Chapter 4 - The Man in the Black SedanElias Mercer lived in a small house outside Mount Pleasant.
Samuel arrived with Daniel just after noon.
They found the front door unlocked.
The house was empty.
No furniture.
No photographs.
No dishes.
Only a single chair in the middle of the living room.
On the chair was an envelope.
Samuel opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Rachel.
On the back:
You came too late.
Daniel looked around.
“Someone knew we'd come.”
Samuel turned the photograph over again.
Rachel was standing beside her car.
Behind her, barely visible, was a black sedan.
The license plate had been scratched out.
Daniel examined the photo.
“This was taken before the accident.”
“How do you know?”
“There are leaves on the ground.”
He pointed.
“Late winter.”
Samuel folded the photograph.
“Find everything you can on Mercer.”
Daniel stepped toward the kitchen.
“There's more.”
Under the floorboard, they found a small recorder.
The batteries were almost dead.
Samuel pressed play.
Elias's voice filled the room.
“Rachel, you need to leave tonight.”
Rachel answered.
“I can't.”
“Then take Avery.”
“I won't run.”
“Jordan knows.”
A pause.
Then Rachel whispered:
“He knows about the ledger.”
The recording crackled.
Elias said:
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Your husband isn't the person making the decisions.”
Rachel went silent.
“Then who is?”
The recording ended.
Samuel stared at the recorder.
Daniel asked, “Do you think Mercer meant Madeline?”
“I don't know.”
A noise came from outside.
Tires.
Samuel moved toward the window.
The same black sedan from the photograph was parked across the road.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
The sedan accelerated.
Samuel ran outside.
It disappeared around the corner.
He returned furious.
“We should have followed.”
“No.”
Daniel looked at the recorder.
“This isn't a warning anymore.”
“What is it?”
“A message.”
That evening, Jordan sat across from Madeline in a private office.
“You said Samuel wouldn't find the file.”
“He wasn't supposed to.”
“He did.”
Madeline poured herself wine.
“Then we move the date.”
Jordan stared.
“What date?”
“The transfer.”
“You can't change a government filing.”
“I can change the reason behind it.”
Jordan's face tightened.
“And Avery?”
Madeline looked at him.
“Avery is the problem.”
“She is my daughter.”
“She is Rachel's daughter.”
Jordan said nothing.
Madeline leaned forward.
“Do you know why Rachel kept her away from me?”
Jordan's jaw tightened.
“Because she didn't trust you.”
“No.”
Madeline smiled.
“Because she knew exactly who I was.”
Jordan looked away.
Madeline continued.
“Your daughter knows something.”
“She is six.”
“Children remember strange things.”
Jordan stood.
“She doesn't understand any of this.”
“Maybe.”
Madeline's voice softened.
“But she remembers that night.”
Jordan froze.
“What night?”
“The night Rachel died.”
In Samuel's house, Avery sat drawing.
She drew a car.
A bridge.
A woman.
Then another figure.
A tall man.
Nora sat beside her.
“Who is that?”
Avery shook her head.
“Don't know.”
“Did you see him before?”
Avery nodded.
“Mommy did.”
“What did he do?”
Avery pressed her crayon harder.
“He took Mommy's phone.”
Nora's heart sank.
“When?”
“The night she died.”
Samuel came over.
“Avery.”
The little girl looked up.
“Tell me exactly what you remember.”
She frowned.
“Mommy was crying.”
“Then?”
“Daddy was yelling.”
“About what?”
“The blue book.”
Samuel exchanged a glance with Nora.
“And then?”
Avery lowered her voice.
“A man came.”
“What man?”
“The man in the picture.”
Samuel felt the room shrink.
“What did he say?”
Avery looked frightened.
“He told Mommy…”
She stopped.
Samuel knelt.
“What?”
“He said, ‘Your father will come looking.’”
Samuel's blood ran cold.
“My father?”
Avery nodded.
“Mommy said…”
She began crying.
“She said, ‘He will find you.’”
Samuel held her.
Then Avery whispered:
“And Daddy said, ‘Not if I get there first.’”
That night, Samuel called an old detective friend.
He asked for the original accident report.
The detective warned him it had been sealed.
Samuel asked him anyway.
An hour later, the detective called back.
“There is something missing.”
“What?”
“A second vehicle.”
Samuel stood.
“What second vehicle?”
“The report says one vehicle was involved.”
“But?”
“But the traffic camera shows two.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“Send it.”
A video arrived.
The timestamp was 11:42 p.m.
Rachel's car entered the frame.
Ten seconds later, the black sedan followed.
At the next camera, the sedan was gone.
Rachel's car continued alone.
Then came the final camera.
Rachel's headlights disappeared.
The black sedan appeared again.
But this time it wasn't following Rachel.
It was parked.
Waiting.
Samuel replayed the footage.
And saw something he had missed.
May you like
The person who stepped out of the sedan was not Elias Mercer.
It was Jordan.
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