Chapter 6: The Second Person
The smile on my father's face stayed there for three seconds.
Then it disappeared.
I had seen enough courtroom defendants to know what that meant.
He wasn't confident.
He was calculating.
Trying to decide what I knew.
What I didn't know.
And what he could still control.
I slipped my phone into my pocket.
“Who was with you in the garage?””
Richard said nothing.
“Dad.””
Nothing.
“Who was here before the party?””
He turned away.
Margaret whispered, “Richard.””
He looked at her.
“You've done enough.””
“No,” she said.
“I haven't.””
My mother suddenly sat down on an old wooden chair.
Her hands were shaking.
I looked at her.
“Mom?””
She covered her face.
“I can't do this anymore.””
Richard snapped, “Elaine.””
She lowered her hands.
For the first time, she didn't look at him.
She looked at me.
“I should have told you.””
My heart pounded.
“Told me what?””
She took a shaky breath.
“The man in the garage.””
I waited.
“Who was he?””
She looked at Richard.
Then at Brandon.
Finally, she whispered a name.
“David Mercer.””
I frowned.
The name meant nothing.
Margaret's eyes widened.
“Oh God.””
“You know him?””
She nodded.
“Who is he?””
Margaret looked at Richard.
“He was your father's business partner.””
I stared at her.
“Was?””
“Until 2000.””
“What happened?””
“He disappeared.””
I looked at my mother.
“You said he moved away.””
She nodded.
“That's what your father told everyone.””
My father slammed his palm onto the workbench.
“Stop.””
I turned toward him.
“Did David Mercer disappear?””
“He left the company.””
“That's not what I asked.””
Richard's eyes hardened.
“He made his choices.””
Margaret whispered, “He never made it home.””
The garage went silent.
I felt a chill move down my arms.
“Are you saying my father killed him?””
“No,” Margaret said immediately.
“But you think he did.””
She hesitated.
“That night, I saw David in the garage.””
“When?””
“The night of the window.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“He came to confront Richard about the money.””
My father said, “That's not what happened.””
Margaret ignored him.
“David had discovered that Richard was moving company funds.””
“Just like you did.””
“Yes.””
“And then?””
“David threatened to go to the police.””
Richard suddenly laughed.
“You're telling ghost stories now.””
Margaret's voice became quiet.
“Then where is David?””
Richard didn't answer.
I felt my stomach twist.
“Where is he?””
“He left,” Richard said.
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
“You were his business partner.””
“He could have gone anywhere.””
“Did you report him missing?””
Richard stared at me.
“No.””
“Why not?””
“He was an adult.””
I looked at Brandon.
“Did you know about David?””
Brandon nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
My father snapped, “Brandon.””
“I knew.””
“When?””
“I found Dad's old files.””
“Where?””
“In the office.””
My heart raced.
“What did you find?””
“Payments.””
“To David?””
“No.””
Brandon looked at my father.
“To someone named Victor Lane.””
Margaret closed her eyes.
I remembered the photograph.
The unknown man beside my father.
I pulled it from the blue box.
“This man?””
Brandon took the photograph.
His face went pale.
“Yes.””
“Who is he?””
“Victor Lane.””
“What did he do?””
Brandon swallowed.
“He handled things for Dad.””
“What things?””
“I don't know.””
My father moved toward him.
“You've said enough.””
Brandon stepped backward.
“No.””
Richard's voice sharpened.
“You don't know what you're accusing me of.””
Brandon looked at him.
“Maybe not.””
Then he looked at me.
“But I know what I saw.””
I turned toward him.
“What did you see?””
His lips trembled.
“The night you were punished.””
My breath caught.
“Tell me.””
Brandon closed his eyes.
“I was supposed to tell Dad that you broke the window.””
“I know.””
“But you didn't.””
“I know.””
He opened his eyes.
“You weren't even near the window.””
My mother began crying again.
“I was in the upstairs hallway,” he continued.
“I saw David come through the back door.””
I looked at Margaret.
She nodded.
“David was bleeding.””
My father whispered, “Stop.””
Brandon continued.
“He was holding his side.””
“What happened?””
“I don't know.””
“Where did he go?””
“He went into the garage.””
My heartbeat became louder.
“And then?””
“I heard shouting.””
“What did you hear?””
“David said he was going to call the police.””
My father's face was blank.
Brandon continued.
“Then Dad said something.””
“What?””
Brandon looked directly at him.
“He said, ‘You should have taken the money and kept your mouth shut.’”
Nobody moved.
I felt as though I had stepped into a courtroom.
Except there was no judge.
No jury.
No rules.
Only people who had lied to me for most of my life.
“What happened next?”” I asked.
Brandon's voice cracked.
“I heard something hit the floor.””
“Then?””
“David screamed.””
Margaret covered her mouth.
My mother whispered, “Please stop.””
Brandon shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I looked through the garage door.””
“And?””
“I saw Dad standing over David.””
My father said, “You didn't see anything.””
Brandon's eyes filled with tears.
“I saw you.””
Richard stepped toward him.
Daniel blocked his path.
“Stay back.””
Brandon continued.
“Dad told me to go upstairs.””
“Did you see David leave?””
“No.””
“Did you see him alive again?””
“No.””
I felt sick.
I looked at my mother.
“Did you know?””
She shook her head.
“Not everything.””
“What did you know?””
“I knew something happened.””
“What?””
“I heard the shouting.””
“Then why did you let me take the blame?””
My mother broke down.
“Because your father said if I didn't, he'd take you away from me.””
I stared at her.
“He said you'd be sent to a juvenile facility.””
“I was thirteen.””
“I know.””
“You believed him?””
“I was afraid.””
“You were my mother.””
“I know.””
The words came out as a whisper.
“I know.””
I looked away.
There was no apology large enough to repair twenty-seven years.
My phone buzzed again.
Detective Harris.
I answered.
“Detective?””
“We identified the second person.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
“Victor Lane.””
I looked at the photograph in my hand.
“He was here tonight?””
“No.””
“Then why is he in the footage?””
The detective paused.
“You need to listen carefully.””
I stepped farther away from my family.
“Okay.””
“The footage shows your father entering the garage earlier today.””
“Before the party?””
“Yes.””
“And Victor?””
“He arrives about twenty minutes later.””
My stomach tightened.
“Does he leave?””
“No.””
I looked at Richard.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“Then where is he?””
The detective's voice became very quiet.
“That's the problem.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What does that mean?””
“We found Victor Lane's vehicle abandoned behind your parents' property.””
I looked toward the garage.
My father watched me.
“Detective, are you saying Victor was here today?””
“Yes.””
“Is he missing?””
“We don't know yet.””
“What did you find in the vehicle?””
A pause.
“Blood.””
My knees weakened.
Daniel caught my arm.
“Emily?””
I stared at Richard.
The detective continued.
“And there's another problem.””
“What?””
“The blood type appears to match a missing-person record.””
“Whose?””
“David Mercer's.””
I closed my eyes.
Twenty-seven years.
A secret.
A missing man.
Financial records.
A blue box.
And now blood behind my parents' house.
I whispered, “Where is Victor Lane now?””
“We're looking.””
“Detective—”
He interrupted.
“Emily, there's something else.””
“What?””
“We found a handwritten note in Victor's vehicle.””
My heart hammered.
“What does it say?””
“It has your name on it.””
I opened my eyes.
Richard was staring at me.
“What does it say?””
The detective read slowly.
“Emily Coleman knows where the body is.””
My blood turned cold.
“What body?””
The detective didn't answer immediately.
Then he said,
“We think Victor was on his way to recover it.””
I looked at the blue box.
Then at my father.
Then at the old garage floor beneath our feet.
And suddenly, I remembered something I hadn't thought about since I was thirteen.
A smell.
Gasoline.
And the sound of my father telling me not to look behind the old freezer.
I turned toward the back wall.
“Daniel.””
“What?””
“Help me move that freezer.””
My father shouted.
May you like
“No.””
And that one word told me everything.
