Chapter 5: The Call From the Grave
The phone kept ringing.
It was coming from the ambulance.
Emily looked down at the floor.
“I don't have a phone.””
The paramedic checked the side pocket of the blanket.
Nothing.
Then the ringing stopped.
A second later, Emily's eyes widened.
“Daniel.””
“What?””
“That sound isn't coming from the ambulance.””
We all listened.
The ringing came again.
From the suitcase.
I turned toward it.
The black suitcase sat on the pavement beside the police cruiser.
Nobody had touched it since the officers opened it.
The sound came from somewhere underneath the clothing and documents.
The officer carefully moved the contents aside.
A small silver phone appeared.
Old.
Scratched.
Its screen was glowing.
No number was displayed.
Just one word.
*HOME.*
The officer looked at me.
“Don't answer it.””
I reached for it.
He caught my wrist.
“Daniel.””
“That's my father's house.””
“It could be a trap.””
“It could be the only person who knows what happened.””
The phone rang again.
I took it.
The officer released my wrist but stayed close.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a man's breathing.
Slow.
Uneven.
I recognized it.
Not because I'd heard it recently.
Because I'd heard it as a child.
My entire body went still.
“Sam?””
The breathing stopped.
Then a voice whispered through the speaker.
“Danny.””
I closed my eyes.
Nobody had called me Danny except my father and Samuel Reed.
“Where are you?””
“Not where you think.””
“Are you alive?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
Emily sat upright in the ambulance.
I stepped closer.
“Sam, where have you been?””
“Hiding.””
“From my mother?””
“From everyone.””
My voice hardened.
“You contacted my wife.””
“I had to.””
“She almost died.””
“I know.””
“You knew what they were doing to her?””
“I knew they were getting desperate.””
“Then why didn't you come?””
Silence.
I looked at the officer.
He was motioning for me to put the call on speaker.
I did.
Sam's voice came through.
“They thought your father told you everything before he died.””
“He didn't.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me now.””
Another pause.
“Your father didn't die the way they told you.””
“I know.””
“No.””
His voice dropped.
“You don't.””
I felt a chill move through me.
“What do you mean?””
“He survived the first attack.””
The world seemed to stop.
Emily covered her mouth.
I stared at the phone.
“What attack?””
Sam whispered, “The night your father was supposed to die.””
A gust of wind swept across the street.
Snow struck my face.
I barely felt it.
“My father had a heart attack.””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
“He was poisoned.””
My knees nearly gave out.
The officer grabbed my elbow.
“Keep him talking,” he whispered.
I swallowed.
“Who poisoned him?””
“I don't know.””
“Sam.””
“I saw your mother arguing with him that night.””
“She argued with him all the time.””
“Not like that.””
“What did you see?””
“I saw Claire bring him a drink.””
Emily gasped.
I closed my eyes.
Claire.
My sister.
The girl who had helped me build forts in the backyard.
The girl who used to steal my Halloween candy.
My sister.
“Are you saying Claire poisoned our father?””
“I am saying I saw her hand him the glass.””
“That isn't proof.””
“No.””
Sam sounded exhausted.
“But your father collapsed twenty minutes later.””
The officer wrote something rapidly on a notepad.
“What happened after that?””
“I called an ambulance.””
“And?””
“They arrived.””
“Then?””
“Your mother told them your father had chest pain. They treated him for a cardiac event.””
I felt something inside me crack.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“I tried.””
“What happened?””
Sam breathed in slowly.
“They threatened my daughter.””
My blood went cold.
“You have a daughter?””
“I had one.””
The way he said it told me everything.
“What happened to her?””
“Car accident.””
His voice broke.
“It wasn't an accident.””
I looked at Emily.
She was crying silently.
“Who did it?””
“I never proved it.””
“But you suspect my family.””
“I know your mother was involved.””
“Why?””
“Because the night before my daughter died, Margaret came to my house.””
The officer's head snapped up.
“What did she say?””
Sam laughed bitterly.
“She offered me money.””
“For what?””
“To forget what I'd seen.””
“And when you refused?””
“She smiled.””
A long silence.
“Three days later, my daughter was dead.””
I stared at the ground.
The snow beneath my boots was turning pink from the blood on my knuckles.
I hadn't even realized I was bleeding.
“Sam,” I said, “where are you now?””
“I can't tell you.””
“You called me.””
“Yes.””
“So tell me.””
“If they trace this phone, they'll find me.””
“Who?””
“Everyone.””
The officer mouthed, *Keep him talking.*
I understood.
“Sam, I need evidence.””
“I have it.””
“What kind?””
“The original trust.””
I looked at the suitcase.
“And?””
“A ledger.””
“Of what?””
“Payments.””
My heart started pounding.
“To whom?””
“People your mother paid over eleven years.””
“Eleven years?””
“Yes.””
“To keep everything quiet.””
“What everything?””
“The death.””
I couldn't breathe.
“My father's?””
“No.””
Sam's voice became barely audible.
“Your father isn't the only person they buried.””
The call went silent.
“Sam?””
Nothing.
“Sam!””
I checked the phone.
Call ended.
The officer immediately grabbed his radio.
“Get a trace on that number.””
Another officer sprinted toward the police car.
I stood frozen.
Emily climbed out of the ambulance.
The paramedic tried to stop her.
“Ma'am, you need to stay seated.””
“I need my husband.””
She crossed the snow toward me.
I caught her before she slipped.
“You heard him.””
She nodded.
“I heard.””
We stared at each other.
Her face was wet with tears.
“Daniel,” she whispered, “there's something I haven't told you.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
“When your mother first locked me outside tonight…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“She said something.””
“What did she say?””
“She said, ‘You should have taken the money when Claire offered it.’”
I looked at her.
“What money?””
“I don't know.””
“Why would Claire offer you money?””
“She wanted me to leave.””
“Leave me?””
Emily nodded.
“She said if I disappeared, everything would become easier.””
My jaw clenched.
“When was this?””
“Two weeks ago.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she threatened to send you something.””
“What?””
“A video.””
My heart stopped.
“What video?””
Emily looked away.
“The night your father died.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Claire said she had proof that you would never forgive me if you saw it.””
“Did she show you?””
“No.””
“Then why believe her?””
“Because she knew details about that night.””
“What details?””
Emily's voice shook.
“She said your father wasn't alone when he died.””
The officer stepped closer.
“Mrs. Hart, did Claire say who was with him?””
Emily looked at him.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She looked directly at me.
“You.””
My chest tightened.
“That isn't possible.””
“You were seventeen.””
“I was asleep.””
Emily shook her head.
“Claire said you weren't.””
I stepped back.
“No.””
“She said you were in the house.””
“I was.””
“She said you were standing in the hallway.””
“I don't remember.””
“She said your father saw you.””
I rubbed my temples.
The old memory surfaced again.
The kitchen.
My father's voice.
A glass hitting the floor.
My mother shouting.
Then a man's hand on my shoulder.
A face.
A smell.
Gasoline.
I stumbled backward.
Emily caught me.
“Daniel?””
I looked at the fire consuming the remains of the house.
And suddenly I remembered one tiny detail.
A red scarf.
My mother always wore a red scarf that winter.
But there had been someone else in the kitchen.
A man.
Not Sam.
Someone I didn't recognize.
Someone who had leaned close to me and whispered:
*“Forget what you saw.””*
I looked at the officer.
“I remember him.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“What did he look like?””
“Tall.””
“Anything else?””
I shut my eyes.
“Black gloves.””
The officer's radio crackled.
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“We traced Sam's call.””
“Where?””
“An abandoned motel six miles from here.””
I took a step forward.
“Then let's go.””
The officer shook his head.
“You're staying here.””
“I need to find him.””
“We're sending units.””
“What if he's in danger?””
“He probably is.””
The officer looked toward the road.
Then his expression changed.
“Wait.””
A patrol car was returning.
It stopped hard near the ambulance.
The officer who got out was pale.
He ran toward us.
“We found the motel.””
My heart raced.
“What happened?””
He looked at me.
“We found Samuel Reed's truck.””
“Where is he?””
The officer swallowed.
“It's empty.””
“And?””
“There was blood inside.””
Emily gripped my arm.
The officer continued.
“On the driver's seat.””
Then he handed me a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a small folded note.
My name was written across it.
*DANIEL.*
I opened my mouth.
The officer stopped me.
“Don't unfold it here.””
I stared at the note.
“Why?””
“Because our forensics team found another message in the motel room.””
“What did it say?””
He looked at Emily.
Then back at me.
“It said Samuel knew who killed your father.””
A beat passed.
“And whoever killed him tonight…”
May you like
The officer's voice dropped.
“…is coming for you next.””
