Chapter 11: The Dead Man's Second Life
I stared at Vanessa, certain I had misunderstood her.
“Say that again.””
She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I thought he was dead.””
“So did I!””
My voice cracked across the driveway.
“My father died twelve years ago. I watched them lower his coffin into the ground. I stood beside you at his funeral!””
“I know!””
“Then how can you say he's alive?””
Vanessa looked toward Agent Ellis.
“Richard told me he'd arranged everything. He said the man in the coffin was someone else. He said Dad had disappeared because the financial investigation would destroy him.””
My mother, standing beside the police car, suddenly stopped crying.
For the first time that night, she looked genuinely terrified.
“Vanessa,” she whispered.
“You promised you would never tell anyone.””
My sister spun toward her.
“You promised me he was gone!””
Agent Ellis raised her hand.
“Both of you, stop talking. We need to establish exactly what happened.””
She turned to another officer.
“Get medical and forensic confirmation of the original death records. Contact the cemetery and the funeral home. We need every document connected to Thomas Bennett's burial.””
I felt Lily press herself against my leg.
“Mom, does this mean Grandpa is coming back?””
I knelt beside her.
“I don't know, sweetheart.””
It was the first honest answer I could give.
Daniel approached slowly.
“Claire, there's something I never told you about your father's records.””
I looked up at him.
“Of course there is.””
He accepted the bitterness without protest.
“After I found the financial documents, I discovered a second set of bank accounts under a name similar to your father's. I couldn't prove they belonged to him, but the accounts received payments from Richard's company for years after the accident.””
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“I did. The investigator said the account could have belonged to someone with a similar name. I didn't have enough evidence.””
Agent Ellis overheard him.
“Do you still have the account numbers?””
Daniel nodded.
“I have copies of the statements.””
“Then I need them.””
He handed her the folder.
She passed it to an officer and instructed him to scan the documents immediately.
Meanwhile, Graham stood beside the driveway, staring at the ground.
He had lost his wedding, discovered his father was alive, and learned that the woman he had just married might have helped conceal a death.
I approached him.
“I'm sorry.””
He looked up.
“For what?””
“For what my family has done to yours.””
Graham shook his head.
“You didn't do any of it.””
“I should have known something was wrong.””
“How could you? They spent years building a wall of lies around you.””
He glanced toward Daniel.
“Are you going to forgive him?””
I followed his gaze.
Daniel stood near the entrance, answering questions from an officer. His shoulders were hunched, and he looked exhausted.
“I don't know,” I admitted.
Graham nodded.
“Neither do I.””
He looked toward the wedding estate, where the flowers still lined the entrance and the lights still glowed through the ballroom windows.
“I spent two hundred thousand dollars on a wedding,” he said quietly.
“I thought I was buying the beginning of a beautiful life.””
He gave a broken laugh.
“Turns out I was paying for a stage on which everyone planned to lie to me.””
Before I could answer, Agent Ellis hurried toward us.
“We have a preliminary development.””
She held up her phone.
“The funeral home's archived records show that the body identified as Thomas Bennett was never positively identified through dental records. The identification was based on personal effects and a visual identification made by Patricia Bennett.””
My stomach dropped.
“My mother identified the body?””
“Yes.””
“Could she have been mistaken?””
Agent Ellis didn't answer immediately.
“It's possible. But there are discrepancies in the records that require further investigation.””
She looked at Daniel.
“The bank accounts you provided were accessed yesterday from a computer in Newport.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“Yesterday?””
“Yes. Someone transferred a small amount of money between two accounts, apparently to verify that they were still active.””
“Can you trace it?””
“We're trying.””
I felt a strange chill.
Someone had accessed the accounts less than twenty-four hours before Vanessa's wedding.
Someone who knew the financial records still existed.
Someone who might have known the videos were about to surface.
Agent Ellis turned toward Vanessa.
“Did your father contact you before the wedding?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Three days ago.””
“What did he say?””
She glanced at Patricia.
My mother whispered, “Don't.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“He told me to make sure Graham signed the trust documents before midnight tonight.””
Graham's head snapped up.
“What trust documents?””
Vanessa began crying again.
“The transfer agreement. The money was supposed to move into your name after the ceremony. Richard said it would protect us from the investigation.””
“Did you sign anything?””
She nodded.
“I signed the papers last week.””
Graham stared at her.
“You signed a financial agreement without telling me?””
“Richard said you would agree once everything was explained.””
Agent Ellis took out a notepad.
“Where are the documents now?””
“At my mother's house.””
“Which room?””
“The study. In the locked filing cabinet.””
Patricia shook her head.
“You don't have the key.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“You gave me the key two months ago!””
My mother fell silent.
Agent Ellis immediately instructed an officer to secure the house and preserve the documents.
Then another officer approached with a phone.
“Agent, we've identified the passenger from the photograph.””
Ellis examined the screen.
Her expression tightened.
“Are you certain?””
“Facial comparison is preliminary, but the image matches a current passport photograph. The passport was issued six months ago.””
She turned the phone toward me.
I stared at the face.
My father.
Older, thinner, and wearing glasses, but unmistakably the man whose photograph still stood on the shelf in my living room.
The officer continued.
“The passport was issued under the name Thomas Reed. The address listed belongs to a property in coastal Maine.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Can you tell whether he's still there?””
“We're checking.””
I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
Twelve years of grief had been built around a death that might never have happened.
I remembered my father's last birthday, when he'd lifted Lily above his head and promised to teach her how to fish when she was old enough.
I remembered the coffin.
The flowers.
My mother's trembling hand in mine.
Had she known the body wasn't his?
Had she watched me mourn a man who was still alive?
Agent Ellis lowered the phone.
“Claire, I need you to understand that we cannot confirm your father is alive until we locate him.””
“But you believe he is?””
“I believe the evidence warrants an urgent search.””
Lily tugged my hand.
“Mom?””
I looked down.
“Can we go see Grandpa?””
I swallowed hard.
“If he's alive, sweetheart, we'll find him.””
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice came through the speaker, thin and distorted.
“Daniel, I heard what happened at the wedding.””
Daniel went completely still.
“Who is this?””
The caller ignored the question.
“Tell Claire I'm sorry.””
I stepped closer.
“Who are you?””
The man took a shaky breath.
“Claire, it's Dad.””
My knees nearly gave way.
“Dad?””
“I don't have much time,” he whispered.
“Richard knows where I am.””
A door slammed somewhere on his end of the line.
Then my father's voice dropped to a frightened whisper.
“And there's something else you need to know. Daniel didn't abandon you because of the letter alone.””
I looked at my husband.
Daniel's face had turned ashen.
My father continued.
May you like
“He left because he discovered who really caused my accident.””
The call went dead.
