Chapter 34 - The Train That Never Left
The abandoned station stood beside an unused freight line twenty miles north of the city.
Rachel, Tessa and Miriam arrived with two investigators shortly before six. No trains had used the platform in nine years, but fresh tire marks crossed the gravel beside the ticket office.
The ticket from Rachel’s father contained a handwritten seat number.
Carriage 4. Seat 17.
There was no carriage, but locker 417 remained inside the station.
Rachel used the Northline keycard from the envelope. The locker opened.
Inside were eleven letters tied with a blue ribbon.
Every letter had been written by Evelyn Bennett after the date on her death certificate.
Rachel opened the most recent one.
My dearest Rachel,
I have watched you from places where you could not see me. Every year I told myself that silence was keeping you safe. Every year that lie became easier to repeat.
Rachel lowered the page.
Miriam stood several feet away.
“You knew she was alive.”
“I knew she survived the hospital.”
“Where is she now?”
“I don’t know.”
Rachel continued reading.
The letter said Evelyn had used several names while moving between protected locations. Her final identity was Rose Bennett.
She had remained hidden because Victor controlled officials inside the police department, the courts and Northline. Revealing herself would have activated the Vale trust and exposed both girls.
Tessa searched the locker.
Beneath the letters was a mobile phone connected to an external battery.
The screen illuminated as soon as Rachel touched it.
A photograph had arrived one minute earlier.
Evelyn sat in an unfamiliar room holding that morning’s newspaper. She was older and thinner, but Rachel recognized her instantly.
A message appeared beneath the picture.
BRING MIRIAM TO THE RESERVOIR AT NOON.
COME WITHOUT POLICE.
OR ROSE BENNETT DIES A SECOND TIME.
Rachel enlarged the photograph.
May you like
Behind her mother was a window reflecting the person holding the camera.
It was Olivia.
