Chapter 14 - THE DRIVER WHO DISAPPEARED
Samuel Cross had vanished fifteen years earlier.
No tax records.
No property.
No credit cards.
No driver’s license.
Nothing.
It was as if he had stopped existing.
But Jonathan had left one clue.
On the back of the second letter was a hand-drawn lighthouse.
June recognized it.
“Dad took me there.”
Elise turned.
“When?”
“Before he died. Cape Arden.”
Cape Arden was a small fishing town along the Maine coast.
Sheriff Reeves refused to let Elise travel alone.
Thomas insisted on coming.
June insisted even harder.
“No.”
“Mom—”
“No.”
“You said Dad took me there. Maybe I remember something.”
Elise hated that she was right.
They arrived at Cape Arden the following afternoon.
The lighthouse stood at the end of a rocky peninsula overlooking gray Atlantic water.
June pointed toward a small cottage.
“That one.”
Elise knocked.
No answer.
Reeves checked the door.
Unlocked.
Inside, the cottage looked recently abandoned.
Coffee still sat in a mug.
A coat hung near the entrance.
Then June noticed scratches beneath the kitchen table.
Three numbers.
4-1-8.
Thomas frowned.
“What does that mean?”
June walked to an old radio.
“It’s not numbers.”
She turned the dial to 418 AM.
Static.
Then a voice.
“Jonathan?”
Everyone froze.
The voice came through an amateur radio receiver.
Elise grabbed the microphone.
“This is Elise Marlowe.”
Silence.
Then:
“My God.”
“Samuel?”
A long pause.
“You shouldn’t be there.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“My father died because of Helena.”
Another silence.
Then Samuel whispered, “Your father died because of me.”
Elise gripped the table.
“What?”
“I was driving.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Samuel’s breathing grew uneven.
“Michael discovered Helena was transferring money through municipal redevelopment projects. He copied everything. That night, I was supposed to drive him to the FBI office in Portland.”
Elise could barely speak.
“And?”
“Helena called me.”
Samuel’s voice cracked.
“She told me they had my daughter.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“She ordered me to change routes.”
“To the bridge?”
“Yes.”
Elise felt tears burning.
“You killed him.”
“No.”
Samuel’s voice hardened.
“I refused.”
Everyone looked at the radio.
Samuel continued.
“I pulled over. Michael got out. Another car appeared behind us.”
“Who?”
“I never saw the driver.”
“What happened?”
“They hit Michael.”
Elise covered her mouth.
“They forced his body into his car and pushed it over the bridge.”
Reeves stepped closer to the radio.
“Samuel, we can protect you.”
“No one can protect me.”
“Elise needs your testimony.”
Samuel laughed bitterly.
“Testimony isn’t what Helena fears.”
“What does she fear?”
“The ledger.”
Thomas went rigid.
“What ledger?”
“The original ledger. Names, dates, payments. Michael hid it before he died.”
“Where?”
Samuel paused.
“Jonathan found it.”
Elise’s heart pounded.
“Where did he put it?”
“He divided the location into seven letters.”
Suddenly, the cottage lights died.
Reeves drew his gun.
Outside, tires crunched over gravel.
Samuel shouted through the radio.
“RUN!”
The front window exploded.
Reeves pulled Elise and June behind the wall.
Thomas crawled toward the rear door.
Three masked men entered through the front.
Then gunfire erupted.
Reeves returned fire.
“Back door! Now!”
Elise grabbed June.
They ran toward the cliffs.
Behind them, Thomas screamed.
Elise looked back.
A masked man had him.
“Go!” Thomas shouted.
Then the attacker struck him.
Elise wanted to turn around.
Reeves physically pushed her forward.
They reached the rocks as an SUV sped away from the cottage.
Thomas Keene was inside.
Kidnapped.
And on Elise’s phone, a message appeared.
May you like
BRING US THE NEXT LETTER.
OR KEENE DIES.
