Chapter 13 - Beneath the Mansion
Robert denied knowing what Mark meant.
Laura believed him.
At first.
The federal search team examined the mansion thoroughly.
Basement.
Garage.
Attic.
Walls.
Old utility maps.
Nothing unusual appeared.
Then Robert remembered his grandfather.
In 1988, during foundation repairs, Robert's father had discovered a bricked passage beneath the eastern wing.
He never opened it.
"Why?"
Robert shrugged.
"Old house. Old tunnel. We had enough work."
Mercer looked incredulous.
"You own a nineteenth-century estate and never investigated a hidden tunnel?"
"I repair engines, not ghosts."
They located the wall behind shelving in the basement.
A ground-penetrating scan revealed a corridor.
Workers removed bricks.
Cold air drifted out.
The tunnel descended beneath the mansion.
Laura followed Mercer and Robert despite repeated objections.
Twenty yards in, they found a steel door.
Not nineteenth century.
Modern.
Installed within the last thirty years.
Robert stared.
"I've never seen this."
The lock had no keyhole.
Only a numerical pad.
Mercer called specialists.
Before they arrived, Laura noticed faint scratches above the keypad.
Four digits had been repeatedly touched.
3.
4.
5.
6.
She typed them.
The door opened.
Mercer stared at her.
"How did you know?"
"I didn't."
Beyond the door stood a chamber lined with shelves.
No treasure.
No cash.
Records.
Thousands of them.
Paper files.
Microfilm.
Photographs.
Property deeds.
Bank ledgers.
Some dated back decades.
On the far wall hung a large map of Maryland and Virginia.
Dozens of properties were marked with red circles.
Laura recognized several from Mark's case.
But others predated him.
One file carried Robert's father's name.
THOMAS BENNETT
Robert opened it.
Inside was a photograph of his father standing beside three men outside the mansion in 1981.
Robert knew two.
The third was unfamiliar.
On the back someone had written:
CROWN GROUP
ASSET 17
Laura looked toward Mercer.
"Crown isn't a person."
Mercer's face tightened.
"No."
He examined the shelves.
"It's an organization."
Robert turned another page.
Then stopped.
Laura saw his face lose color.
"What?"
He handed her the document.
It was a property transfer agreement.
Signed by Thomas Bennett.
Witnessed by someone named:
Eleanor Hale.
Laura stared at the surname.
"Hale?"
Mark's surname.
May you like
Robert whispered:
"This started before either of you were born."
