Chapter 12 - The Grave Without a Body)
Henry Carter’s coffin had been closed.
Daniel remembered that.
His father had died after midnight at a private clinic.
Daniel was in London.
A storm delayed his flight.
By the time he returned, Jonathan Vale told him Henry’s body had deteriorated due to an unexpected medical complication.
The funeral director recommended a closed casket.
Daniel had accepted it.
He had been exhausted.
Grieving.
Angry at himself.
Now every detail looked different.
Hale was taken into federal custody.
He refused to speak.
Evelyn was arrested as well.
Daniel did not interfere.
She had saved Noah at St. Gabriel.
That did not erase what she had done in the foyer.
Noah returned to Daniel’s arms.
That was the only fact that mattered immediately.
He slept against Daniel’s chest during the ride back.
At the safe house, Daniel refused to put him down.
Anna had been found inside another room of the hospital, drugged but alive.
When she woke, the first thing she asked was:
“Is Noah safe?”
Daniel answered yes.
Then she cried.
Evelyn was held in a federal medical unit.
Her attorney requested Daniel visit.
He refused.
Then Evelyn sent a message.
I know where Henry’s coffin came from.
Daniel went.
She sat behind reinforced glass wearing hospital clothing.
No makeup.
Bruise across one cheek.
Without the burgundy dress, jewelry, and arrogance, she looked smaller.
Daniel remained standing.
“You have five minutes.”
“I deserve that.”
“No. You deserve less.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know.”
“Don’t perform remorse for me.”
“I’m not.”
“You tied a rope around a two-year-old.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“You drugged him?”
“No.”
“Hale did.”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“Not at first.”
“When did you know?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“And you stayed.”
“He had Thomas.”
“Anna’s brother.”
“Yes.”
“Why did that matter to you?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Thomas and I grew up together at Bellhaven.”
Daniel had not expected that.
“He was a subject?”
“Yes.”
“Then became a researcher?”
“Hale found him when he was twenty.”
Daniel leaned toward the glass.
“Why did you care enough about Thomas to hurt Noah?”
Her face twisted.
“Because Hale told me he would kill him.”
Daniel’s voice became hard.
“So you chose my son.”
“No.”
“I watched you.”
“I lost control.”
“That is not a defense.”
“I know.”
She started crying.
“I spent my whole life believing I was stronger than what they did to me.”
Daniel said nothing.
“When Hale found me again, I thought I could control him. I agreed to watch you. Then I fell in love with you.”
Daniel’s expression did not change.
“I don’t care.”
“I know.”
“We are not discussing us.”
“No.”
“We are discussing Henry.”
Evelyn nodded.
“The night your father supposedly died, Hale called me.”
“When?”
“1:14 a.m.”
“What did he say?”
“That Henry had been moved.”
“Moved where?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Was he alive?”
“I heard him.”
Daniel stopped.
“What?”
“In the background.”
“What did you hear?”
“Your father.”
“Saying what?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Daniel must never see the body.”
Daniel gripped the edge of the counter.
“Who was he talking to?”
“I don’t know.”
“He could have been delirious.”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“He said something else.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘Tell Peter the second archive is active.’”
Uncle Peter.
The man who disappeared twenty years ago.
Daniel stared at her.
“Where did the coffin come from?”
“A cremation transfer service.”
“My father wasn’t cremated.”
“I know.”
“Name.”
Evelyn gave it.
Daniel immediately sent it to Claire.
Within an hour, federal investigators found the company had closed eight months ago.
Owner deceased.
Records incomplete.
But one invoice survived.
Henry Carter.
Transfer source: St. Gabriel Medical Annex.
The same abandoned complex where Hale had held Noah.
Daniel felt cold.
“What was in the coffin?” he asked Claire.
“We can exhume it.”
“When?”
“Court authorization is being prepared.”
“Not fast enough.”
She gave him a look.
“We do this legally.”
The order came the next morning.
Daniel stood beneath grey rain as workers lifted the coffin.
He hated every second.
If his father was inside, Daniel was disturbing the dead because a criminal had planted doubt.
If Henry was not inside, then the funeral had been a lie.
The coffin opened beneath a temporary forensic tent.
Inside was a body.
Male.
Approximately Henry’s age.
Daniel’s breath left him.
Then the forensic specialist examined dental records.
Not Henry Carter.
Daniel sat down.
Claire crouched beside him.
“Daniel.”
“My father might be alive.”
“Yes.”
“For eleven months.”
“Possibly.”
“Why wouldn’t he contact me?”
Claire hesitated.
“Maybe he couldn’t.”
Daniel looked toward the coffin.
“Or maybe he chose not to.”
That possibility hurt more.
The unidentified body was taken for testing.
Meanwhile, the gold key was examined again.
A technician discovered the hollow center.
Inside was a rolled strip of microfilm.
Daniel almost laughed.
His father had hidden information inside the object everyone believed was supposed to open something.
The microfilm contained coordinates.
And one sentence.
THE GRAVE IS NOT MINE.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Henry had planned for this.
The coordinates led to Cedar Hollow.
The property where Samuel Grant supposedly lived.
Daniel drove there with Claire.
They found the front door unlocked.
Food in the refrigerator.
Fresh coffee grounds.
Someone had been living there recently.
No Samuel.
On the desk was a handwritten ledger.
Payments.
Dates.
Locations.
One entry appeared repeatedly:
P.C.
Daniel knew one person with those initials.
Peter Carter.
His uncle.
At the bottom of the last page:
Henry stable.
Memory inconsistent.
Move before August 14.
Daniel looked at Claire.
Today was August 11.
His father was alive.
And whoever had him intended to move him in three days.
Then the telephone rang.
An old landline.
Daniel answered.
No voice.
Only breathing.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then:
“Danny?”
Daniel nearly dropped the receiver.
No one had called him Danny since childhood.
“Dad?”
A weak voice.
May you like
“Don’t trust Peter.”
The line went dead.
