Chapter 6 - THE BLACK SEDAN
Detective Shaw was already running before the black sedan reached the end of the street.
Ryan followed her into the hallway.
“Which way?”
“Stay inside.”
“I’m not staying anywhere.”
“Ryan.”
“That person followed me from the hospital.”
“That is exactly why you stay inside.”
Ryan stopped.
Not because he agreed.
Because she was right.
Whoever had been sitting inside that car had photographed him that morning.
Whoever it was knew where Dr. Greene lived.
And somehow, they had arrived at the nursing facility at almost the exact same time Ryan did.
That meant one thing.
They were not just following him.
They knew where he was going.
Ryan turned toward Greene.
The old doctor was shaking so badly that his water cup rattled against the bedside table.
“Who was driving?”
Greene looked at him.
“I’m not sure.”
“You said it wasn’t Evelyn.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Then who?”
Greene closed his eyes.
“Someone I haven’t seen in years.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Name.”
Greene hesitated.
Shaw returned to the doorway.
“Patrol units are looking for the vehicle.”
Ryan pointed toward Greene.
“He recognizes the driver.”
Shaw’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Greene breathed slowly.
Then he finally answered.
“Thomas Vale.”
Ryan frowned.
“Who is that?”
Greene looked toward the hallway as though afraid the name itself might bring the man back.
“He used to work for your family.”
Ryan shook his head.
“I’ve never heard of him.”
“You wouldn’t have.”
“What did he do?”
Greene gave a weak laugh.
“What didn’t he do?”
Shaw walked closer.
“Explain.”
Greene looked at Ryan.
“Your father called him Evelyn’s cleaner.”
Ryan stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“He handled problems.”
“People?”
“Documents.”
“Money.”
“Employees.”
“Anything Evelyn didn’t want connected to her.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“And after my father died?”
“He disappeared.”
Ryan immediately asked the next question.
“Did he help her with my father?”
Greene’s expression told him the answer before the words came.
“Yes.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“How?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I don’t.”
Greene began coughing.
Ryan waited.
When the coughing stopped, Greene continued.
“I know Thomas was at the house the night Richard died.”
Ryan went still.
“How do you know?”
“Evelyn told me.”
“When?”
“The next morning.”
Ryan stared at him.
“She came to your office after my father died.”
“Yes.”
“With photographs of your family.”
“Yes.”
“And she mentioned Thomas?”
Greene nodded.
“She said Richard had become difficult.”
Ryan’s voice became cold.
“What does difficult mean?”
Greene looked ashamed.
“She said Thomas had to help.”
Ryan turned away.
Maya’s earlier words returned to him.
She was repeating it.
Whatever happened to Richard had not ended with Richard.
Evelyn had simply refined the method.
Ryan looked at Shaw.
“Find Vale.”
“We will.”
“Not eventually.”
“Ryan.”
“He was outside this building.”
“He knows where my wife is.”
“He knows where my son is.”
Shaw’s expression did not change.
“We understand that.”
“No.”
Ryan looked directly at her.
“You understand a case.”
“I understand what happens when people underestimate my mother.”
Shaw held his stare.
Then she nodded once.
“We’ll place protection at Oliver’s room.”
Ryan exhaled.
“Thank you.”
His phone rang again.
Maya.
Ryan answered immediately.
“I’m coming back.”
“Ryan.”
Her voice sounded different now.
Not panicked.
Confused.
“What?”
“The man from the stairwell.”
Ryan looked at Shaw.
“What about him?”
“He says he knows you.”
Ryan frowned.
“What?”
“He gave the police a name.”
Ryan’s stomach tightened.
“What name?”
Maya hesitated.
“Ethan Cross.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
Shaw noticed.
“You know him?”
Ryan barely heard her.
Ethan Cross.
A name Ryan had not spoken in fourteen years.
His college roommate.
His closest friend.
The last person Ryan had seen before the car accident that changed everything.
Ryan lifted the phone.
“Maya.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure?”
“That’s what the officer said.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Ethan Cross had vanished from his life after the accident.
Ryan had assumed they simply grew apart.
Calls became less frequent.
Messages stopped.
Eventually Ethan disappeared entirely.
Ryan never questioned it.
He had been nineteen.
His father died months later.
His family collapsed.
Life moved forward.
Or so Ryan thought.
“Ryan?”
“I know him.”
Maya was silent.
Then she whispered.
“Why would your old friend be trying to get into Oliver’s room with a syringe?”
Ryan looked toward Greene.
Greene had gone pale again.
Ryan lowered the phone.
“Do you know Ethan Cross?”
Greene did not answer.
Ryan stepped closer.
“Do you know him?”
Greene swallowed.
“I know the name.”
“From where?”
“He was part of Mercer’s file.”
Ryan’s face changed.
“What file?”
“Yours.”
Ryan stared.
“My psychiatric file?”
“Yes.”
“What did Ethan have to do with it?”
Greene looked at Shaw.
Then back at Ryan.
“He gave a statement.”
Ryan felt a cold wave pass through him.
“What kind of statement?”
“That you were unstable.”
“That you drank excessively.”
“That you talked about dying.”
Ryan stepped backward.
“No.”
Greene continued.
“That you deliberately crashed your car.”
“No.”
“That the accident was a suicide attempt.”
Ryan slammed his hand against the wall.
“No!”
Shaw moved closer.
“Ryan.”
“That is not what happened.”
“I believe you.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
Ryan stared at Greene.
“Ethan was in the car with me.”
Silence.
Shaw frowned.
“What?”
Ryan nodded.
“He was in the passenger seat.”
Greene looked shocked.
“The report said you were alone.”
“I wasn’t.”
Ryan’s breathing became uneven.
“He was there.”
“I remember him screaming.”
“I remember the windshield breaking.”
“I remember waking up and seeing blood on his face.”
Shaw took out her notebook.
“What happened to him afterward?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“My mother told me Ethan had already been discharged.”
“She said his parents took him home.”
“Did you speak to him?”
“I tried.”
“His number was disconnected.”
Ryan looked at Greene.
“And somehow he gave Mercer a statement afterward?”
Greene nodded.
Ryan’s mind raced.
If Ethan had been injured too, why had Evelyn told Ryan he left?
Why had there been no mention of him in the accident report?
Why had Mercer documented Ryan as the only person in the vehicle?
And why was Ethan suddenly back now?
Maya spoke through the phone.
“Ryan.”
He realized he had nearly forgotten she was still on the line.
“I’m here.”
“The police want to know if they should let him speak to you.”
Ryan’s first instinct was no.
Then Ethan’s face flashed through his memory.
Nineteen years old.
Laughing in their dorm room.
Throwing a football across the hallway.
Sitting beside Ryan in the car minutes before the crash.
Ryan needed answers.
“Yes.”
Shaw shook her head.
“Not alone.”
“Fine.”
Maya said something to someone.
Then she returned.
“They’re moving him to an interview room.”
Ryan looked at Shaw.
“We’re going back.”
Twenty minutes later, Ryan was in a police vehicle heading toward St. Matthew’s.
Greene remained under guard.
Shaw sat beside Ryan.
Neither spoke for several miles.
Finally, Shaw asked.
“What do you remember about the accident?”
Ryan looked out the window.
“Not enough.”
“Try.”
“We were leaving a party.”
“Were you drinking?”
“One beer.”
“Ethan?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who was driving?”
“I was.”
“What happened?”
Ryan closed his eyes.
A road.
Rain.
Headlights.
Ethan laughing.
Then—
Nothing.
Ryan opened his eyes.
“I got tired.”
Shaw looked at him.
“Suddenly?”
“Yes.”
“How suddenly?”
“I don’t know.”
“I remember feeling fine.”
“Then I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”
Shaw remained silent.
Ryan looked at her.
“You think I was drugged.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
They arrived at the hospital.
Two officers escorted them through a side entrance.
Maya was waiting near Oliver’s floor.
Ryan hugged her immediately.
“How is he?”
“Sleeping.”
“Good.”
Maya looked toward the interview room.
Ryan followed her eyes.
Behind the glass sat a man in his mid-thirties.
Thin.
Short dark hair.
A scar along his jaw.
Ryan recognized him instantly.
“Ethan.”
The man slowly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Fourteen years disappeared.
Ryan entered.
Shaw followed.
Ethan’s wrists were cuffed to the table.
Ryan sat across from him.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Ethan smiled bitterly.
“You look like your father.”
Ryan’s expression hardened.
“You went near my son with a syringe.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I was trying to stop what they were doing.”
“What was in the syringe?”
“Saline.”
Ryan stared at him.
“Then why hide it?”
“Because I needed to look like one of them.”
“One of who?”
Ethan leaned forward.
“The people your mother pays.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“Names.”
“I don’t have all of them.”
“Thomas Vale?”
Ethan’s eyes changed.
Ryan saw it.
“You know him.”
Ethan looked at Shaw.
“I’m not saying anything until I get protection.”
Ryan laughed.
“Everyone wants protection.”
Ethan looked back at him.
“You should too.”
“You’re the one in handcuffs.”
Ethan’s expression became serious.
“No.”
“Ryan.”
“You’re the one in danger.”
Ryan leaned back.
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn’s plan failed.”
“And?”
“And when Evelyn’s plans fail, Thomas cleans up.”
Silence.
Ryan stared at him.
“What did you do fourteen years ago?”
Ethan looked down.
Ryan’s anger returned.
“You told Mercer I tried to kill myself.”
Ethan’s head snapped up.
“No.”
“Greene says you gave a statement.”
“I never did.”
“There’s one with your name.”
“Then it’s fake.”
Ryan froze.
Ethan continued.
“Just like the accident report.”
Ryan stared.
“What was fake about the report?”
Ethan’s face changed.
“You really don’t remember?”
Ryan’s patience broke.
“Remember what?”
Ethan leaned closer.
“You weren’t driving.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
“What?”
“I was.”
Ryan stared at him.
Ethan continued.
“You were in the passenger seat.”
Ryan shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My mother said—”
“Your mother lied.”
Ryan went silent.
Ethan’s voice became quieter.
“We left that party around midnight.”
“I was driving.”
“You drank half a beer.”
“Then you started acting strange.”
“You said your arms felt heavy.”
“You said you couldn’t focus.”
Ryan felt cold.
“I remember being tired.”
“You weren’t tired.”
“You were drugged.”
Shaw leaned forward.
“How do you know?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Because Ryan’s mother gave him a drink before we left.”
Ryan stared.
“No.”
“She wasn’t at the party.”
“Yes, she was.”
Ryan’s face emptied.
“What?”
“She arrived ten minutes before we left.”
“She said Richard needed Ryan home.”
“She brought coffee.”
Ryan’s mind cracked open.
A memory.
A paper cup.
Evelyn standing beside the car.
Her hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
“You look tired.”
Ryan whispered.
“No.”
Ethan continued.
“She insisted you drink it.”
“Ten minutes later, you could barely stand.”
Ryan’s hands began shaking.
“What happened after the crash?”
Ethan looked away.
“I woke up before you.”
“Thomas Vale was standing beside the road.”
Shaw’s expression sharpened.
“What was he doing?”
“Talking to Evelyn.”
Ryan’s blood went cold.
“She was there?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Within minutes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“The accident happened forty minutes from home.”
Ethan stared at him.
“She was following us.”
Silence.
Ryan felt as if someone had removed the floor beneath him.
Ethan continued.
“I heard her say you were supposed to be alone.”
Ryan froze.
“What?”
“She was angry that I was in the car.”
Ryan stared.
Ethan’s eyes filled with something close to shame.
“Then Thomas saw I was awake.”
“What did he do?”
“He dragged me out.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“I woke up in a private clinic.”
“Mercer was there.”
Ryan felt sick.
“What did he say?”
“He told me you were dead.”
Ryan’s eyes widened.
Ethan swallowed.
“He said the crash killed you.”
“He said Evelyn was devastated.”
“He said my parents had agreed that I needed psychiatric care because I blamed myself.”
Ryan barely whispered.
“But I wasn’t dead.”
“No.”
“How long were you there?”
“Six weeks.”
Ryan stared at him.
“My mother locked you away?”
Ethan looked down.
“And when they finally released me, she paid my parents.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“For what?”
“To move.”
“To stay quiet.”
“To tell everyone I had transferred colleges.”
Ryan leaned forward.
“And you accepted that?”
Ethan looked at him with exhausted eyes.
“I was nineteen.”
“I had no money.”
“My parents were terrified.”
“Thomas told us if I ever contacted you, they would reopen the investigation and blame me for the crash.”
Ryan’s breathing slowed.
“You disappeared.”
“I survived.”
Ryan looked away.
The words hurt because they sounded like something his father might have said.
Shaw asked.
“Why come back now?”
Ethan looked at Ryan.
“Because three months ago, Thomas contacted me.”
Ryan turned.
“Why?”
“He wanted me to sign another statement.”
“What statement?”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“That Ryan Whitmore had a history of suicidal behavior.”
Ryan stared at him.
“They were preparing my file again.”
“Yes.”
“For the guardianship.”
“Yes.”
Ryan felt cold.
“Did you sign?”
“No.”
“What did Thomas do?”
“He reminded me that my mother still lives alone.”
Ryan clenched his jaw.
Ethan continued.
“So I pretended to cooperate.”
“I started following them.”
“Listening.”
“Collecting anything I could.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed.
“Then why were you in Oliver’s stairwell?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Because someone was coming for your son.”
Maya’s face went pale.
“Who?”
Ethan looked toward the glass.
Then back at Ryan.
“I don’t know his name.”
“What was he supposed to do?”
Ethan hesitated.
Ryan slammed his hand on the table.
“What was he supposed to do to Oliver?”
Ethan flinched.
“Nothing permanent.”
Ryan stood so fast the chair nearly fell.
Shaw caught his arm.
“Ryan.”
Ethan continued quickly.
“He was supposed to create another medical emergency.”
Maya covered her mouth.
Ryan stared.
“Why?”
“To make Maya look negligent.”
“But she was in the hospital.”
“That was the point.”
Ethan looked at Ryan.
“If Oliver crashed again while Maya was the parent supervising him, Evelyn’s lawyers could claim the original incident wasn’t staged.”
“That Maya really couldn’t manage his condition.”
Ryan felt pure disgust.
“She was going to do it twice.”
Ethan nodded.
Ryan leaned across the table.
“Who ordered it?”
Ethan looked him directly in the eyes.
“Not Evelyn.”
Silence.
Ryan froze.
“Then who?”
Ethan took a breath.
“Thomas.”
Ryan’s expression hardened.
“Evelyn works through Thomas.”
Ethan shook his head.
“You still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Thomas doesn’t work for Evelyn anymore.”
Ryan stared.
“He hasn’t for years.”
Shaw frowned.
“Then why is he helping her?”
Ethan looked toward Ryan.
“He isn’t.”
Ryan’s stomach tightened.
“Then whose plan is this?”
Ethan hesitated.
May you like
Then he said something no one in the room expected.
“Your father’s.”
