Chapter 10: The Second Shooter
Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
“DOWN!””
Officer Morales slammed into me.
We hit the concrete as another shot shattered the television behind us.
Glass rained across my back.
Vanessa screamed from the walkway.
Richard shouted, “Evelyn, stop!””
A third shot rang out.
Metal sparked inches from Richard’s head.
He dragged Vanessa behind a steel support.
That told me everything.
The shooter wasn’t helping Richard.
She was trying to kill him.
“North window!”” an officer shouted.
Flashlights swept upward.
Nothing.
Then footsteps pounded across the roof.
Morales grabbed his radio.
“Suspect on the north side! Lock the perimeter!””
Emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red bulbs filled the warehouse.
Richard was gone.
So was Vanessa.
“Where did they go?””
Morales pointed toward an open maintenance door on the walkway.
“Tunnel or stairwell.””
We ran.
The door led to a narrow staircase.
At the bottom, we found Vanessa lying against the wall.
Blood covered her blouse.
“Vanessa!””
I dropped beside her.
For one horrible second, I thought she’d been shot.
Then I saw the wound.
Her forehead.
Richard had struck her again before abandoning her.
Her eyes opened.
“Daniel…”
“Where’s Richard?””
“He ran.””
“Who fired at us?””
She grabbed my sleeve.
“Evelyn.””
“She’s in police custody.””
“No.””
“What?””
Vanessa coughed.
“The woman you arrested wasn’t Evelyn.””
I stared at her.
“I watched police take her.””
“Did you see her identification checked?””
I looked at Morales.
His expression changed.
He grabbed his radio.
“Confirm status of Evelyn Hart.””
Static.
Then dispatch answered.
“Detective, the detained woman identified herself as Evelyn Hart, but fingerprint verification is pending.””
Morales swore.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Evelyn planned for this.””
“Who did police arrest?””
“Her assistant.””
“You’re telling me another woman walked into my house pretending to be Claire’s sister?””
“No.””
Vanessa opened her eyes.
“She’s been pretending to be Evelyn for years.””
My blood chilled.
“What?””
“The woman you know as Evelyn isn’t Claire’s sister.””
I stepped back.
“That’s impossible.””
“Claire’s real sister disappeared twelve years ago.””
Morales crouched beside us.
“Who replaced her?””
Vanessa whispered, “Natalie.””
My brain refused to process it.
“Natalie Shaw is Evelyn?””
“Not originally.””
Vanessa struggled to sit.
“Richard helped Natalie disappear after the sailing accident. Later, after the real Evelyn vanished, Natalie took her identity.””
I remembered family dinners.
Birthdays.
Christmas.
The woman Lily called Aunt Evelyn.
Natalie.
Then who had I seen in the old photographs?
“Why didn’t Claire recognize her own sister?””
“She did.””
Vanessa’s voice broke.
“That’s why Claire started investigating.””
I shook my head.
“No. Claire spent years with Evelyn.””
“After the real Evelyn moved overseas. She rarely saw Claire. When ‘Evelyn’ returned, she looked different, but she claimed reconstructive surgery after an accident.””
Morales looked unconvinced.
“People don’t simply replace someone’s identity.””
“Not without money,” Vanessa said.
“Richard had plenty.””
I remembered the crescent tattoo.
The photographs.
The woman outside Claire’s car.
Everything had been built on names that meant nothing.
“Then who fired tonight?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“The real Evelyn.””
Silence.
“You just said she disappeared.””
“She did.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe she suddenly appeared with a rifle?””
“No.””
Vanessa pointed toward the red folder.
“I expect you to believe Claire found her.””
I opened the folder again.
Behind the DNA report was another sheet I hadn’t noticed.
A property deed.
SHAW HOUSE.
Owner: Evelyn Hart.
Transferred into a trust six years ago.
Beneficiary:
Lily Mercer.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
The old Shaw house.
Then a message.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT CLAIRE.
Morales read it.
“No.””
“I’m going.””
“Absolutely not.””
“She knows where Lily is.””
“We don’t know that.””
My phone buzzed again.
A second photograph.
Lily asleep in a police safe room.
Taken through the window.
My heart stopped.
“She found her.””
Morales was already on the radio.
“Move Lily immediately!””
I called Maria.
She answered on the first ring.
“Daniel?””
“Is Lily there?””
“Yes.””
“Move away from the windows.””
“What’s happening?””
“Now, Maria!””
I heard her wake Lily.
Then—
glass broke.
Maria screamed.
The call disconnected.
“MARIA!””
Nothing.
Morales grabbed my shoulder.
“We’re going.””
We raced outside.
Halfway to the vehicles, my phone rang again.
This time Lily’s voice came through.
“Daddy?””
“Lily!””
She was crying.
“A lady is here.””
“Are you hurt?””
“No.””
“Maria?””
“She’s sleeping.””
My chest tightened.
“Put the lady on.””
A woman took the phone.
Her voice was unfamiliar.
“Daniel Mercer.””
“Who are you?””
“You already know.””
“Evelyn?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
“The real Evelyn?””
“Yes.””
“Where’s Lily?””
“Safe.””
“If you touch her—”
“I saved her.””
“From what?””
“From the people you keep trusting.””
I stopped beside the police car.
“Where are you?””
“You know.””
The Shaw house.
“Why Lily?””
“Because she is my daughter.””
“You didn’t even know Richard used your eggs.””
“That’s what Claire believed.””
My stomach dropped.
Evelyn continued.
“I knew everything.””
“You agreed to it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Her voice turned cold.
May you like
“Because Lily was never created for Richard.””
The line went dead.
