Chapter 4: The Man I Called My Best Friend
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the traffic rushing past the construction site.
I read Vanessa's message again.
*Don't trust Marcus.*
The man standing beside me had been my best friend for fifteen years. He had held my hand at my father's funeral when I was too young to understand why my mother wouldn't stop crying. He had helped me move out of our childhood home. He had stood beside me at the altar less than two hours ago and joked that marriage was the only contract I'd ever sign without reading the fine print.
Now, according to my bride, he might be the one person I shouldn't trust.
Marcus noticed my expression.
"What's wrong?""
I locked my phone.
"Nothing.""
He studied me, then glanced toward the street where the dark vehicle had disappeared.
"That shot wasn't meant to scare us, Daniel. Whoever fired it knew exactly where we were standing.""
"I know.""
"We need to leave. Now.""
Emily was trembling beneath my wedding jacket. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and she had wrapped both arms around Marcus's waist.
"Is the bad man coming back?"" she asked.
Marcus crouched beside her.
"Not while I'm here, sweetheart.""
It was exactly the sort of thing a good man would say.
It was also exactly the sort of thing a dangerous man would say if he wanted a child to trust him.
I hated myself for thinking it.
"Marcus," I said, "take Emily to the car.""
He looked up.
"What about you?""
"I need to make a call.""
"I'll wait.""
"No. Take her.""
Something flickered across his face.
It lasted less than a second, but I saw it.
Then he smiled.
"All right. Five minutes.""
He guided Emily toward the parked car, speaking softly as she clutched his hand.
I waited until they were out of earshot before opening Vanessa's messages again.
There was no explanation. No proof. Just one accusation against the person who had spent half his life protecting me.
I called Vanessa.
Straight to voicemail.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Then I opened my contacts and called the only person I knew who might help me investigate without immediately involving my family's old connections.
Detective Sarah Bennett had handled a fraud case involving my company two years earlier. She was blunt, skeptical, and famously unimpressed by wealthy people who thought money could solve every problem.
She answered on the fourth ring.
"Daniel? Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?""
"I need your help.""
"That usually means someone is dead, someone is lying, or someone has done something spectacularly stupid. Which is it?""
"Possibly all three.""
Her tone changed.
"Where are you?""
I gave her the address and explained the shooting, Richard's appearance, and the documents I had found. I deliberately left Vanessa's accusation about Marcus out of it.
Sarah listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she asked, "Do you have the bullet?""
"No. It hit a fence.""
"Don't touch anything else at that location. I'll send officers to examine the scene. And Daniel?""
"Yes?""
"Do not go anywhere alone.""
I looked toward the car.
Marcus was leaning against the driver's door, checking his phone.
"I'll try.""
"Don't try. Do it.""
The call ended.
I walked toward the car.
Marcus slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Everything okay?""
"Sarah Bennett is sending officers.""
His jaw tightened.
"Sarah? The detective?""
"You know her?""
"Everyone in business knows her. She's investigated half the people in this city.""
"She'll want to talk to us.""
"Then we'll tell her everything.""
I opened the rear door and climbed in beside Emily.
Marcus got behind the wheel.
As we pulled away, I watched him through the rearview mirror.
His hands were steady. His eyes moved between the road and the mirrors with practiced precision.
Too practiced, perhaps.
Or perhaps I was simply searching for reasons to distrust him because the alternative was too frightening.
"Where are we going?"" he asked.
"Storage Unit 17B.""
He glanced at me.
"Now?""
"Yes.""
"Daniel, someone just tried to shoot you. Maybe we should get Emily somewhere safe first.""
"Agreed. We'll drop her at the police station.""
Emily immediately shook her head.
"No!""
I turned toward her.
"Why not?""
She gripped the locket around her neck. I had returned it to her temporarily after photographing the inscription, unable to bear the thought of separating her from the only clue she had brought me.
"The lady said not to go there.""
"Which lady?""
"The lady who gave me the necklace.""
My pulse quickened.
"Did she say why?""
Emily nodded.
"She said the police station has windows.""
Marcus gave a short, incredulous laugh.
"Most buildings have windows, sweetheart.""
Emily looked at him with sudden fear.
"She said the people watching would know if I was there.""
Nobody spoke for the next mile.
Finally, Marcus pulled into a quiet gas station and parked beneath the canopy.
He turned around.
"Daniel, we need to think clearly. A child has been told frightening things by someone we haven't identified. That doesn't mean we should believe everything she says.""
"I know.""
"Then why are we following instructions from an anonymous woman?""
"Because she knew things about my mother that nobody else could know.""
"Or because someone has been researching you.""
"Maybe.""
Marcus rubbed his face.
"I'm trying to protect you.""
I looked at him.
"Then answer one question.""
"Anything.""
"Where were you the night my mother died?""
He blinked.
"What?""
"You told me you were at home. You said you couldn't come to the hospital because you were sick.""
"I was sick.""
"Then why does the hospital visitor log have your name on it?""
The lie had come from a guess.
I had no idea whether the visitor log existed. I had simply wanted to see how he reacted.
Marcus stared at me.
Then he looked down at his hands.
For the first time in fifteen years, my best friend had nothing to say.
I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach.
"Marcus?""
He exhaled slowly.
"I went to see her.""
"Why did you lie?""
"Because she asked me to.""
"She asked you to lie to her son?""
"She was frightened, Daniel.""
"Of what?""
Marcus glanced toward Emily.
"Not here.""
I leaned forward.
"Tell me now.""
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a folded envelope.
"I've carried this for eight years," he said.
"Your mother gave it to me the night before she supposedly died.""
I took it.
My name was written across the front.
Beneath it, in smaller handwriting, were four words.
*Open only when he asks.*
I tore the envelope open.
Inside was a photograph of Marcus standing beside my mother in a hospital corridor. She looked pale and exhausted, but unmistakably alive.
The date on the photograph was eight years old.
On the back, she had written a sentence that made my blood run cold.
*Marcus knows what happened to your father. Ask him who signed the second death certificate.*
I lifted my eyes.
Marcus was staring through the windshield.
"Tell me," I said.
He swallowed.
"Your father wasn't the only person who died that week.""
"Who was the second person?""
Marcus turned toward me.
"Your mother.""
"But she was alive in this photograph.""
"Yes.""
"Then whose death certificate did they issue?""
His eyes filled with something I had never seen there before.
Shame.
"They issued two," he whispered.
"One for the woman buried in your mother's grave, and one for the woman who walked out of that hospital alive.""
I gripped the photograph.
"Who was buried in her grave?""
Marcus looked at me.
"That's what your mother spent eight years trying to find out.""
Then he opened the car door and stepped into the gas station parking lot.
I followed him, leaving Emily safely inside with the doors locked.
"Where are you going?""
Marcus didn't turn around.
"To get you the truth.""
He reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
Then I saw the screen.
A message was open.
It contained a photograph of me standing beside the tree, holding my mother's letter.
The message beneath it read:
*He has the key. Proceed with the original plan.*
Marcus looked over his shoulder.
And when he saw the phone in my hand, he didn't deny anything.
May you like
He simply said, "I'm sorry, Daniel.""
Then he ran.
