/p>\n
Dad stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was taken at Cole\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy were you there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight years after the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently everyone does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted you to sign something when you turned eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was twenty-four in 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had been trying for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA waiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered signing documents Dad gave me around that time.<\/p>\n
Tax forms.<\/p>\n
Insurance paperwork.<\/p>\n
A title transfer when he sold me his old truck for one dollar.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever put anything in front of me without telling me what it really was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came firmly.<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
At least about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened at Cole\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor offered me money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo million.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya let out a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Ethan\u2019s signature?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor access to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor wanted to tell you Elena was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo turn you against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice roughened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew by then that Elena had made occasional contact through Daniel. He wanted you angry enough to go looking for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I would lead him to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you smiling in the picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Linda had just told a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s your explanation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. My explanation is that a photograph captures one fraction of a second.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed toward his own face.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
His right hand was partly hidden behind Victor.<\/p>\n
Fingers curled.<\/p>\n
Not relaxed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were holding something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA recorder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recorded the meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found the cassettes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The workshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne labeled June.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the box beneath the workbench.<\/p>\n
Police had secured the house after the earlier break-in.<\/p>\n
The cassette might still be there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy meet them at all?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Elena asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were still communicating with her in 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said the last direct contact was Seattle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she sent instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProof Cole was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting had been a trap.<\/p>\n
Not theirs.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Cole say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to connect himself to Victor\u2019s efforts against Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wasn't that given to police?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor had lawyers. Cole had judges. Thomas had investigators. Pike had doctors. Every time we tried to bring one piece forward, someone learned before it reached the right desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you stopped trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe changed strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurvival.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word silenced me.<\/p>\n
Maya sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur, Linda was at that meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know she was Thomas\u2019s wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did she attend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor introduced her as an attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura Benson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she speak?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust succession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s expression sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Linda understood the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter than Victor did.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Maybe more than anything we had learned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want you to sign?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA confidentiality agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make the payment look legitimate if I accepted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know about the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me only Elena, Daniel, you, and Rebecca had seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeen the original.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Linda knew it existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the color.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked troubled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat still bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca says Linda found Elena through Daniel\u2019s phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone entered my house three months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same time Elena\u2019s hidden account was accessed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded.<\/p>\n
Maybe that had been Linda too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many identities did she use?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Elena beneath the redwoods.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Afraid.<\/p>\n
Still carrying photographs of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe looks tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she happy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cried when I told her about the truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
A smile appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdiot truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad turned his face toward the window.<\/p>\n
I gave him the privacy of pretending not to see his tears.<\/p>\n
After a while, he said, \u201cDid she tell you about the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took Victor\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
He seemed surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe explained.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou both decided my ignorance was protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was also control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad absorbed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserved some choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were four.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kept treating you like the boy we saved from the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was perhaps the first time he had admitted the central wrong without defending it.<\/p>\n
Maya returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCole survived surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan he talk?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Linda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLawyered up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCooperating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso cooperating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left the station.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Elena?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did she go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called.<\/p>\n
Voicemail.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then a message arrived from her.<\/p>\n
I need a few hours. Don\u2019t follow me.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
Dad watched my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica disappeared again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe she needs space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was kidnapped yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose things can both be true.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated his calmness.<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s phone chimed.<\/p>\n
She read the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca wants to speak with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembered something from the warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda took a bag before she left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad sat straighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of bag?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena had one.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother had carried a small black bag from the cabin.<\/p>\n
I remembered it clearly.<\/p>\n
She had kept it beside her during the drive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in Elena\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked alarmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Elena answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have your black bag?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Victoria took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCopies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIdentity documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine. Daniel\u2019s. Arthur\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA safe-deposit box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original supporting evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything needed to prove what the ledger meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Linda had spent decades learning things she should not know.<\/p>\n
I looked at Maya.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Linda took the bag, she has the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s voice became uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bag was beside me at the police command area. Victoria sat beside it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica may have taken it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
A photograph from Jessica.<\/p>\n
The black canvas bag sat on a passenger seat.<\/p>\n
Below it:<\/p>\n
I have it. Linda doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Relief lasted one second.<\/p>\n
Then a second message arrived.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to San Francisco.<\/p>\n
A third:<\/p>\n
I need to know what Victor stole from me before anyone decides what I\u2019m supposed to do with it.<\/p>\n
I took the photograph straight to Dad. The drive back to Portland felt longer than the journey south. Jessica stayed in California to finish her statement. Elena remained with her. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31509","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\/31509","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=31509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31544,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31509\/revisions\/31544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}