Chapter 5: The Station
Nobody spoke as we left the church.
The memorial had dissolved into chaos behind us.
People clustered in the parking lot, talking in low voices.
Some looked at me.
Some looked away.
For twelve years, Cedar Creek had watched me through my mother's eyes.
Now they were watching her.
Chloe followed me outside.
"Rachel.""
I stopped beside my car.
She came closer.
"I don't know what to believe.""
I looked at her.
"Neither do I.""
"Did Dad really want you to leave?""
"Yes.""
"Did Mom really lie about everything?""
I looked toward the church.
"I don't know if everything.""
Chloe nodded slowly.
"Then we find out.""
Arthur approached with Daniel.
"We'll take my truck.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"The station is outside town.""
"I can drive.""
Arthur shook his head.
"Your mother knows we're going there.""
I looked back.
Helen stood in the church doorway.
She wasn't watching Arthur.
She was watching me.
Then she turned and disappeared inside.
Chloe followed my gaze.
"She's scared.""
"Yes.""
"Of what?""
I tightened my grip on Dad's notebook.
"Thomas Reed.""
We drove north.
Cedar Creek disappeared behind us.
The roads narrowed.
Trees swallowed the houses.
Arthur drove in silence for several minutes.
Daniel sat in the passenger seat.
I held the notebook in my lap.
Finally, I asked, "What happened to Thomas?""
Arthur kept his eyes on the road.
"Helen says he's dead.""
"Do you believe her?""
"No.""
"Why?""
"Because I checked.""
I looked up.
"When?""
"After Robert died.""
My heart tightened.
"You knew?""
"I suspected.""
"What did you find?""
Arthur sighed.
"No death certificate.""
Daniel turned around.
"His name disappears from public records eight years ago.""
I stared at him.
"Disappears?""
"His business closed. His house was sold. His phone number was disconnected.""
"Then where did he go?""
"We don't know.""
The trees thickened.
Rain began tapping against the windshield.
I looked down at the photograph.
Thomas Reed.
Dad.
The diner.
*He knows everything.*
"What did he know?""
Arthur's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Your father believed Thomas had proof.""
"Proof of what?""
Arthur looked at me in the rearview mirror.
"That someone had been manipulating your family for years.""
I frowned.
"Manipulating us?""
"Your father started investigating financial irregularities.""
"Mom's transfers?""
"Among other things.""
Daniel added, "He also discovered correspondence between your mother and someone named Victor Hale.""
I looked at him.
"Who is Victor Hale?""
"Your mother's attorney.""
I remembered the name.
Victor Hale had handled Dad's estate.
He had stood beside Mom at the funeral.
He had told reporters that Colonel Lawson had died peacefully surrounded by family.
Family.
I almost laughed.
"Why would Mom need an attorney to hide money?""
"We don't know," Arthur said.
"Then why didn't Dad confront her?""
"He did.""
"When?""
"Two months before you left.""
I stared at him.
"What happened?""
Arthur's expression darkened.
"Robert told me Helen threatened to expose something.""
"What?""
"He didn't say.""
"Why?""
"Because he wanted to investigate first.""
I leaned back.
The rain grew heavier.
Then the truck turned onto an old gravel road.
A rusted sign appeared between the trees.
*CUMBERLAND STATION — CLOSED*
My stomach tightened.
We stopped.
The station sat ahead.
Abandoned.
Windows broken.
Roof sagging.
Vines crawling across the brick.
Daniel reached for the flashlight.
Arthur grabbed his cane.
I stepped out.
Cold rain hit my face.
For a moment, I stood still.
Dad had been here.
Five days before he died.
He had come here alone.
Or maybe not alone.
We entered through a broken side door.
The smell hit me first.
Wet wood.
Mold.
Dust.
Daniel swept the flashlight across the room.
Old benches.
A rusted ticket counter.
A clock frozen at 4:17.
Arthur walked toward the far wall.
"Robert said there was a storage room.""
I followed.
We found it behind a collapsed wooden partition.
The lock had already been broken.
Inside were dozens of dusty boxes.
Daniel opened the first.
Old railway records.
The second.
Newspapers.
The third.
Photographs.
I crouched.
There were pictures of my family.
Dad.
Mom.
Me.
Chloe.
Some were decades old.
Some were recent.
I picked one up.
It showed Dad standing outside our house.
Beside him was Thomas Reed.
On the back:
*She doesn't know yet.*
My hands trembled.
"What doesn't she know?""
Arthur looked at the photograph.
"I don't know.""
Daniel opened another box.
"General.""
I turned.
He was holding a small cassette recorder.
Dad had been old-fashioned.
He hated smartphones.
He recorded important conversations on a little digital recorder instead.
Daniel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Dad's voice.
"Thomas, I need you to listen carefully.""
My heart slammed against my ribs.
A second voice answered.
"You said she didn't know.""
"I know.""
"Then why are you bringing her into it?""
"Because I'm running out of time.""
The recording crackled.
Then Dad said something that made my knees weak.
"Rachel has the right to know who her father really was.""
I looked at Arthur.
He stared at the recorder.
The recording continued.
Thomas asked, "What about Helen?""
Dad's voice lowered.
"She knows what she did.""
Static.
Then Thomas said:
"Robert, if she realizes I've kept copies—"
The recording abruptly stopped.
Daniel looked at the machine.
"The battery died.""
I exhaled shakily.
"What copies?""
Arthur searched the box.
"Maybe these.""
He found a folder.
Inside were bank statements.
Hospital records.
Military documents.
And one handwritten page.
Dad had written:
*Rachel's first deployment was not the reason Helen cut contact.*
I stared.
"What does that mean?""
Daniel looked at another document.
"Rachel, your mother received a letter from the Navy before your first deployment.""
"What letter?""
"Your acceptance notice?""
"No.""
He shook his head.
"This.""
He handed it to me.
It was an official document.
My name.
My service number.
A notation at the bottom.
*Emergency family contact changed.*
I frowned.
"I never changed that.""
Daniel pointed to the signature.
Someone had signed my name.
My stomach turned.
"That's forged.""
Arthur nodded.
"Yes.""
"Who changed it?""
Nobody answered.
Then we heard a sound outside.
A car door slamming.
Arthur turned off the flashlight.
We froze.
Another sound.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking toward the station.
Daniel whispered, "We're not alone.""
My heart pounded.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Then a man's voice called through the darkness.
"Rachel Lawson?""
I stopped breathing.
Arthur slowly stood.
"Who are you?""
The voice answered.
"My name is Thomas Reed.""
I looked at Daniel.
Then Arthur.
The man outside spoke again.
"And if you're holding Robert's notebook, you need to listen to me.""
He paused.
"Because Helen Lawson is on her way here.""
I looked toward the door.
"Why?""
Thomas's answer came quietly.
May you like
"Because she knows what happened the night your father changed his will.""
The door handle began to turn.
