Chapter 5 - THE BLUE ROOM
Daniel reached the lake house shortly before noon the next day.
He did not wait until 2:14 a.m.
The property stood at the end of a narrow road surrounded by wet pine trees. The Mercer family had once spent summers there, but years of neglect had darkened the wood and cracked several windows.
The front door was secured by a rusted chain.
Daniel cut it.
Inside, dust covered the floor. Furniture sat beneath white sheets. The air smelled of damp wood and old smoke.
He remembered running through those rooms as a child.
He also remembered being told never to enter the room at the end of the upper hallway.
The blue room.
The wallpaper had once been bright blue, but time had faded it to gray. The door was locked.
Daniel forced it open.
A desk stood beneath the window. Empty picture frames covered one wall. In the corner, a section of floorboards appeared newer than the rest.
He removed them one by one.
Beneath the floor was a metal box.
Inside, he found financial ledgers, cassette tapes, several envelopes, and a small brass key.
The ledgers recorded payments made by Mercer Development, the company founded by Daniel’s grandfather. Large sums had been transferred to companies controlled by Marcus Vale.
The final entry was dated three days before Jonathan’s death.
Beside it, Jonathan had written:
Proof copied. M.V. knows. Evelyn saw him.
Daniel opened one envelope.
It contained photographs taken inside the blue room.
Jonathan stood near the desk arguing with Marcus. Evelyn was visible beside the window.
In the next photograph, Marcus held a metal case.
In the third, Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Daniel stared at her face.
The photograph was nearly twenty-eight years old.
Vanessa would have been a teenager.
He turned it over.
Her name was written on the back.
Vanessa Vale.
Daniel felt the room shift beneath him.
His wife had told him her parents were dead. She had said she grew up in foster homes before earning a scholarship and building a life on her own.
She had never mentioned Marcus.
Daniel checked the remaining photographs.
One showed Vanessa crying while Marcus shouted at her.
Another showed Jonathan kneeling beside her, as though trying to protect her.
The final image showed Evelyn holding the metal case while Marcus reached toward her.
There was no photograph of the accident.
Daniel found an old cassette player in the desk. After cleaning the battery contacts, he inserted the first tape.
Jonathan’s voice filled the blue room.
“This is Jonathan Mercer. The date is October 17. Marcus Vale has used my father’s company to move stolen funds through six properties. He threatened Evelyn and our son. Vanessa Vale witnessed the transfers.”
A younger female voice interrupted.
“He knows I spoke to you.”
It was Vanessa.
Jonathan answered, “You can stay here tonight. I won’t let him take you.”
“He always takes back what belongs to him.”
“You do not belong to him.”
The tape ended.
Daniel inserted another.
Rain hissed in the background.
Marcus’s voice said, “Give me the case.”
Jonathan answered, “The police already have copies.”
“You are lying.”
“I planned for this.”
A loud crash followed.
Evelyn shouted Jonathan’s name.
Then Vanessa screamed.
The recording stopped.
Daniel sat motionless.
His wife had been there the night his father died.
She had known his family long before she claimed to meet him.
A vehicle approached outside.
Daniel shut off the cassette player and moved toward the window.
A black sedan stopped beside his truck.
Marcus Vale stepped out alone.
May you like
He looked up at the blue-room window.
Then he smiled.
