Chapter 10 - The Dead Uncle
Daniel Ward looked older than the photograph.
But not enough to mistake.
Same eyes as my mother.
Same narrow chin.
Same scar above left eyebrow.
I stood between him and Skylar.
“Who are you?”
He looked at me almost tenderly.
“Mara.”
“Answer me.”
“Daniel Ward.”
“My uncle died in 2006.”
“No.”
Lena’s voice shook with anger.
“He disappeared.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You always loved precision.”
“You let us think you were dead.”
“I had reasons.”
“Evelyn mourned you.”
His expression changed.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Federal agents entered room.
Daniel raised both hands.
“I’m not armed.”
“Sit.”
He obeyed.
Agent Perez questioned him while we listened.
Daniel had worked for Briar Chemical.
Not management.
Accounting.
He discovered illegal disposal practices in late nineties.
He copied records.
Then took money from company to stay quiet.
My stomach tightened.
“You sold out.”
“Yes.”
He did not defend himself.
“Later I tried to expose them.”
“After you got paid?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“They threatened Evelyn.”
“So you disappeared.”
“I thought removing myself would protect her.”
“It didn’t.”
“No.”
He looked down.
“Nothing I did protected her.”
Lena stood near wall with arms folded.
“Why return now?”
“Because Thomas died.”
“You didn’t return for Evelyn.”
“I was afraid.”
“You didn’t return for us.”
“I was ashamed.”
“Convenient.”
Daniel accepted it.
Then he looked at me.
“Thomas contacted me four months ago.”
“Dad knew you were alive?”
“Yes.”
Skylar stared.
“Another secret.”
I almost laughed.
Our family had enough secrets to fill a cemetery.
“What did Dad want?”
“The original Briar ledgers.”
“You had them?”
“For years.”
“Then what was behind retaining wall?”
“Copies.”
That contradicted Lena.
She shook her head.
“No. Evelyn hid originals there.”
Daniel said, “She believed they were original.”
The room chilled.
“Explain.”
“Briar Chemical realized documents were missing before Evelyn found them. They replaced ledgers with partial duplicates.”
“So the underground evidence was incomplete.”
“Yes.”
“Where are originals?”
“I had them.”
“Had?”
Daniel looked at federal agents.
“They were stolen from me three weeks ago.”
Same period Dad reopened investigation.
“By who?”
“Linda Mercer.”
Everything returned to her.
“Why would she know you had them?”
“Because someone told her.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
Lena said, “Say it.”
Daniel looked at Skylar.
Then me.
“Your father’s brother.”
I stared.
“Dad didn’t have a brother.”
“Yes, he did.”
Skylar laughed nervously.
“No.”
Daniel’s face remained serious.
“Half brother.”
Name.
I already knew before he said it.
Some instinct.
Some pattern.
“Nathan Grady.”
The mechanic.
The man who supposedly died in a fire eleven years ago.
Dad’s note:
GRADY TRIED TO TELL ME. I DIDN’T LISTEN.
Hale’s list.
Mechanic.
Dead.
Except maybe not.
Daniel continued.
“Thomas and Nathan shared a father. Different mothers. Family kept it quiet.”
“Why?”
“Scandal. Their father was married.”
“So Nathan knew Dad.”
“Very well.”
“Did Nathan inspect Mom’s car?”
“Yes.”
“Did he discover the cut brake line?”
“Yes.”
“Then he tried to tell Dad.”
“Yes.”
“And Dad didn’t listen because Vance convinced him Nathan was unreliable.”
“Exactly.”
“What happened to Nathan?”
“His house burned.”
“We know.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He wasn’t inside.”
Silence.
“Then he’s alive.”
“I believe so.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Lena looked sick.
“Thomas thought Nathan died.”
“Until recently.”
“How recently?”
“Three weeks.”
Same timing.
The anonymous package containing missing inspection report.
Nathan had sent it.
Dad reopened investigation.
Then Dad died.
I paced once.
“Linda worked for someone in our family.”
Dad’s video.
Nathan was technically family.
Could Nathan be mastermind?
But why expose Mom’s murder and then kill Dad?
Unless he wanted revenge.
Or property.
Or records.
“What does Nathan want?” I asked.
Daniel looked toward lake photograph hanging on shelter wall.
“Everything Robert Vance took from him.”
“Which is?”
“His name. His money. His family.”
“That’s not specific.”
Daniel looked back.
“Nathan was one of Cumberland’s original investors.”
Like Dad.
“But unlike Thomas, he knew about illegal dumping.”
There it was.
“He was part of it.”
“Yes.”
“Then Mom’s investigation threatened him too.”
“Yes.”
“Could Nathan have ordered her death?”
Daniel did not answer.
My stomach turned.
Dad’s own half brother.
The mechanic who documented sabotage might have been both witness and conspirator.
“Why cut brake line and then document it?”
“To create leverage against Vance.”
Hale muttered, “Insurance.”
Daniel nodded.
“Nathan kept evidence on everyone.”
Skylar whispered, “So all these people were betraying each other.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at us sadly.
“Evelyn walked into a nest of people who survived by making sure someone else looked guiltier.”
My mother had believed truth could defeat corruption.
Instead truth made her dangerous to everyone.
Agent Perez’s phone rang.
He stepped away.
When he returned, his expression was severe.
“We located Linda Mercer.”
“Where?”
“Briar County.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did you arrest her?”
“She turned herself in.”
That surprised everyone.
“Why?”
Perez held up phone.
“Because she says Nathan Grady is alive.”
I almost laughed.
“We know.”
“No.”
Perez shook his head.
“She says he’s at Mara’s cabin right now.”
My heart stopped.
“What does he want there?”
Perez looked directly at me.
“She says he’s digging beneath Parcel Seven.”
“But site is sealed.”
“Two federal guards are missing.”
I grabbed my jacket.
Perez continued.
“And Linda says Grady has explosives.”
“Why explosives?”
Daniel stood.
His face went white.
“He’s not looking for evidence.”
“What is he doing?”
Daniel whispered:
“He’s going to collapse the mine.”
“And destroy proof?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
“If he collapses the wrong chamber, half the contaminated ridge will slide directly into Lake Briar.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Nathan Grady stood in front of my cabin holding a detonator.
Behind him, two agents were tied to porch posts.
Message:
May you like
COME HOME, NIECE.
WE NEED TO FINISH WHAT YOUR MOTHER STARTED.
