Chapter 11 - The Tape
Charles survived.
Barely.
The bullet struck below his shoulder.
Paramedics arrived within minutes.
The shooter escaped through a second-floor window.
Police found a rented car abandoned half a mile away.
No fingerprints.
No identification.
Daniel sat in the hospital corridor holding the cassette tape.
Claire sat across from him.
Michael beside her.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Claire said, “We need to hear it.”
Daniel looked at the tape.
He didn’t want to.
That was exactly why he knew he had to.
Owen found an old player through local police.
They used a private conference room.
The tape hissed.
Then a woman’s voice.
Margaret Hale.
Twenty-three years younger.
“Daniel, tell me what you remember.”
A child breathed shakily.
Young Daniel.
“I don’t want to.”
“You’re safe.”
“Mom was crying.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
On the tape Margaret continued.
“Why?”
“Because Uncle Peter was mad.”
Daniel’s eyes opened.
Michael frowned.
“Uncle Peter?”
Claire whispered, “Dad didn’t have a brother.”
Daniel listened.
Young Daniel continued.
“He told Mom she couldn’t tell anybody.”
Margaret asked, “Who is Uncle Peter?”
Silence.
Then Daniel’s childhood voice whispered:
“Mr. Vale.”
Everyone turned toward Thomas.
Thomas Vale.
Their attorney.
Their father’s closest friend.
The man who had managed Mercer family affairs for decades.
Claire stood.
“No.”
On the tape:
“Mom calls him Peter when she’s mad.”
Thomas’s full name was Peter Thomas Vale.
He used Thomas professionally.
Daniel had almost forgotten.
The child continued.
“He grabbed her.”
“What happened next?”
“She fell.”
Daniel stopped the tape.
His hands shook.
Michael whispered, “Mom’s heart attack.”
Daniel looked at Owen.
“Find Thomas.”
Owen was already calling.
Thomas had left the Mercer estate two hours earlier.
His phone was off.
His car was found near the airport.
No sign of him.
Daniel felt betrayal settle deeper than anger.
Thomas had attended birthdays.
Graduations.
Rebecca’s funeral.
He had held Daniel’s shoulder beside her grave.
He had processed the fake proxy amendment.
He had managed the foundation accounts.
He had lied for decades.
Claire whispered, “He killed Mom.”
Owen raised a hand.
“The tape indicates a confrontation.”
“It says he grabbed her.”
“It does not establish cause of death.”
Daniel understood the distinction.
Emotionally, he didn’t care.
“Rebecca found this.”
“Yes.”
“Then confronted my father.”
“Yes.”
“And died the next day.”
Michael looked at Daniel.
“Thomas knew she had the tape.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“He had access to her legal files.”
Owen added, “And likely knew what she was investigating.”
Daniel stood.
“We go back.”
At the estate, Lily ran into his arms.
He held her longer than usual.
“Daddy, is Grandpa alive?”
Daniel looked toward Nora.
She must have told her something.
“Yes.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“Like magic?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say he was dead?”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“Because sometimes adults lie when they’re scared.”
Lily thought about that.
Then asked, “Did Mom lie too?”
Daniel felt the question like a knife.
“About what?”
“She told me if something happened, I should remember the song.”
Daniel froze.
“What song?”
Lily began humming.
A simple melody Rebecca used to sing at bedtime.
Daniel knew it.
Then he remembered the lyrics were strange.
Not a traditional song.
Rebecca had invented words.
Four little windows, three little keys.
Two silver roses, one old tree.
Daniel had thought it was nonsense.
Now he looked at Lily.
“Did your mom ever tell you what it meant?”
Lily nodded.
“She said it would help me find her secret.”
Daniel called Nora.
She recognized the song too.
Rebecca had sung it only during the final month of her life.
Daniel repeated the words.
Four windows.
Three keys.
Two roses.
One tree.
Nora suddenly looked toward the backyard.
“The old playhouse.”
Rebecca had designed a wooden playhouse for Lily near the oak tree.
Four windows.
Three decorative keys painted over the door.
Two carved roses.
One enormous oak.
Daniel ran outside.
Inside the playhouse they searched everywhere.
Nothing.
Then Lily pointed.
“Mom always touched that one.”
One carved rose beside the tiny window.
Daniel pressed it.
A wooden panel opened.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a handwritten note.
IF YOU FOUND THIS, THEY KNOW ABOUT THE TAPE.
Daniel’s heart pounded.
Below:
DON’T TRUST THE PERSON WHO BRINGS THE POLICE FIRST.
Daniel stared.
The person who had arrived first on the night of the tea.
Detective Owen Hart.
Daniel slowly looked toward the house.
Owen stood at the back door watching him.
Their eyes met.
Daniel closed his hand around Rebecca’s note.
Owen began walking toward him.
“Find something?”
Daniel forced himself to remain calm.
“No.”
Owen stopped.
For the first time since the nightmare began, Daniel looked at the detective not as an ally.
But as a suspect.
Then Owen’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
He looked directly at Daniel.
“They found Thomas.”
“Where?”
“In Rebecca’s old apartment.”
Daniel frowned.
Rebecca had not lived in an apartment since college.
Owen’s eyes darkened.
May you like
“He’s waiting for you.”
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