Martin Vale arrived at our house carrying a locked briefcase.<\/p>\n
Daniel nearly refused him entry.<\/p>\n
Vale held it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked what the Pike payments were for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped aside.<\/p>\n
Vale entered.<\/p>\n
He looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
His usually perfect suit was wrinkled. There were shadows beneath his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is Charles?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cStable. Barely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan he speak?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he instructed me years ago to release this file under two circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the briefcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat circumstances?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the other?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Gordon Pike threatened a surviving member of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve had this all along.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s anger rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Pike was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew Charles believed he might be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat distinction is getting people hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale put the briefcase on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised us.<\/p>\n
He opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside were three folders.<\/p>\n
The first contained contracts.<\/p>\n
Charles had hired Pike privately eight months after Robert\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
The assignment was clear.<\/p>\n
Determine whether Sarah Bennett\u2019s child survived delivery.<\/p>\n
Daniel sat down.<\/p>\n
Leo\u2019s suggestion had been correct.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Pike find?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale opened the second folder.<\/p>\n
Surveillance reports.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Addresses.<\/p>\n
Hospital inquiries.<\/p>\n
Pike had traced conflicting records surrounding Leo\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
One set showed neonatal death.<\/p>\n
Another showed a living male infant released into my care.<\/p>\n
Pike concluded that the death record was fabricated.<\/p>\n
Daniel turned pages faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did my father receive this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately eighteen months after Sarah died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed like a physical blow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Leo was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew a child had survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know where?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale opened the third folder.<\/p>\n
A photograph slid out.<\/p>\n
I recognized my own front porch.<\/p>\n
I was holding baby Leo.<\/p>\n
He could not have been more than eighteen months old.<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
Daniel picked up the photograph.<\/p>\n
For a long time he said nothing.<\/p>\n
Then he asked, \u201cMy father saw this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd still told me my son was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No qualification remained.<\/p>\n
No suspicion.<\/p>\n
No uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Charles knew.<\/p>\n
I sat opposite Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Pike advised him that Harlan was still looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father took advice from the man Sarah warned him about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles did not yet understand Pike\u2019s role.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fired him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor disloyalty and unauthorized information sales. He did not know the extent of the Harlan connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Pike say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale showed us the report.<\/p>\n
Harlan was attempting to locate the child because the existence of a living Leo could expose the false records.<\/p>\n
Pike claimed someone else had already made inquiries about me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report doesn\u2019t identify them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel kept reading.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
A recommendation appeared at the bottom.<\/p>\n
No contact should be initiated with the child, guardian or Daniel Whitmore. Maintaining existing belief provides best protection against discovery.<\/p>\n
Daniel pushed the report away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father followed Pike\u2019s advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor ten years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles continued investigating privately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe ordered Pike to monitor Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Leo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long was my grandson watched?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIntermittently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not a length of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s voice became dangerously calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did the payments stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles discovered Pike had lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat specifically?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPike claimed Harlan was actively searching for Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say he was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep Charles paying him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackmail through fear.<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my father fired Pike again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd still didn\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles believed the danger remained even if Pike had exaggerated it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also believed telling you would expose Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got to watch my son grow up in photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I got a grave that didn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence silenced the room.<\/p>\n
I had never considered that.<\/p>\n
Daniel had mourned a child without a grave because he had been told arrangements were handled privately after Sarah\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
No body.<\/p>\n
No funeral.<\/p>\n
Only documents.<\/p>\n
Charles had possessed photographs proving the truth while his son mourned an invented death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do with the surveillance photographs?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cStored them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt his home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re legally his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll arrange it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank arrived before Vale left.<\/p>\n
He examined the Pike reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis gives us motive for Pike to suppress old evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the full story comes out, we have surveillance, blackmail, false reports, possible obstruction and whatever he did with Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marisa added, \u201cAnd potentially Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Melissa Crane?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPike?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBank accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome movement. Nothing useful yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at the surveillance file.<\/p>\n
\u201cPike knew where Leo lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why threaten us only now?\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the question.<\/p>\n
If Pike wanted Leo harmed, he had opportunities.<\/p>\n
If he wanted the evidence destroyed, why wait?<\/p>\n
Marisa turned to Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed six weeks ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when Charles received the anonymous photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho sent it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Pike?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy remind Charles of something Charles already knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
The photograph was not revealing Leo\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n
It was forcing Charles to act.<\/p>\n
I looked at the message that accompanied it.<\/p>\n
The Bennett boy survived. Ask what Harlan did.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone wanted Charles to reopen this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone wanted Harlan investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho hated Harlan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLong list.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew Leo was alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShorter list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had access to Pike\u2019s old surveillance reports?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles. Me. Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly Thomas Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice\u2019s husband.<\/p>\n
Frank made a call.<\/p>\n
Janice was brought over an hour later.<\/p>\n
When she saw the old surveillance photograph of baby Leo, she sat heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas took this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was his camera.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe date imprint. He used an old model longer than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank pointed to Pike\u2019s report.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas work on this investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told us he worked for Harlan after leaving Whitmore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did both for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying both sides?\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said everyone involved was lying, so he decided information was safer than loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cA philosophy shared by apparently every adult in this story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice touched the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas knew Leo survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow early?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDays after Sarah died.\u201d<\/p>\n
We stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw me at the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two didn\u2019t meet until two years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t formally meet. He saw me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas was one of the men waiting downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
Evelyn had described two men waiting to take Leo.<\/p>\n
One had been Whitmore security.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI discovered it after we married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was the other man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPike?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Thomas said Pike wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe only called him the client\u2019s representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Vale said immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Harlan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said the plan was to transport Leo to a private pediatric facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never knew. The second man had the destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Thomas agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed the transfer was legally authorized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when Evelyn refused?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe backed off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened later when Harlan took Leo downstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas had already left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Robert was supposed to replace him as driver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank leaned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Thomas keep watching Leo afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPike ordered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Charles?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd later?\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice looked at the old photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Pike want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Charles knew Leo was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeverage over Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything returned to blackmail.<\/p>\n
Pike knew Charles concealed Leo from Daniel.<\/p>\n
If exposed, it could destroy father and son and implicate Charles in the original conspiracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Pike kept evidence,\u201d Marisa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
Janice looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Thomas might have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never found Robert\u2019s packet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes you think we can now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice pointed to the surveillance photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I know where this was developed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas had a darkroom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA storage space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called it the workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAddress?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never had one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how does this help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause after Thomas died, I found a key among his things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat key?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA safe-deposit key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich bank?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo bank name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Janice nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank drove with her to retrieve it.<\/p>\n
Two hours later, he returned carrying the key in an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
A serial number was stamped into the metal.<\/p>\n
Marisa traced the manufacturer.<\/p>\n
The key belonged to a regional bank that had merged twice.<\/p>\n
By evening, they identified the branch.<\/p>\n
Portland.<\/p>\n
The box remained active.<\/p>\n
Rent prepaid through a trust Thomas established before his death.<\/p>\n
Janice was the legal successor.<\/p>\n
The bank agreed to open it the next morning.<\/p>\n
Leo listened from the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that where the proof is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He sighed dramatically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. Maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel smiled.<\/p>\n
Leo came down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened his mouth.<\/p>\n
Then closed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdult legal stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery adult legal stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re coming back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
Daniel corrected himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to come back tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next morning, Daniel, Janice, Frank and I entered the bank.<\/p>\n
The box was long and heavy.<\/p>\n
Janice signed the release.<\/p>\n
Frank photographed it before she opened the lid.<\/p>\n
Inside were three envelopes.<\/p>\n
A hard drive.<\/p>\n
A stack of surveillance photographs.<\/p>\n
And Robert Hale\u2019s missing packet.<\/p>\n
Daniel touched nothing.<\/p>\n
Frank lifted the first envelope.<\/p>\n
THOMAS \u2014 IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME.<\/p>\n
The second:<\/p>\n
PROOF \u2014 HARLAN \/ PIKE.<\/p>\n
Then the third.<\/p>\n
Written across it in Thomas Bell\u2019s hand were four words.<\/p>\n
WHO REALLY ORDERED THE TRANSFER.<\/p>\n
Janice covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
For ten years we had assumed Charles initiated the attempt to remove Leo and Harlan continued it after Charles withdrew.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bell had apparently discovered something different.<\/p>\n
Someone else had ordered the transfer from the beginning.<\/p>\n
And the answer had been sitting inside a bank vault while everyone involved blamed the wrong man.<\/p>\n
Martin Vale arrived at our house carrying a locked briefcase. Daniel nearly refused him entry. Vale held it up. \u201cYou asked what the Pike payments were for.\u201d Daniel stepped aside. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32294","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\/32294","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=32294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32329,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32294\/revisions\/32329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}