Chapter 3 - The Burglary That Never Happened)
Daniel opened the door before anyone could stop him.
Raymond Cole did not attempt to enter.
He looked older than in the photograph.
Tired.
Gray around the temples.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
Daniel stared at him.
“Raymond.”
“Danny.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Raymond nodded.
“Fair enough.”
Margaret appeared behind Daniel.
“Get out.”
Raymond looked past him.
“Morning, Maggie.”
Margaret’s face twisted.
“You were paid to do a job.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You don't get to change your mind.”
“I just did.”
Laura came forward.
“What’s in the envelope?”
Raymond looked at Emily.
“Kid shouldn’t be here.”
Laura immediately sent Emily upstairs.
Emily protested.
“Mom—”
“Now.”
When her bedroom door closed, Raymond entered.
He placed the envelope on the island.
Margaret reached for it.
Daniel blocked her.
“Don’t.”
Inside were photocopies of financial statements.
Laura recognized Thomas Hayes’s signature.
The dates were impossible.
Some were from two years after his death.
Daniel stared at them.
“What are these?”
“Payments,” Raymond said.
“From who?”
“Your father.”
Daniel looked up.
“You’re saying he survived.”
“I’m saying the man in the coffin wasn’t Thomas Hayes.”
Daniel laughed once.
It contained no humor.
“I saw him.”
“No. You saw a burned body.”
Daniel’s eyes flickered.
Thomas had supposedly died when his vehicle struck a barrier and caught fire.
Identification had been made through dental records.
Raymond continued.
“Your mother handled the funeral.”
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“So?”
Claire answered.
“She also chose the dentist who provided the records.”
Margaret slammed her hand down.
“Enough!”
Raymond stared at her.
“You had seventeen years.”
“For what?”
“To tell them.”
Margaret's voice became low.
“You don’t know what I protected them from.”
Raymond smiled sadly.
“I know exactly what you protected.”
He pointed toward the financial statements.
“Money.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
Raymond did not answer.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit!”
“The last time I saw Thomas was eleven years ago.”
“Where?”
Raymond looked at Margaret.
“A property your mother still owns.”
Margaret went pale.
Claire whispered, “Lake Geneva.”
Raymond nodded.
Daniel looked between them.
“What property?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“The house Mom told us she sold after Dad died.”
Margaret grabbed the envelope.
This time she succeeded.
She ripped several pages in half.
Laura stared at her.
“Why destroy them if they’re lies?”
Margaret stopped.
Daniel looked devastated.
Raymond reached inside his jacket.
Margaret recoiled.
But he only removed a USB drive.
“This is why she wanted the blue folder.”
He handed it to Daniel.
“Your father left instructions.”
“For me?”
“For both of you.”
Claire looked surprised.
Raymond shook his head.
“Not Daniel and Claire.”
He pointed upstairs.
“For Daniel and Emily.”
Laura felt ice move through her veins.
“My daughter was five years from being born when Thomas disappeared.”
Raymond nodded.
“I know.”
Nobody spoke.
May you like
Then he said the words Laura would remember for the rest of her life.
“Thomas Hayes knew Emily’s name before Laura ever met Daniel.”
