PART 4: THE RED ENVELOPE
\nThe countdown on my phone changed.
\nFIFTY-EIGHT MINUTES.
\nOfficer Reynolds took control immediately.
\nHe ordered two officers to secure Frank\u2019s house while another team contacted the state police.
\nThen he looked at me.
\n\u201cWhere is the blue bird?\u201d
\n\u201cOur bedroom.\u201d
\n\u201cDid Frank have access to it?\u201d
\n\u201cHe installed a camera in the room.\u201d
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d
\nI thought about the afternoon Frank cleaned our air ducts.
\nNatalie had been at work.
\nI had left him alone upstairs while I answered emails in the kitchen.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nReynolds grabbed his radio.
\n\u201cEveryone out of this house. We\u2019re returning next door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruth caught my sleeve.
\n\u201cIf the bird is still there, don\u2019t break it.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cHarold designed it to open.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cWith the brass key.\u201d
\nThe same key had opened the hidden room and the metal box.
\nReynolds placed it inside an evidence bag.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll handle it.\u201d
\nWe crossed the snowy yard toward my house.
\nThe footprints looked completely different now.
\nPolice boots covered the clean white surface.
\nYellow tape surrounded the collapsed porch.
\nThe path I had nearly walked that morning no longer existed.
\nFor the first time, I understood Ruth\u2019s warning.
\nIf I had stepped outside without looking, I might have fallen through the weakened ground.
\nVictor would have watched from next door.
\nHe could have entered my house through the hidden passage before anyone found me.
\nMy death would have looked like an accident.
\nMaybe that had been his plan from the beginning.
\nWe entered through the side door.
\nTwo officers searched every room before allowing us upstairs.
\nThe bedroom door was open.
\nThe camera in the ceiling vent pointed directly at the shelf.
\nThe blue glass bird sat exactly where I had last seen it.
\nSmall.
\nDelicate.
\nPerfectly harmless.
\nReynolds covered the vent with a towel.
\nMike disconnected the wire running through the wall.
\nA tiny red light continued blinking.
\n\u201cIt has a battery,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cCan it still transmit?\u201d Reynolds asked.
\n\u201cProbably.\u201d
\nReynolds placed a metal evidence container over the camera.
\nThe red light disappeared.
\nRuth approached the shelf.
\nHer hands trembled as she picked up the bird.
\n\u201cHarold made the base himself.\u201d
\nShe turned it over.
\nA brass plate covered the bottom.
\nIn the center was a keyhole so small I had always assumed it was part of the decoration.
\nReynolds inserted the key.
\nIt didn\u2019t turn.
\nRuth frowned.
\n\u201cHe changed it.\u201d
\n\u201cOr this isn\u2019t the original bird,\u201d I said.
\nShe held it toward the window.
\nSunlight passed through the blue glass.
\nThen she shook her head.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the original.\u201d
\n\u201cHow can you tell?\u201d
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a tiny bubble near the left wing. Harold complained about it for twenty years.\u201d
\nI examined the key.
\nA narrow groove ran along one side.
\nSomething dark filled it.
\nDirt from beneath the porch.
\nI cleaned the groove with the edge of a business card.
\nThen I pushed the key into the bird again.
\nThis time, it turned.
\nThe brass base opened.
\nInside was a tightly rolled red envelope.
\nRuth closed her eyes.
\n\u201cHarold kept his promise.\u201d
\nReynolds pulled on gloves and carefully removed it.
\nThe envelope was no longer than my hand.
\nOne sentence had been written across the front.
\nFOR NATALIE, WHEN SHE IS READY TO KNOW THE TRUTH.
\nMy phone vibrated.
\nA new picture appeared.
\nNatalie\u2019s chair had been moved closer to the hole in the ice.
\nFIFTY-THREE MINUTES.
\nReynolds opened the envelope.
\nInside was a small memory card, a folded letter, and a keycard from Hawthorne Ridge Care Center.
\nCaroline\u2019s name was written on the back.
\nRuth reached for it.
\n\u201cShe was there?\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d Reynolds said.
\n\u201cBut that facility closed nine years ago.\u201d
\n\u201cVictor owned other properties,\u201d Ruth replied. \u201cHe could have moved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reynolds handed the memory card to an officer.
\n\u201cFind a computer that isn\u2019t connected to the internet.\u201d
\nFrank\u2019s surveillance room contained several laptops.
\nThe officer disconnected one from the network and inserted the card.
\nThree folders appeared.
\nBANK RECORDS.
\nCAROLINE.
\nCONFESSION.
\nThe confession folder contained an audio file.
\nHarold\u2019s voice filled the basement.
\n\u201cMy name is Harold Keller. If this recording is being played, my son-in-law has discovered what I know.\u201d
\nRuth covered her mouth.
\nShe had not heard her husband\u2019s voice in more than a decade.
\nThe recording continued.
\n\u201cOn October seventeenth, Victor Mercer forced my daughter Caroline\u2019s car off Millstone Bridge. Caroline was not inside. Victor had already taken her to Hawthorne Ridge. He sent the empty car into the river so the police would believe she died.\u201d
\nRuth began crying silently.
\n\u201cHe has kept Caroline alive because several stolen accounts remain in her name. Every year, he forces her to sign documents. I tried to rescue her. Frank Walters helped me collect proof.\u201d
\nThe recording paused.
\nThen Harold\u2019s voice returned.
\n\u201cIf Victor has assumed Frank\u2019s name, then Frank is also dead.\u201d
\nReynolds and I looked at each other.
\n\u201cVictor discovered that Frank had copied the financial records. Frank disappeared three days later.\u201d
\nRuth lowered herself onto the bed.
\nShe had just learned how a second person she loved had died.
\n\u201cVictor believes the only copies are inside this envelope. They are not. Copies were sent to an attorney with instructions to release them if Ruth, Natalie, or I died under suspicious circumstances.\u201d
\nThe officer stopped the recording.
\n\u201cWhich attorney?\u201d
\nReynolds unfolded Harold\u2019s letter.
\nA name appeared at the bottom.
\nDaniel Reeves.
\nRuth looked up.
\n\u201cI know him.\u201d
\n\u201cCan we contact him?\u201d
\n\u201cIf he\u2019s still alive.\u201d
\nAn officer searched the name.
\nDaniel Reeves still practiced law in downtown Cleveland.
\nReynolds called him.
\nThe attorney answered after three rings.
\nWhen Reynolds mentioned Harold Keller, the man became silent.
\nThen he said, \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting sixteen years for this call.\u201d
\nReeves confirmed that he possessed copies of the evidence.
\nHe had never released them because Victor had been declared dead.
\nHarold\u2019s instructions required proof that Victor was alive or another attack against the Keller family.
\n\u201cWe have both,\u201d Reynolds said.
\nReeves promised to send everything directly to the police and federal investigators.
\nFor the first time, we had something Victor didn\u2019t know.
\nThe red envelope was no longer the only evidence.
\nDestroying it would accomplish nothing.
\nBut Victor still had Natalie and Caroline.
\n\u201cWe can give him the envelope,\u201d I said.
\nReynolds shook his head.
\n\u201cWe can make him believe we\u2019re giving it to him.\u201d
\nHe removed the memory card.
\nAn officer photographed every page and replaced the card inside the envelope.
\nThen Reynolds fitted me with a small microphone beneath my shirt.
\n\u201cNo heroics,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cYou follow his instructions until we have a clear view.\u201d
\n\u201cHe told me to come alone.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019ll see you come alone.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat if he\u2019s monitoring police radios?\u201d
\n\u201cThen we won\u2019t use them near the river.\u201d
\nRuth stood.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going.\u201d
\n\u201cNo,\u201d Reynolds said.
\n\u201cHe wants me too.\u201d
\n\u201cHe asked for Evan.\u201d
\n\u201cHe will expect me to stay behind. That may be useful.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re not approaching that river.\u201d
\nRuth nodded as if she accepted his decision.
\nI should have known she didn\u2019t.
\nMy phone displayed another message.
\nMILLSTONE BRIDGE. NORTH ACCESS ROAD. FORTY MINUTES.
\nI drove my truck toward the river.
\nThe red envelope rested on the passenger seat.
\nPolice vehicles followed several minutes behind without lights.
\nThe snowstorm had ended, but dark clouds still covered the sky.
\nThe roads near the old water-treatment plant had not been cleared.
\nMy tires slipped twice.
\nVictor sent new instructions.<\/p>\n
STOP AT THE LOCKED GATE.
\nI found the gate across an abandoned service road.
\nThe chain had already been cut.
\nLEAVE YOUR PHONE IN THE TRUCK.
\nWALK TOWARD THE RIVER.
\nBRING THE ENVELOPE.
\nI placed my phone on the dashboard.
\nThe microphone remained beneath my shirt.
\nThen I stepped outside.
\nThe wind coming off the river cut through my coat.
\nMy boots sank into the snow.
\nAn old service path curved through leafless trees.
\nBeyond them, I saw the frozen river.
\nA red flag had been planted near the center.
\nNatalie and Caroline sat beside it.
\nBoth were still tied to chairs.
\nA wide hole had been cut into the ice behind them.
\nVictor stood between the women.
\nHe wore Frank\u2019s orange snow boots.
\nA pistol hung loosely from his right hand.
\n\u201cStop there,\u201d he called.
\nI stopped twenty feet from him.
\nNatalie lifted her head.
\n\u201cEvan, go back!\u201d
\nVictor struck the side of her chair with the pistol.
\n\u201cQuiet.\u201d
\n\u201cLet them go,\u201d I said.
\n\u201cShow me the envelope.\u201d
\nI held it up.
\n\u201cRelease Natalie first.\u201d
\nVictor laughed.
\n\u201cYou still think this is a negotiation.\u201d
\n\u201cI know the evidence has already been copied.\u201d
\nHis smile vanished.
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t possible.\u201d
\n\u201cHarold sent copies to an attorney.\u201d
\n\u201cHe lied.\u201d
\n\u201cDaniel Reeves is alive.\u201d
\nVictor\u2019s face changed.
\nFor the first time, I saw fear.
\nThen it disappeared.
\n\u201cIf the evidence has been released, these two are worth even less to me.\u201d
\nHe aimed the pistol at Caroline.
\n\u201cWait!\u201d
\n\u201cToss me the envelope.\u201d
\n\u201cIf I do, you release them.\u201d
\n\u201cToss it.\u201d
\nI threw the envelope across the ice.
\nIt landed several feet from him.
\nVictor ordered me to move back.
\nThen he walked forward and picked it up.
\nHe opened it.
\nThe memory card and letter were inside.
\nHe smiled again.
\n\u201cYou always were too easy to frighten, Evan.\u201d
\n\u201cYou lived next door to us for ten months.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you invited me into your home.\u201d
\nNatalie closed her eyes.
\nVictor looked at her.
\n\u201cMy own daughter recognized me before her husband did.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re not my father,\u201d Natalie said.
\nHis expression hardened.
\n\u201cYou have my name.\u201d
\n\u201cI changed my name when I married Evan.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd now you will die with his.\u201d
\nVictor poured lighter fluid over the envelope.
\nThen he set it on fire.
\nThe red paper curled in his hand.
\nHe dropped it onto the ice and watched it burn.
\n\u201cYou destroyed a copy,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t disappear again.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t need to disappear.\u201d
\nHe reached behind Caroline\u2019s chair and pulled a rope.
\nThe rope was attached to both chairs.
\nIts other end disappeared into the hole in the ice.
\nA heavy metal block hung beneath the water.
\nOne push would drag Natalie and Caroline into the river.
\n\u201cVictor, don\u2019t,\u201d Caroline whispered.
\nIt was the first time I heard her voice.
\nVictor looked at her without emotion.
\n\u201cYou should have signed the last transfer.\u201d
\n\u201cThere was no money left.\u201d
\n\u201cThere is always money.\u201d
\n\u201cYou took everything.\u201d
\n\u201cYou still had Natalie.\u201d
\nCaroline turned toward her daughter.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\nNatalie shook her head.
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t leave me.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were alive.\u201d
\n\u201cI tried to come home.\u201d
\nVictor kicked Caroline\u2019s chair.
\n\u201cEnough.\u201d
\nA quiet sound came from the trees behind me.
\nSnow crunching.
\nVictor heard it too.
\nHe raised the gun.
\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d
\nRuth stepped onto the ice.
\nShe held another red envelope in her hand.
\n\u201cYour mother-in-law,\u201d she said.
\nVictor stared at her.
\n\u201cYou never learned when to die.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you never learned that you weren\u2019t as clever as Harold.\u201d
\n\u201cGo back, Ruth,\u201d I said.
\nShe ignored me.
\n\u201cThis is the original evidence,\u201d she told Victor.
\nHe glanced at the burning envelope near his feet.
\n\u201cWhat did he give me?\u201d
\n\u201cA copy.\u201d
\n\u201cBring it here.\u201d
\n\u201cRelease Caroline.\u201d
\nVictor aimed at Ruth.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t give orders.\u201d
\n\u201cYou kept my daughter in a room for more than twenty years. You stole her life. You stole Natalie\u2019s childhood. You murdered my husband and used my name on a dead woman.\u201d
\nRuth continued walking.
\n\u201cI have waited twelve years to stand in front of you.\u201d
\n\u201cThen you can die first.\u201d
\nVictor pulled the trigger.
\nThe gunshot echoed across the frozen river.
\nRuth fell.
\nNatalie screamed.
\nI ran toward her.
\nVictor fired again.
\nThe bullet struck the ice near my feet.
\nA crack raced across the surface.
\n\u201cStop!\u201d he shouted.
\nI didn\u2019t.
\nVictor reached for the rope connected to the chairs.
\nCaroline threw her body sideways.
\nHer chair struck his legs.
\nVictor fell.
\nThe pistol slid across the ice.
\nNatalie kicked it toward the open water.
\nVictor grabbed the rope.
\nThe metal block shifted beneath the river.
\nBoth chairs began sliding backward.
\nI reached Natalie first.
\nI wrapped my arms around her and tried to pull the chair away from the hole.<\/p>\n
The rope tightened.
\nCaroline\u2019s chair tipped over.
\nHer head struck the ice.
\n\u201cMom!\u201d Natalie screamed.
\nVictor crawled toward the pistol.
\nRuth moved behind him.
\nThe bullet had torn through the sleeve of her coat, but she was alive.
\nShe grabbed one of the broken chair legs and struck Victor across the shoulder.
\nHe rolled onto his back.
\nReynolds and two officers emerged from the trees.
\n\u201cPolice! Don\u2019t move!\u201d
\nVictor raised his empty hands.
\nFor one second, I thought it was over.
\nThen the ice beneath Caroline broke.
\nHer chair plunged into the river.
\nThe rope snapped tight.
\nNatalie\u2019s chair shot toward the hole.
\nI held on with both hands.
\nThe edge of the ice cut through my sleeves.
\nNatalie\u2019s chair tipped over the dark water.
\nI grabbed her wrist.
\nThe rope pulled from below.
\n\u201cCut it!\u201d I shouted.
\nReynolds ran toward us with a knife.
\nVictor suddenly lunged for the pistol lying near the hole.
\nRuth tried to stop him.
\nHe struck her and reached the gun first.
\nReynolds froze.
\nVictor pressed the barrel against the rope.
\n\u201cIf I can\u2019t have my family,\u201d he said, \u201cneither can you.\u201d
\nHe fired.
\nThe rope broke.
\nNatalie dropped into the river.<\/p>\n
I threw myself forward and caught her hand.
\nFreezing water closed over her head.
\nI pulled until her face broke through the surface.
\n\u201cHold on!\u201d
\nShe gasped for air.
\nThen something beneath the water grabbed her ankle.
\nHer body jerked downward.
\nVictor was no longer on the ice.
\nHe had jumped into the river after her.
\nNatalie screamed as he pulled her under.
\nI reached farther into the hole.
\nThe ice cracked beneath my chest.
\nReynolds grabbed the back of my coat.
\nRuth held my legs.
\nUnder the black water, Natalie\u2019s fingers began slipping from mine.
\nThen her hand disappeared.
\nI took one breath and dove after her.
\nBeneath the ice, I saw Victor dragging Natalie toward Caroline\u2019s sinking chair.
\nI swam toward them.
\nVictor turned.
\nIn his hand was the brass key.
\nHe pointed toward a steel door hidden in the river wall.
\nThen he smiled and pulled Natalie through it.
\nThe door slammed shut.
\nI struck the metal with both fists.
\nThere was no handle.
\nOnly a tiny brass keyhole.
\nAnd on the other side, I heard Natalie scream my name\u2026.<\/p>\n