Chapter 8 - The Man Who Came Back
His name was Thomas.
According to Margaret, he had died twelve years earlier.
According to the camera, he had been standing behind Richard's garage.
And according to the unknown sender, he was alive.
I showed the footage to the detective.
He watched it twice.
Then he looked at me.
"Don't contact anyone."
"I wasn't planning to."
"We need to identify him first."
"But I know that face."
The detective nodded.
"So do we."
He made several calls.
Within an hour, the police discovered that Thomas had been using another name for years.
He had been living in a neighboring state.
No criminal record.
No outstanding warrants.
But his connection to Richard was real.
More importantly, the police found financial transfers between them.
Thousands of dollars.
Repeatedly.
For years.
Daniel returned to the hospital at dawn.
He looked exhausted.
"What happened?"
He sat beside me.
"We found the files."
"And?"
He handed me a photograph.
It showed Richard and Thomas together.
Behind them was Linda.
Alive.
The photograph had been taken eleven years ago.
"Linda survived," Daniel whispered.
"Why did everyone think she was dead?"
"Because Dad told everyone she was."
"Why?"
Daniel looked at the photograph.
"Because she found out what he had been doing."
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Manipulating the family trust."
I stared at him.
"What does that have to do with our daughter?"
"We don't know."
The detective entered.
"We do now."
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside was an old legal document.
Richard had been trying to alter the family inheritance.
The original trust required equal inheritance among grandchildren.
But Richard had been trying to change it so that only a male descendant could inherit.
My daughter had been born into a family conflict she didn't understand.
Daniel's face tightened.
"Did he do this because she was a girl?"
"That appears to be part of it."
I shook my head.
"But why the kennel?"
The detective looked at us.
"We believe he intended to create a story that your daughter was accidentally placed there."
"So everyone would think it was an accident."
"Yes."
Daniel whispered:
"He wanted to scare us."
"Possibly."
"But something went wrong."
The detective nodded.
"He underestimated how quickly you would react."
I looked at my daughter.
She was sleeping.
Safe.
For now.
Then another message appeared on my phone.
"You're looking in the wrong place."
I stared at it.
The detective read it.
"Who is sending these?"
"I don't know."
The message continued.
"Thomas didn't put the baby in the kennel."
My heart sank.
Another message.
"Richard didn't either."
Daniel stood.
"Then who did?"
A final message appeared.
"You have ten minutes before the person responsible leaves the hospital."
We all looked toward the hallway.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Calm.
Familiar.
May you like
The door opened.
And the person standing there smiled at us.
