Chapter 3: The Second Coffin
I didn't sleep that night.
Nia was transferred to a private room under police protection. Detective Collins arranged for an officer to remain outside her door.
I sat beside her bed, staring at the photograph Evelyn had sent.
The woman in the picture was unquestionably Nia.
Same white dress.
Same necklace.
Same wedding ring.
But the photograph had been taken three days before the funeral.
Three days before Daniel announced her death.
I turned it over again.
*YOU SAVED THE WRONG WOMAN.*
What did that mean?
At 2:17 a.m., my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Peter: Come alone. East entrance of St. Mary's Cemetery. 3:00 a.m.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
*Peter: Bring the funeral program. Do not tell Detective Collins.*
I looked at Nia.
She was sleeping, although every few minutes her fingers twitched beneath the blanket.
I didn't want to leave her.
But Peter had mentioned another coffin.
And if someone else had been buried, there might be another victim.
I wrote a note for the officer outside.
Then I called Detective Collins.
She answered after two rings.
“Collins.””
“It's Marcus Carter.””
“What happened?””
“I received a message from the funeral home employee. Peter. He wants to meet me at St. Mary's Cemetery.””
There was a pause.
“Did he say why?””
“He mentioned another coffin.””
“Don't go alone.””
“He specifically told me not to tell you.””
“Which is exactly why you should tell me.””
I glanced at the hospital door.
“Can you get there?””
“Give me fifteen minutes. And don't approach anyone until we arrive.””
I agreed.
At 2:58 a.m., I was standing near the cemetery's east entrance.
The night air was cold.
A thin mist hung between the trees, and the distant streetlights cast long shadows across the gravestones.
I held the funeral program in one hand.
Nia Carter.
Beloved wife, daughter, and friend.
A celebration of life.
I hated every word.
At exactly three, a figure appeared near the maintenance building.
He was thin, perhaps in his late forties, wearing a gray jacket and a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead.
“Mr. Carter?””
“Peter?””
He nodded.
“Did you bring it?””
I showed him the funeral program.
He looked around nervously.
“Where are the police?””
“Not here.””
Peter's expression tightened.
“You shouldn't have come alone.””
“I didn't.””
He glanced toward the road.
I lowered my voice.
“Tell me about the second coffin.””
Peter swallowed.
“Three days ago, Mr. Price paid us to prepare a special burial.””
“For whom?””
“I don't know.””
“Then why did you contact me?””
“Because I saw the woman.””
“What woman?””
Peter looked directly at me.
“The one who was supposed to be in your wife's coffin.””
A car passed beyond the cemetery gates.
Peter stepped closer.
“Listen carefully. The funeral home received two separate instructions. One came from Daniel Price. The other came from a woman named Evelyn Carter.””
“Why would my mother-in-law arrange a funeral?””
“Because she paid for it.””
My throat tightened.
“Whose funeral?””
Peter reached into his jacket and removed a folded document.
He handed it to me.
It was a burial authorization.
The name at the top was partially obscured by a coffee stain.
But I could still read it.
*NIA CARTER.*
Below it was another name.
*UNKNOWN FEMALE.*
I looked up.
“What is this?””
Peter rubbed his forehead.
“Two coffins were ordered. One was supposed to contain your wife. The other was supposed to contain a woman nobody would identify.””
“Where is the second coffin?””
Peter pointed toward the far end of the cemetery.
“Section D.””
I followed his gaze.
“Who is inside?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know. I wasn't allowed to open it.””
“Then how do you know someone is there?””
“Because I heard knocking.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“The night before the funeral. I was checking the storage area. I heard three knocks from inside the second coffin.””
I stared at him.
“You're telling me someone was alive in there?””
“I don't know. I swear I don't.””
“Why didn't you open it?””
Peter's face twisted.
“Because Daniel was standing behind me.””
A branch cracked somewhere in the darkness.
Peter immediately turned.
“Did you hear that?””
Before I could answer, headlights swept across the cemetery.
A black SUV entered through the east gate.
Peter grabbed my sleeve.
“That's him.””
“Daniel?””
Peter nodded.
“Go!””
He shoved the document into my hand and ran toward the maintenance building.
I started toward the road, but the SUV accelerated.
A door opened.
Two men stepped out.
One was Daniel.
The other was a broad-shouldered man I'd never seen before.
Daniel looked at me.
“Marcus.””
I stopped.
“What are you doing here?””
He adjusted his coat.
“That's my question.””
“Peter contacted me.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“Where is he?””
“Why? Afraid he'll tell me something?””
Daniel walked closer.
“You have no idea how dangerous this is.””
I held up the burial authorization.
“Then explain this.””
He glanced at the paper.
For the first time, his face showed genuine alarm.
“Where did you get that?””
“From Peter.””
Daniel turned toward the maintenance building.
“Find him.””
The larger man immediately ran in that direction.
I stepped back.
“Stay away from me.””
Daniel sighed.
“Marcus, listen. I can explain everything.””
“Then start with the two coffins.””
He looked at me.
“You should have stayed at the hospital.””
“Why?””
“Because your wife is not the woman you think she is.””
I almost laughed.
“You put her in a coffin.””
“I saved your life.””
The words stopped me.
“What?””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“You think Nia was innocent? You think she was just some poor woman caught in the middle?””
“She told me everything.””
Daniel shook his head.
“She told you what she wanted you to hear.””
“What does that mean?””
He stepped closer.
“Ask her about the night your father died.””
My body went rigid.
My father had died seven years earlier.
A car accident on a rainy highway.
The police had ruled it an accident.
There had been no witnesses.
No suspicious circumstances.
At least, that's what I had always believed.
“What does my father have to do with this?””
Daniel watched my reaction carefully.
“Your father didn't die in an accident, Marcus.””
I grabbed his jacket.
“Don't you dare.””
“Let go.””
“Tell me what you know!””
The larger man returned from the maintenance building.
“Peter's gone.””
Daniel looked furious.
Then he turned back to me.
“Go home. Open the locked drawer in your father's old desk. You'll find something your wife has been hiding from you.””
I released him.
“Why should I believe you?””
“Because your father left you a message.””
Daniel leaned close.
“And because Nia was the last person who saw him alive.””
A police siren sounded in the distance.
Daniel stepped backward.
Detective Collins' car appeared at the entrance.
“Marcus!”” she shouted.
Daniel quickly returned to his SUV.
Before climbing inside, he looked at me one last time.
“Ask your wife who was driving that night.””
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Detective Collins rushed toward me.
“Are you hurt?””
“No.””
“Where's Peter?””
“I don't know. Daniel's man chased him.””
She immediately radioed for backup.
I handed her the burial authorization.
She examined it under the light.
“Where did you get this?””
“Peter.””
Her expression became serious.
“This document could be important.””
“Can you find out who the second person was?””
“We'll try.””
I looked toward the cemetery.
“Detective, I need to ask you something.””
“What?””
“Do you know anything about my father's accident seven years ago?””
She frowned.
“Why?””
“Daniel just told me it wasn't an accident.””
Detective Collins studied my face.
Then she said something I wasn't prepared to hear.
“Mr. Carter, your father's case was reopened six months ago.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because the person who requested the review specifically asked that your family not be notified.””
“Who requested it?””
She opened her folder and showed me a copy of the official request.
The signature was unmistakable.
Nia Carter.
My wife.
I felt the cold night air disappear from my lungs.
“She reopened my father's case?””
Detective Collins nodded.
“And there's something else.””
She turned the page.
Attached to the request was a photograph taken from a traffic camera.
It showed my father's car on the night he died.
But the vehicle behind him wasn't another ordinary car.
It was a black SUV.
The same model Daniel had driven to the cemetery.
I stared at the photograph.
Then I noticed the license plate.
I knew that number.
I'd seen it hundreds of times.
It belonged to my wife's company vehicle.
I stepped backward.
“No.””
Detective Collins looked at me.
“Do you recognize the car?””
I couldn't answer.
Because beneath the photograph was a handwritten statement from Nia.
*I know who killed Thomas Carter.*
May you like
And below that sentence, my wife had written a name.
*EVELYN CARTER.*
