Chapter 5: The Passenger
"Julian.""
The name left my mouth like a question.
Colleen's fingers tightened around my wrist.
"Don't trust him," she whispered.
I stared at her.
"But he told me to come here.""
Her face crumpled.
"That's why.""
Before I could ask what she meant, headlights swept across the bedroom walls again.
The vehicle outside had stopped.
Colleen pushed herself upright with one hand against the bed.
"You have to hide.""
"Who is it?""
"I don't know.""
"You just said Julian.""
"I said don't trust Julian. I didn't say he's the one outside.""
My heart pounded.
"Then who is?""
She shook her head.
"Someone who's been waiting for you to find me.""
A car door slammed downstairs.
We both froze.
Another slammed.
Two people.
Maybe three.
I looked at the bedroom doorway.
"Call the police.""
Colleen grabbed my phone.
"No.""
"Why not?""
"They'll kill me before the police get here.""
I stared at her.
"Who?""
She swallowed.
"The people Adrian found.""
Heavy footsteps sounded below us.
One.
Two.
Three.
Someone was walking through the house.
I pulled Colleen toward the closet.
"Can you stand?""
"I can.""
"Then move.""
We squeezed into the narrow space between hanging coats and the back wall.
I pulled the door nearly closed.
Through the thin gap, I could see the bedroom.
A shadow crossed the hallway.
Then a man's voice called from downstairs.
"Mrs. Parker?""
Colleen trembled beside me.
The voice came again.
"We know you're here.""
I looked at her.
She pressed one hand over her mouth.
The footsteps started climbing the stairs.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Not like someone searching.
Like someone who already knew where we were.
I reached for my phone.
The screen showed one bar of service.
I started dialing 911.
Colleen caught my hand.
She shook her head violently.
Then pointed at the floor.
I followed her finger.
A tiny red light was blinking beneath the bed.
A camera.
My stomach dropped.
Someone had installed it.
Someone had been watching her.
Watching this room.
Watching us.
I canceled the call.
The footsteps reached the top of the stairs.
They stopped.
Silence.
Then the bedroom door creaked.
A man entered.
I couldn't see his face from the closet.
He wore black trousers and a gray jacket.
He stood beside the overturned lamp.
Then he spoke.
"Colleen, I don't want to hurt you.""
She squeezed my hand so hard my nails dug into her skin.
The man walked farther inside.
"You should have taken the money and kept quiet.""
Colleen's breathing became ragged.
He stopped.
"Where is it?""
No answer.
"The evidence, Colleen.""
Still nothing.
He kicked the broken glass across the rug.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about.""
I felt Colleen's whole body tense.
The man turned toward the closet.
My lungs stopped.
"I know you're not alone.""
His footsteps moved closer.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then he stopped.
Right outside the closet.
Colleen's eyes widened.
The closet door began to open.
A phone rang downstairs.
The man turned instantly.
His hand dropped away from the closet handle.
"Who the hell—"
A second voice shouted from below.
"He's here!""
The man ran out.
I looked at Colleen.
"Now.""
We burst from the closet.
She grabbed my hand, and we ran for the bathroom at the opposite end of the hall.
Behind us, footsteps thundered across the floor.
Someone yelled.
"Get them!""
We slammed the bathroom door.
Colleen locked it.
I pushed a small cabinet against the handle.
"Window," I whispered.
She shook her head.
"Too high.""
"Then what do we do?""
She looked at me.
For the first time since I had known her, Colleen looked completely broken.
Then she reached beneath the sink.
Her hand came back holding a small key.
"There is a room beneath the house.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"A cellar.""
"You have a cellar?""
"It's not on the plans.""
She moved to the linen cabinet beside the bathtub and pulled out two shelves.
A narrow panel appeared behind them.
"You're kidding.""
"I wish I were.""
She inserted the key.
A hidden latch clicked.
The wall opened inward.
Cold air rushed over us.
I stared into the darkness.
"Go.""
"What about you?""
"I'll follow.""
A crash sounded against the bathroom door.
The cabinet shook.
Someone was trying to force it open.
We climbed through.
Colleen pulled the panel shut behind us.
We descended a narrow staircase.
At the bottom was a concrete room filled with old boxes, filing cabinets, and enough dust to make me cough.
Colleen reached for a light.
Nothing happened.
"Power's been cut.""
"Wonderful.""
She moved through the darkness by memory.
I heard metal scrape.
A moment later, a flashlight clicked on.
Its beam revealed a room that looked less like a cellar and more like a private archive.
Folders covered every wall.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
Insurance documents.
Police reports.
Adrian's name was everywhere.
I stared.
"What is all this?""
Colleen didn't answer.
She crossed to a filing cabinet.
"Come here.""
She opened the second drawer.
Inside were dozens of envelopes.
Some were old.
Some looked recent.
She pulled out a thick brown folder.
"This is what Adrian found.""
I took it.
The first page was a bank statement.
There was an account under Adrian's name.
But the address wasn't ours.
It belonged to a company I'd never heard of.
I flipped the page.
Another account.
Then another.
"These are all in his name.""
"Yes.""
"He didn't open them.""
"I know.""
My hands shook.
"How much?""
Colleen closed her eyes.
"Almost two million dollars.""
I looked up.
"What?""
"Adrian discovered someone was moving money through accounts tied to his identity.""
"Why?""
"I don't know.""
"You do know something.""
She stared at me.
"I know enough to be afraid.""
I flipped through the documents.
Then I found a photograph.
Adrian.
Standing outside a warehouse.
The same stranger from the photograph on my laptop was beside him.
I held it up.
"This man.""
Colleen nodded.
"His name is Daniel Reeves.""
The name meant nothing to me.
"Who is he?""
"He was Adrian's business partner.""
I frowned.
"Adrian never had a business partner.""
"He did.""
"Why didn't I know?""
"Because the business wasn't supposed to exist.""
I felt sick.
"What business?""
"Importing electronics.""
"That sounds harmless.""
"It wasn't.""
She pointed to a document.
"Those shipments were being used to move stolen money.""
I looked back at the photograph.
"Adrian was involved?""
"No.""
"Then why was he there?""
"He discovered what Daniel was doing and tried to expose him.""
"And that got him killed.""
Colleen nodded.
I stared at her.
"Why did you take the money?""
She looked down.
"I didn't.""
"The envelope. Thirty thousand dollars.""
"I took it because I had no choice.""
"That's not an answer.""
"It was payment for silence.""
My throat tightened.
"From Daniel?""
"No.""
"Then who?""
She hesitated.
"The night before Adrian died, I was approached by someone else.""
"Who?""
"Someone who knew about the business.""
"Who?""
Colleen's face went pale.
Then she said,
"Your fiancé's best friend.""
I felt as if someone had punched me.
"Adrian's best friend?""
"Yes.""
"Who?""
She opened her mouth.
A violent bang shook the hidden door above us.
Colleen jumped.
"They found the panel.""
I stepped backward.
"Who was his best friend?""
She grabbed the folder.
"We have to go.""
"Tell me.""
"They're coming.""
"Tell me!""
She looked at me.
"Marcus.""
I knew the name.
Everyone who knew Adrian knew Marcus Bell.
His best friend since college.
The man who had stood beside Adrian when he proposed to me.
The man who gave the toast at our engagement dinner.
The man who had cried harder than anyone at Adrian's funeral.
I remembered him hugging me afterward.
I remembered what he'd whispered.
"I'll make sure whoever did this pays.""
I suddenly felt cold.
"Marcus was in on it?""
"No.""
"Then why did he pay you?""
"He didn't.""
"Who did?""
Colleen looked at the folder.
Before she could answer, the hidden door above us burst open.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs.
A flashlight beam sliced across the room.
Colleen shoved the folder into my hands.
"Take this.""
"What about you?""
"You need to get out.""
A man appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Gray jacket.
The same man from upstairs.
He lifted the flashlight.
"Mrs. Parker.""
Then he saw me.
His expression changed.
He smiled.
"Meredith.""
I backed away.
"How do you know my name?""
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the folder in my hands.
"Put it down.""
Colleen stepped in front of me.
"No.""
The man sighed.
"I really hoped you wouldn't make this difficult.""
Another figure appeared behind him.
A woman.
I couldn't see her face.
Then she stepped into the light.
And my blood turned to ice.
It was Marcus Bell.
Adrian's best friend.
The man who had stood beside my fiancé at our engagement dinner.
The man who had held me at the funeral.
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he said quietly,
"Meredith, I'm sorry.""
I couldn't speak.
Marcus looked at Colleen.
"You weren't supposed to tell her.""
Colleen whispered, "She deserved the truth.""
Marcus's expression hardened.
"No.""
He took one step toward me.
"She deserved to believe Adrian was dead.""
May you like
Then he looked directly at the folder in my hands.
"Because the moment she learns what happened that night, she becomes the next problem we have to solve.""
