Chapter 6 - The Dead Man Who Knew Too Much)
Daniel had attended Eric's funeral.
He had stood beside the grave.
He had watched their mother cry.
There was no mystery surrounding Eric's death.
Or so Daniel had believed.
Eric had been living in Nevada when his car left a desert highway during a storm.
The vehicle burned.
Authorities identified him through personal belongings, dental information provided by the family, and records from the rental company.
Daniel had never questioned it.
Why would he?
Eric had been troubled, unreliable, and often absent.
But he was still his brother.
Now Martin Feld was suggesting that the only person outside Sarah's parents who knew about the trust amendment might not have disappeared as completely as Daniel thought.
Detective Benson did not share Daniel's immediate suspicion.
"Knowing about a document doesn't mean your brother is alive."
"Then how did Melissa know?"
"We don't know."
Daniel walked outside before his frustration became anger.
Noah sat beneath a maple tree wearing a knit cap Margaret had bought him.
He was painting the model airplane.
Daniel stopped at a distance.
Noah looked peaceful.
That sight had become rare.
Daniel's phone rang.
Benson.
"We found something."
He walked farther from the house.
"What?"
"A transfer to CareBridge Consulting originated from a payment processor account under the name Eric Carter."
Daniel sat on the hood of his truck.
"That's impossible."
"It's probably an identity being used."
"By Melissa?"
"Maybe."
"Or Eric."
"We need evidence before we turn a fraud investigation into a resurrection story."
Daniel almost laughed.
"Fair."
Benson continued.
"We've requested records."
That night Noah woke screaming.
Daniel rushed into the guest room.
Noah was tangled in blankets, breathing hard.
"She's here."
"Who?"
"Melissa."
Daniel turned on the lamp.
"No. We're at Grandma's."
Noah looked around.
His eyes focused slowly.
Daniel sat beside him.
"Bad dream?"
Noah nodded.
After several minutes, he whispered, "She said nobody would want me if I kept getting sick."
Daniel closed his eyes.
No child should know how to process a sentence like that.
Daniel certainly didn't.
So he didn't try.
He simply stayed.
Eventually Noah said something else.
"There was a man."
Daniel looked at him.
"What man?"
"At our house."
"When?"
"A lot."
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"What did he look like?"
Noah frowned.
"I don't know."
"Did he come inside?"
"Sometimes when you were at work."
"Did Melissa know him?"
"Yeah."
"Did she say his name?"
Noah nodded.
"What was it?"
"Rick."
Daniel felt every hair rise on his arms.
Eric.
Rick.
A nickname Eric had used when gambling because he didn't like creditors knowing his real name.
Daniel kept his voice calm.
"Was he older than me?"
Noah shrugged.
"Maybe."
"Did he have a scar?"
Daniel pointed to his left eyebrow.
Eric had received eight stitches there after falling from a bicycle at thirteen.
Noah looked suddenly uncertain.
"Maybe."
Daniel did not push.
He called Benson.
Police searched security camera databases around Daniel's neighborhood.
One neighbor had a doorbell camera pointed partially toward Daniel's driveway.
The footage showed a dark SUV arriving repeatedly during afternoons when Daniel was at work.
A man usually entered through the side door.
Most recordings showed only his back.
On one afternoon, he turned toward the street.
Benson sent Daniel a still image.
The photograph was blurry.
The man wore sunglasses and a baseball cap.
But Daniel knew the shape of that face.
The narrow jaw.
The uneven left eyebrow.
The way his right shoulder dipped slightly lower than the left after an old sports injury.
Daniel stared at the image for several minutes.
Then he whispered:
"Eric."
The brother Daniel had buried three years earlier had been walking into his house while his son was being abused.
The investigation changed overnight.
Federal financial investigators became involved because the fraud crossed state lines.
Eric Carter's death records were reopened.
The burned car had indeed contained human remains.
But a later review discovered a devastating detail.
The dental comparison performed at the time had relied on records submitted electronically by a private dental office.
Those records were now suspected of having been altered.
The remains were not Eric.
The body belonged to a man named Samuel Price.
A transient with no close family who had disappeared in Nevada around the same time.
Daniel could barely comprehend the implications.
Eric had not only faked his death.
Someone else had died inside the lie.
Investigators could not yet prove Eric caused Samuel's death.
But they could prove Eric was alive.
And if he was alive, Melissa's plan had another architect.
Two days later, a new message arrived on the seized second phone.
It had been scheduled before police took possession.
Melissa wrote:
If Daniel finds out Eric is alive, we lose everything.
Kendra's reply appeared beneath it.
Then make sure the boy never tells him about Rick.
Daniel read the message twice.
Noah had become dangerous to them because he had seen Eric.
And Daniel finally understood why Melissa's cruelty had intensified.
May you like
It had not merely been punishment.
She had been trying to frighten Noah into silence.
