Chapter 3 - The Man Outside the Wreath
Daniel did not open the door.
He called Marcus.
The stranger remained on the porch beneath the wreath, snow gathering on his shoulders. He was perhaps sixty, gray-haired, wearing an old navy overcoat. He made no attempt to hide from the security camera.
Meredith stood in the kitchen.
“You know him,” Daniel said.
“No.”
“You’re afraid of him.”
“I’m afraid of what he brought.”
“What did he bring?”
She looked at Daniel. “A story.”
Marcus arrived with two officers.
Only then did Daniel open the door.
The stranger introduced himself as Thomas Vale.
“I was Rachel’s attorney.”
Daniel frowned. “Rachel’s attorney was Peter Lang.”
“Her family attorney. I represented her privately for six weeks.”
Thomas held out a padded envelope.
Inside was a red Christmas ornament painted with a tiny white house.
Daniel recognized it.
Rachel had bought two identical ornaments during their first Christmas together.
One still hung on his tree.
“Why do you have this?”
“Because Rachel gave it to me the morning she died.”
Meredith said, “He’s lying.”
Thomas looked at her.
“You still do that when you’re frightened.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“You knew each other?”
Thomas nodded.
“Warren Cole hired my firm years ago. I left after I learned what he was doing.”
“What was he doing?”
“Stealing from charitable trusts.”
Daniel glanced toward Meredith.
Thomas continued. “Rachel discovered it. But the money was not the worst part.”
“What was?”
“Warren used families receiving charity assistance as cover. Empty houses, temporary addresses, fake repair invoices. Money disappeared through them.”
Daniel’s stomach turned.
The Hart Foundation had been Rachel’s pride.
“She found out?”
“Yes.”
“And Meredith?”
Thomas looked at her.
“She tried to warn Rachel.”
Daniel turned sharply.
Meredith’s eyes filled.
“That’s not what Sophie remembers.”
“No,” Meredith said. “Because Sophie saw the end of the argument, not the beginning.”
Daniel’s anger rose. “Then tell me the beginning.”
Meredith sat down.
For six years she had apparently carried the story in silence. Now it came slowly.
She had discovered her father forging Rachel’s signatures. She went to Rachel that night. They argued because Rachel planned to go directly to police. Meredith begged her to wait until they had proof that could not disappear.
“I wore the red coat,” Meredith said. “Sophie saw me.”
“Why did Rachel tell Sophie to hide?”
“Because my father called while I was there. Rachel put him on speaker. He threatened her.”
Daniel stared.
“Then what?”
“Rachel left.”
“And you followed her.”
“Yes.”
The room became still.
“In the black SUV?”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s hands curled.
“You lied.”
“I followed because I was afraid.”
“Were you at the crash?”
Meredith began crying.
“Yes.”
Daniel looked away.
Six years of Christmases.
Six years of believing he knew where his wife had been that night.
“What happened?”
“I found her car off the road.”
“Alive?”
Meredith hesitated.
That hesitation terrified him.
“She was alive.”
Daniel’s voice barely worked. “How alive?”
“She spoke to me.”
“What did she say?”
Meredith covered her mouth.
“Tell me.”
“She said, ‘Don’t let Warren get the children.’”
Daniel stepped back.
Ben had been unborn.
Rachel had been dying and thinking about her children.
“Did you call 911?”
“Yes.”
“The emergency call came sixteen minutes after the crash.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Meredith looked at Thomas.
Thomas answered.
“Because someone else arrived.”
“Who?”
Meredith whispered, “My father.”
Daniel felt the floor shift beneath him.
Warren Cole had died three years ago.
Or so Daniel believed.
The official story was a heart attack in Arizona. Closed casket. Private burial.
Marcus’s phone rang.
He stepped away, listened, then returned with a face Daniel did not like.
“We checked Warren Cole’s death certificate.”
“And?”
“The physician who signed it lost his license for falsifying medical records.”
Meredith stood abruptly.
“No.”
Marcus continued. “There’s no cremation record. No verified burial record either.”
Daniel stared at Meredith.
“Your father may be alive.”
She shook her head.
“He can’t be.”
Thomas said, “He can.”
Everyone looked at him.
Thomas removed another envelope.
“I received this yesterday.”
The postmark was from Vermont.
Inside was a Christmas card showing a snowy covered bridge.
No signature.
Only five words.
THE CHILD REMEMBERS TOO MUCH.
Daniel’s fear became immediate.
“Sophie.”
He called Rebecca.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then his phone rang.
Rebecca.
Daniel answered.
“Where are the kids?”
Rebecca was breathing hard.
“They’re with me. We’re okay.”
“What happened?”
“A man came to the door asking for directions.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Did you open it?”
“No. But Daniel…”
“What?”
“He left something on the porch.”
May you like
“What?”
“A red coat.”
