Chapter 8 - The Voice in the Dark
Vanessa grabbed Daniel's sleeve.
Evan drew a flashlight and moved toward the door.
"Stay back."
A mechanical click sounded outside.
Then a man's voice came through the old intercom.
"Daniel."
Daniel recognized it.
Thomas.
"Uncle Thomas?"
"Listen to me. Do not let Mercer take the tape."
Evan looked up at the speaker.
"Thomas, where are you?"
"You don't get to ask me questions."
Daniel stepped closer to the wall unit.
"Why did Dad write that you knew about Mom's crash?"
Silence.
Then Thomas said, "Because I was there before it happened."
Vanessa inhaled sharply.
"My father was framed," Vanessa whispered.
Thomas heard her.
"Martin was involved at first. Then he tried to back out."
Vanessa's face hardened.
"You're lying."
"Your father took money. He also tried to make it right. Both can be true."
Daniel pressed his palm to the cold wall.
"Who was Catherine investigating?"
Thomas did not answer.
Instead he said, "Watch the tape. Then decide who you trust."
The intercom died.
Seconds later the basement door unlocked.
Evan wanted to take the VHS into federal custody.
Daniel refused.
"We watch it here."
They found an old television and VCR in a conference room upstairs.
The tape hissed.
Then Daniel's mother appeared on screen.
Alive.
Thirty-four years old.
Nervous.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If Robert is watching this, I was right to be afraid."
Daniel forgot how to breathe.
Catherine held up a document.
"The theft isn't being run by Martin Keene. He's a tool. The person authorizing everything is inside the Stellan family."
The camera shifted.
A door opened behind her.
Catherine turned.
The tape abruptly cut to static.
Then one final frame appeared.
A man's hand on the door.
On his finger was a heavy gold signet ring.
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Daniel had seen that ring his entire childhood.
It belonged to his grandfather, William Stellan.
