I couldn't speak.<\/p>\n
The voice on the phone belonged to a man who claimed to be Thomas Hale, the father Brielle had spent years believing was dead.<\/p>\n
Denise gestured for me to put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d Ruiz asked.<\/p>\n
The man laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill ordering people around, Detective?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know everyone who has been investigating Harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy contact me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel is moving again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name changed the air in the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCloser than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas said, \u201cYou already know him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise exchanged a glance with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaughn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're asking the wrong question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz stepped closer to the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat question should she ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho benefited when Daniel disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Marla.<\/p>\n
Vaughn.<\/p>\n
Northgate.<\/p>\n
The insurance policies.<\/p>\n
The suspicious deaths.<\/p>\n
The money.<\/p>\n
But one name kept rising above the others.<\/p>\n
Brielle.<\/p>\n
Her father supposedly died.<\/p>\n
Her mother died later.<\/p>\n
Brielle inherited nearly a million dollars.<\/p>\n
Then Vaughn entered her life.<\/p>\n
If Thomas had been alive, he could have been watching Brielle the entire time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you let Brielle believe you were dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
When Thomas answered, his voice had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Daniel wanted her dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brielle.<\/p>\n
Not me.<\/p>\n
Not initially.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she inherited money that was never supposed to reach her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise's eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat money?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Hale trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the orchard.<\/p>\n
The old trust.<\/p>\n
The money my mother had protected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnected to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz wrote something down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't understand what that ledger contains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt contains the names of everyone who participated in Harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBanks. Insurers. Lawyers. Doctors. Brokers. People who found victims. People who cleaned the money afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarla?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVaughn?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long silence followed.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas said, \u201cVaughn was never supposed to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer hurt more than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe married me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe planned the insurance fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't tell me he wasn't part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas's voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaughn joined because Daniel gave him a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat choice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtect Celia or lose the children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
My mind went back to the messages, the threats, the apartment, the insurance policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have gone to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Denise.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaughn tried to leave Harvest three times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn't he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Evelyn had Emmett and June under surveillance before you knew they were targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It isn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surveillance photographs suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n
They hadn't been collected because of the orchard.<\/p>\n
They had been collected because someone had been waiting for the right moment to use my children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Vaughn give me the energy drinks?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make you easier to control.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he drug me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was told to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut did he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave you sedatives?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he crossed the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The distinction didn't comfort me.<\/p>\n
I remembered waking up exhausted behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
I remembered the terror.<\/p>\n
I remembered trusting him.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaughn believed he could frighten you into changing your route without actually hurting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about the brakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about the insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew about the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he still let it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas was silent.<\/p>\n
That silence was the answer.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
There were truths that explained a person's actions without excusing them.<\/p>\n
Vaughn may have been trapped.<\/p>\n
He may have been afraid.<\/p>\n
He may have loved me in some broken, cowardly way.<\/p>\n
But he had still participated.<\/p>\n
I couldn't erase that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Daniel?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Thomas finally answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the man who replaced me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cReplaced you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I tried to leave Harvest, Daniel arranged my death. He found a body that could be identified as mine. He forged the records. Then he disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo become someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denise looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas gave a name.<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing at first.<\/p>\n
Then Ruiz went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas repeated it.<\/p>\n
Ruiz's face drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Thomas did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the person who has been advising the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Ruiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to make a call.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Detective. You need to stop trusting everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I could hear only the refrigerator humming.<\/p>\n
Then Ruiz's phone rang.<\/p>\n
He looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
He declined it.<\/p>\n
It rang again.<\/p>\n
This time he answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRuiz.\u201d<\/p>\n
A voice spoke.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to freeze.<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cThat's not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hung up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Denise asked.<\/p>\n
Ruiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe call came from Thomas Hale's old number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Thomas just called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the number is registered to a man named Daniel Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the room tilt.<\/p>\n
Two names.<\/p>\n
One phone.<\/p>\n
One man who was supposed to be dead.<\/p>\n
One man who was supposed to have vanished.<\/p>\n
Then my own phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
A photograph appeared.<\/p>\n
It showed Vaughn sitting in a dark room.<\/p>\n
His face was bruised.<\/p>\n
His hands were tied.<\/p>\n
Behind him stood a gray-haired man.<\/p>\n
I knew the face.<\/p>\n
Thomas Hale.<\/p>\n
A second message appeared.<\/p>\n
Bring the ledger.<\/p>\n
Come alone.<\/p>\n
A third message followed.<\/p>\n
Or Vaughn dies.<\/p>\n
I looked at Denise.<\/p>\n
She shook her head immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has Vaughn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The photograph arrived again, this time closer.<\/p>\n
Vaughn was looking directly at the camera.<\/p>\n
His lips moved.<\/p>\n
No sound.<\/p>\n
But I could read them.<\/p>\n
Don't come.<\/p>\n
My heart broke.<\/p>\n
Not because I trusted him.<\/p>\n
Because I knew exactly what it meant.<\/p>\n
He was afraid.<\/p>\n
Thomas's voice came back to me.<\/p>\n
Vaughn had tried to leave three times.<\/p>\n
Maybe this was the fourth.<\/p>\n
I turned toward Ruiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we find it before they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
We returned to my mother's diary.<\/p>\n
I read every page again.<\/p>\n
The final entry contained a reference I had missed.<\/p>\n
Not a location.<\/p>\n
A date.<\/p>\n
August 18.<\/p>\n
The same date written on Evelyn's calendar as FINAL TRY.<\/p>\n
But beneath it was another line.<\/p>\n
If Daniel comes for Celia, give her the blue envelope.<\/p>\n
I searched the house.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then June came downstairs holding a small blue envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found this in Grandma's box.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took it from her.<\/p>\n
My hands began shaking before I even opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
My mother's handwriting.<\/p>\n
Celia,<\/p>\n
If you've reached this point, then the people I feared have finally found you.<\/p>\n
The ledger is not evidence.<\/p>\n
It is a map.<\/p>\n
Do not give it to Thomas.<\/p>\n
Do not give it to Daniel.<\/p>\n
And do not give it to Vaughn.<\/p>\n
Trust the person who has never asked you for anything.<\/p>\n
At the bottom was one final name.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Weaver.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Weaver was standing there.<\/p>\n
She had heard everything.<\/p>\n
For eleven years, she had been my neighbor.<\/p>\n
She had watched my children.<\/p>\n
She had brought soup when I was sick.<\/p>\n
She had sat beside me when Vaughn was away.<\/p>\n
She had always seemed ordinary.<\/p>\n
Now she slowly reached into her coat.<\/p>\n
I stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Ruiz raised his weapon.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Weaver shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not here to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled out an old photograph.<\/p>\n
The same photograph of my mother holding me.<\/p>\n
But on the back, in handwriting I recognized immediately, were three words.<\/p>\n
WEAVER KNOWS EVERYTHING.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Weaver looked at me with tears in her eyes.<\/p>\n
Then she said the sentence that made me understand why my mother had trusted her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised your mother I'd keep you alive until the truth was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn't speak. The voice on the phone belonged to a man who claimed to be Thomas Hale, the father Brielle had spent years believing was dead. Denise gestured for … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8063","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\/8063","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=8063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8083,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8063\/revisions\/8083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}