Chapter 9 - The Dead Men)
Nathan Brooks was arrested.
His badge was real.
His career was real.
His loyalty was not.
Federal investigators arrived before sunset.
By then the Hayes family had learned a terrible rule.
In their family, death certificates proved almost nothing.
Thomas was alive.
Emily was alive.
And now there was reason to suspect Arthur Hayes might have survived too.
Margaret insisted Arthur was dead.
Claire asked the obvious question.
“Did you see his body?”
Margaret stopped.
“No.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Laura sat beside Emily while federal agents interviewed everyone.
Raymond was detained because of his involvement in the planned burglary.
Before being taken away, he asked to speak with Laura.
“You still have the copies of the blue folder?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t tell anyone where.”
“Federal agents?”
“Anyone.”
Laura stared at him.
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
At least that answer sounded truthful.
Raymond leaned closer.
“But Margaret didn't hire me to steal money.”
“I know.”
“She wanted the folder destroyed.”
“Why?”
“Because one page has her signature.”
Laura’s stomach tightened.
“On what?”
“I never saw it.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Thomas told me.”
“When?”
Raymond smiled sadly.
“Eleven years ago.”
“You said that was the last time you saw him.”
“It was.”
“Where?”
“Lake Geneva.”
Laura remembered the supposedly sold house.
Raymond whispered, “Search the fireplace.”
Agents took him away.
Laura told Daniel.
Margaret heard.
“No.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“You’re not going there.”
“Why?”
“That house is dangerous.”
“Because of the fireplace?”
“Because of what happened there.”
Daniel grabbed his keys.
Margaret blocked him.
“Daniel.”
He stared at her.
“You lost the right to tell me what to do seventeen years ago.”
Claire went with them.
Laura wanted Emily nowhere near the property, so she stayed with her daughter under federal protection.
Daniel and Claire reached Lake Geneva shortly before midnight.
The house was hidden behind trees.
It had electricity.
Someone had been there recently.
Inside, dust covered most surfaces.
But not all.
Daniel found the fireplace.
Claire removed loose bricks.
Behind them was a metal compartment.
Inside were three things.
A cassette tape.
A wedding ring.
And a birth certificate.
Daniel recognized the ring.
His father’s.
Claire unfolded the certificate.
Then she sat down.
Daniel read over her shoulder.
The document listed a male child born on September 17, 1987.
Mother: Margaret Hayes.
Father: blank.
Child: Daniel Michael Hayes.
Daniel stared.
His birth date was correct.
But the certificate he had used his entire life listed Thomas Hayes as his father.
Claire whispered, “Daniel…”
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
They both froze.
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
Someone was walking above them.
May you like
Then a man's voice called from the darkness.
“You finally found it, son.”
