Chapter 7 - The Camera Eleanor Forgot)
Thomas Reed had spent eight years living like a man expecting footsteps outside his door.
He changed phones monthly.
Never used credit cards twice in the same town.
Avoided airports.
Avoided cameras.
Avoided friends.
Richard listened without sympathy.
Fear explained Thomas.
It did not absolve him.
“You could have come to me.”
“I thought you were involved.”
“Amelia thought that because of you.”
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“Because of Eleanor.”
Richard stared at him.
Thomas sat on an old wooden bench.
“The night of the guesthouse fire, the security cameras went offline at 10:12.”
“I know.”
“The main system did.”
Thomas looked at Richard.
“But Elizabeth installed a backup.”
Richard frowned.
“My wife?”
“She didn’t trust the corporate system after that kidnapping threat when Amelia was sixteen.”
Richard remembered.
Elizabeth had installed an independent battery-powered camera overlooking the garden entrance.
Nobody at Hale Industries managed it.
It recorded to a small internal drive.
Richard’s heart began pounding.
“The camera survived?”
Thomas nodded.
“I found it during the investigation.”
“And you hid it?”
“I copied the drive.”
Richard stepped toward him.
“Where is it?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“I gave the original to Amelia.”
Richard’s anger paused.
“She has it?”
“She did.”
“What was on it?”
Thomas looked toward the windows as though Eleanor might appear behind them.
“Eleanor arriving at 9:46 p.m.”
Richard waited.
“Dr. Keller arriving at 9:58.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“Why would Keller be there?”
“He wasn’t only your family doctor.”
Thomas breathed deeply.
“He was treating Eleanor.”
“For what?”
“Nothing medical that mattered.”
Thomas looked at Richard.
“They were having an affair.”
Richard blinked.
That was unexpected.
“Eleanor was married.”
“So was Keller.”
“What does that have to do with Amelia?”
“Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.”
Thomas continued.
The camera showed Keller carrying a metal case.
Eleanor carried a fuel container normally used for the landscaping equipment.
At 10:07 they entered the service side of the guesthouse.
At 10:11 smoke appeared.
At 10:12 the main security system failed.
At 10:16 Evan carried baby Lucy out through the nursery window.
Amelia followed.
At 10:18 Eleanor left through the garden entrance without the fuel container.
Richard felt physically ill.
“You saw this eight years ago?”
“Yes.”
“And you still filed an electrical report?”
Thomas’s eyes filled with shame.
“Eleanor had my son.”
Richard went still.
“What?”
“She knew he was addicted to prescription drugs. He had broken into a pharmacy. She had evidence that could have sent him to prison for years. She threatened to destroy him.”
Thomas stared at the floor.
“I chose my child.”
Richard’s voice was cold.
“And nearly sacrificed mine.”
“Yes.”
Thomas did not defend himself.
“I have lived with that every day.”
Richard wanted to hate him completely.
But the world had stopped being simple.
“Where is the copy?”
Thomas looked up.
“Amelia had it after the fire.”
“She must have hidden it.”
“She did.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Richard thought of the safety deposit box.
Only letters and photographs had been there.
No drive.
Thomas continued.
“Evan wanted to release it immediately. Amelia refused.”
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor told her she had people who could make digital evidence disappear. Amelia wanted something physical. Something no lawyer could call fabricated.”
“What?”
“The fuel container.”
Richard stared.
Thomas nodded.
“It had Eleanor’s fingerprints.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Another dead end.
David spoke.
“Evan Parker’s death.”
Thomas’s expression changed.
“I investigated it.”
“And?”
“The safety harness he wore failed.”
“Accident?”
Thomas shook his head.
“The locking pin had been filed down.”
Richard looked at him.
“Did you tell Amelia?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She stopped trying to contact you.”
“Why?”
“Because the week Evan died, she received a photograph.”
Thomas pulled an old image from his wallet.
Lucy was three years old, walking toward preschool.
A red circle had been drawn around her head.
Richard’s stomach turned.
On the back were two words.
Next time.
Richard folded the photograph slowly.
“Eleanor?”
“I could never prove it.”
Richard’s phone rang.
Hospital.
Dr. Collins.
Richard answered instantly.
“Is Amelia all right?”
“She’s awake.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“Can she speak?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know who she is?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know me?”
The doctor hesitated.
“She asked for you.”
Richard looked at Lucy, who had been waiting with Maria outside the station entrance.
“I’m coming.”
Before leaving, Richard turned back to Thomas.
“You’re coming too.”
Thomas shook his head.
“I can’t.”
Richard’s voice dropped.
“You spent eight years hiding.”
“Yes.”
Richard looked at him.
“My daughter spent eight years paying the price for your silence.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Richard continued.
“You don’t get to hide when she finally has the chance to speak.”
Thomas stood.
They reached the hospital shortly after noon.
Lucy ran into Amelia’s room first.
Richard stayed outside.
Minutes later, Lucy came to the door.
“Mom wants you.”
Richard entered.
Amelia looked smaller than he remembered.
Older too.
There were silver strands near her temples.
Her eyes were still Elizabeth’s eyes.
Richard stopped three feet from the bed.
Neither spoke.
Eight years stood between them.
Amelia finally whispered, “You got old.”
Richard almost laughed.
“So did you.”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought you hated me.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I tried to call you.”
“I know.”
“You never answered.”
“I never got the calls.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
Richard stepped closer.
“I failed you.”
She opened them again.
“I failed you too.”
“No.”
“I believed her.”
“So did I.”
For the first time, Amelia reached toward him.
Richard took her hand.
Then Amelia saw Thomas standing behind him.
Her expression changed.
“You found him.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“I’m sorry.”
Amelia stared at him for several seconds.
“Do you still have the railway locker key?”
Thomas frowned.
“What locker?”
Amelia looked at Richard.
“Then Eleanor already found it.”
Richard’s chest tightened.
“What was inside?”
Amelia answered quietly.
“The backup video.”
May you like
Before Richard could respond, Amelia added something worse.
“And the document proving she planned the fire before she ever lit it.”
