I crossed the room before anyone could stop me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel backed against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Eleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost struck him.<\/p>\n
My hand actually lifted before I caught myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman I was told vanished twenty-eight years ago is apparently my biological mother. You saw her three weeks ago, and you\u2019re worried about breaking a promise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped him.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me properly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator positioned herself near the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Harrington, you need to tell us everything about your contact with Eleanor Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy last name is Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had forgotten how much he hated being casually grouped under Dad\u2019s surname.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s mother, Aunt Patricia, was Dad\u2019s younger sister.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d the investigator said. \u201cMr. Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel glanced toward Aunt Patricia.<\/p>\n
She looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until three weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStart there,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Daniel returned slowly to his chair.<\/p>\n
He did not sit.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone called my office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t give her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether Richard still controlled Harrington Supply.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin and I exchanged a look.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a sales call or maybe some former employee with a complaint. I told her I didn\u2019t work there anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy contact you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembered me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were thirteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to visit Grandpa\u2019s office after school.\u201d<\/p>\n
A memory surfaced.<\/p>\n
Daniel eating vending-machine pretzels in Grandpa\u2019s conference room.<\/p>\n
I had been too young to remember Eleanor, but Daniel had been old enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saw you there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you recognize her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until we met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA diner outside Rockford.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator was writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat date?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeptember seventeenth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know about Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether you were safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe from Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you hadn\u2019t depended on Richard for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
That tiny detail hurt more than almost everything else.<\/p>\n
I pictured a stranger crying in a diner because she learned I was safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked about Vanessa too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembered you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether Richard had ever hurt either of you physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Vanessa shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t need to,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded as though Eleanor had expected that answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d Martin asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave me the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one found in Richard\u2019s safe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did he get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked miserable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa exploded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave Dad proof that Eleanor was alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed his forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he called me the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether anyone unusual had contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin muttered something under his breath.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lied. Said no. Then Richard told me there were people trying to damage the family and that I should report any contact immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you gave him the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aunt Patricia stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the company loan on your house could be called.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went blank.<\/p>\n
Dad had arranged that loan after her divorce.<\/p>\n
Of course he had.<\/p>\n
Every favor contained a hook.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him where Eleanor was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you warn her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImmediately after leaving Richard\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the diner. She wouldn\u2019t tell me where she was staying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhone number?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrepaid phone. Disconnected the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she give you anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached inside his jacket.<\/p>\n
The investigator tensed.<\/p>\n
Daniel slowly removed a small brass key.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to keep this until Claire asked the right question.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat right question?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said you would know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key had a stamped number.<\/p>\n
317.<\/p>\n
Martin recognized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cStorage locker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be anywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe mentioned Union Station.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chicago.<\/p>\n
The investigator took the key but photographed it before placing it in an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Eleanor say why she came back now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe heard Richard was moving money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had someone inside Harrington Supply.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter.<\/p>\n
I knew before Daniel said anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas his name Peter Lang?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to click into a new configuration.<\/p>\n
Peter had not randomly contacted me.<\/p>\n
Eleanor had sent him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter works for her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. She said Peter was someone she trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin leaned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat explains why his first package contained records he shouldn\u2019t have had access to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe older transactions. They predated his employment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
We had assumed someone else inside accounting supplied them.<\/p>\n
Now there was another possibility.<\/p>\n
Eleanor had been collecting evidence for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t heard from him in twelve days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that unusual?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you report him missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe resigned electronically. I assumed he had become frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone verify the resignation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took out my phone.<\/p>\n
Peter\u2019s last message remained in our encrypted chat.<\/p>\n
I had read it dozens of times.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sorry. I can\u2019t continue. Don\u2019t contact me.<\/p>\n
At the time, it sounded frightened.<\/p>\n
Now something bothered me.<\/p>\n
Peter always called me Ms. Harrington, even in texts.<\/p>\n
The message didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I showed Martin.<\/p>\n
He saw it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may not be Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator photographed my screen.<\/p>\n
Daniel lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor said Richard knew someone had been feeding you information.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the dinner was planned.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the remains of the meal.<\/p>\n
Seventeen relatives.<\/p>\n
A private room.<\/p>\n
Dad insisting I attend.<\/p>\n
The enormous bill.<\/p>\n
The public humiliation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did Eleanor say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Richard would try to provoke you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin did.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make Claire react publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Richard expected an investigation, he needed a story about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat story?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA resentful daughter obsessed with money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa stared at the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
I followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
The pieces assembled themselves.<\/p>\n
Dad had not merely invited me to make me pay.<\/p>\n
He wanted witnesses.<\/p>\n
If I exploded over the bill, he could later say I was vindictive, greedy, unstable.<\/p>\n
Every person in the room would remember the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe staged this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dinner was bait.\u201d<\/p>\n
My humiliation had been evidence Dad intended to manufacture.<\/p>\n
Except Martin had walked in.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s trap had become his own exposure.<\/p>\n
Vanessa looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to tease her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore dinner. Dad said if you complained about the restaurant, I should remind everyone how much money you make.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he wanted to embarrass you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean I thought that was all.\u201d<\/p>\n
She covered her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to provoke you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered Vanessa\u2019s smirk.<\/p>\n
The comment that six thousand dollars wouldn\u2019t ruin me.<\/p>\n
Scripted.<\/p>\n
Not entirely, perhaps. Vanessa had supplied years of resentment herself.<\/p>\n
But Dad had nudged it into place.<\/p>\n
The investigator\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
We watched her expression change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Martin asked when she hung up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey located Peter Lang.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief came first.<\/p>\n
Then I saw her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Joseph Medical Center.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was admitted eleven days ago after a single-car accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cCondition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStable now. He suffered a head injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas anyone spoken with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe apparently regained full consciousness yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
I grabbed my coat.<\/p>\n
The investigator raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going anywhere until we coordinate this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone may have tried to stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think the accident wasn\u2019t accidental?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel suddenly spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else Eleanor told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said if anything happened to Peter, the locker would explain why.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes went to the evidence bag containing the brass key.<\/p>\n
317.<\/p>\n
Martin stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we need Union Station.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have officers check it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Eleanor left that key for me, I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may not be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither was spending thirty-six years believing Richard\u2019s version of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vanessa reached for her coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She lifted her chin.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can hate me later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure that makes me feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel almost smiled.<\/p>\n
The investigator\u2019s phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
She checked the message.<\/p>\n
Then looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlans have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Lang just asked hospital staff for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
She read the message once more.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Claire Harrington needs to know why Eleanor Shaw came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I grabbed my coat.<\/p>\n
The investigator continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he said she didn\u2019t come back because of the stolen money.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Peter, Eleanor came back because Richard Harrington has been trying to find you a second time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA second time?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Peter says the first time was the night you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crossed the room before anyone could stop me. \u201cWhere is she?\u201d Daniel backed against the wall. \u201cClaire\u2014\u201d \u201cWhere is Eleanor?\u201d \u201cI promised her.\u201d I almost struck him. My hand … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-every-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14323,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions\/14323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}