Chapter 15 - Blackwater Lake
Blackwater Lake was two hours north of Chicago and fifteen years behind the rest of the world.
The cabin in Rose's photograph still existed.
So did Thomas Bell.
He was seventy now, thinner than the picture, living under another name.
He opened the door, saw Dad, and tried to close it.
Dad stopped him.
"I thought you were dead."
Thomas laughed bitterly.
"That's what your brother paid for."
Inside, he told us the story no report had ever contained.
Marcus had threatened Thomas's family after the Joliet fire investigation.
Stephen offered a solution: disappear, take money, never return.
Thomas accepted because he was terrified.
Rose later found him and convinced him to record a statement.
"Where is it?" Adrian asked.
Thomas looked at me.
"Your mother had it."
The blue ledger included a storage number.
A bank vault in Milwaukee.
Before we could leave, Thomas grabbed my wrist.
"Stephen isn't the one you should fear most."
"Who is?"
"Marcus. Stephen likes money. Marcus likes ownership. He keeps people alive when they're useful."
My phone buzzed.
A video message from an unknown number.
Uncle Stephen sat tied to a chair in an empty room.
Marcus Reed stepped into frame behind him.
I had never met Marcus in person.
He looked ordinary.
That was almost worse.
"Mara," he said, "your family has mistaken paperwork for power for a very long time. Bring me Rose's ledger and the original Bell recording."
Stephen began shouting through the tape over his mouth.
Marcus rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Midnight tomorrow. Whitmore House. The garden."
May you like
He smiled slightly.
"Use the cage. It seems to mean something to your family."
