Chapter 5 - THE MAN IN THE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH
Police technicians searched the farmhouse.
Fingerprints covered the hidden room.
Most belonged to Rachel Carter.
Several belonged to Rebecca.
One unidentified set appeared repeatedly.
Sarah sat outside beneath a blanket.
Walter approached carefully.
“May I sit?”
She nodded.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Finally Sarah asked, “What was she like?”
“Rebecca?”
Sarah nodded.
Walter smiled painfully.
“Stubborn.”
Sarah almost laughed.
“She hated peas.”
“So do I.”
“She loved thunderstorms.”
Sarah looked toward him.
“So do I.”
“She used to hide coins inside books.”
Sarah went still.
“My mom—Rachel—always complained because I did that.”
Walter’s eyes filled.
“You got it from her.”
Sarah looked away.
“I don’t know how to feel.”
“You don’t have to know.”
Marcus walked toward them carrying a photograph.
“We found this behind a cabinet.”
It showed a Bennett family barbecue in 1994.
Walter.
Evelyn.
Rebecca.
And several relatives.
Marcus pointed at one man.
“Who’s this?”
Walter’s expression changed.
“My brother.”
“Name?”
“Daniel Bennett.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Where is he now?”
Walter didn’t answer immediately.
Marcus repeated the question.
“Walter?”
“Daniel died.”
“When?”
“Twenty-two years ago.”
“How?”
“Car accident.”
Marcus showed him another photograph found in the basement.
A man stood beside teenage Rebecca.
His face was partly hidden.
But his wrist showed a distinctive tattoo.
A compass.
Walter sat down.
Daniel had the same tattoo.
“No.”
Marcus said nothing.
Walter shook his head.
“My brother helped search for Rebecca.”
“Sometimes offenders insert themselves into investigations.”
“No.”
“He organized volunteers.”
Walter’s voice rose.
“He put up posters.”
Sarah stared at the photograph.
“Maybe that’s why.”
Walter turned.
“What?”
“Maybe he wanted to know where police were looking.”
Walter closed his eyes.
Memories rearranged themselves.
Daniel comforting him.
Daniel telling him to stop hiring investigators.
Daniel insisting Rebecca was probably dead.
Daniel encouraging him to sell the house.
Marcus asked, “Did Daniel know Rachel Carter?”
Walter slowly nodded.
“She was his girlfriend years before.”
Sarah stood.
“Then Rachel didn’t act alone.”
Marcus looked at Walter.
“Where did Daniel’s accident happen?”
“Wisconsin.”
“Body recovered?”
Walter hesitated.
“The car burned.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Walter’s face drained.
“No.”
Marcus immediately made a call.
Two hours later, they returned to the hospital.
Emily was awake.
Sarah rushed to her.
Walter remained at the doorway.
Emily noticed him.
“Who’s that?”
Sarah hesitated.
Walter expected her to say nobody.
Instead she said, “His name is Walter.”
Emily smiled weakly.
“Hi, Walter.”
Walter nearly cried.
“Hi, Emily.”
Emily noticed the locket.
“That’s Grandma’s necklace.”
Walter approached.
“You’ve seen it?”
“Mom wears it when she’s scared.”
Sarah looked embarrassed.
Emily continued.
“Grandma Rachel said it was magic.”
Walter sat beside the bed.
“What kind of magic?”
“She said it would take us home someday.”
Sarah stared at her daughter.
“Rachel told you that?”
Emily nodded.
“She told me something else too.”
“What?”
“She said if a man named Daniel ever came looking for us, we had to run.”
Walter’s blood turned cold.
Marcus entered.
His expression confirmed everything.
“We reopened Daniel Bennett’s death file.”
Walter stood.
“And?”
“The dental records used to identify the body weren’t Daniel’s.”
Silence.
Marcus looked directly at Walter.
May you like
“Your brother never died.”
Then every light in the hospital went out.
