Chương 8
He had heard that story before.
But not all of it.
“You knew he thought someone broke into the studio,” Rachel said.
“Yes.”
“And you never told anyone?”
Laura’s face tightened.
“I tried.”
Rachel waited.
“When I told the police, they asked if Thomas had enemies.”
“And?”
“I said no.”
“Did he?”
Laura hesitated.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised everyone.
“Who?”
Laura looked toward the hallway.
Toward Mark.
Then she shook her head.
“Not Mark.”
Rachel noticed the quick denial.
Important.
“Who then?”
Laura took a breath.
“Thomas had a business partner.”
“What was his name?”
“Daniel Price.”
Rachel wrote it down.
“What happened between them?”
Laura looked exhausted.
“They fought.”
“About?”
“Money.”
That answer was ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Rachel had learned that ordinary explanations were often where complicated problems started.
“How bad was the fight?”
Laura looked away.
“Bad enough that Thomas changed the locks.”
Ethan suddenly spoke.
“The locks?”
Laura nodded.
“On the studio.”
The boy looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because he was scared someone would come back.”
Rachel felt the pieces move.
The key.
The locked room.
The recordings.
The changed locks.
Thomas’s fear.
“Why didn’t you tell Ethan and Sophie their father was scared?” Rachel asked.
Laura looked at her son.
“Because I didn’t want their last memory of him to be fear.”
Ethan looked away.
The answer hurt him.
Rachel could see that.
Not because he disagreed.
Because he was old enough now to wonder what else had been kept from him.
A phone rang at the front desk.
The sound broke the silence.
An officer answered.
“Police department.”
Everyone ignored the conversation.
Until the officer’s expression changed.
He looked toward Rachel.
“Officer Hayes.”
Rachel walked over.
“What is it?”
The officer covered the receiver.
“Someone from the county records office is calling.”
“About what?”
“They said they received a request for information on the Carter property.”
Rachel frowned.
“Who requested it?”
The officer looked at the screen.
“Mark Holden.”
Rachel looked toward the hallway.
That was unexpected.
“Tell them to hold.”
She turned back.
“Why would Mark search the property records tonight?”
Nobody answered.
But Laura did not look surprised.
She looked scared.
“Because he found out about Daniel.”
Rachel looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
Laura lowered her voice.
“Mark wasn’t looking for the room.”
“Then what was he looking for?”
Laura stared at the floor.
“The reason Thomas was afraid.”
Ethan looked between them.
“Mom.”
Laura reached for his hand.
This time, he let her.
“Your father didn’t die because of a random accident.”
Rachel held still.
“Laura.”
The woman looked at her.
“I don’t know who caused it.”
The honesty mattered.
“But I know Thomas was trying to prove something before he died.”
“What?”
Laura’s voice almost disappeared.
“He recorded a conversation.”
“With who?”
Laura looked toward the hallway where Mark had been.
Then back at Rachel.
“With Daniel Price.”
Rachel looked at the key.
The hidden room.
The missing pictures.
The old recordings.
The story was no longer about what two children had found.
It was about what someone had spent years trying to keep buried.
Rachel did not move for a moment.
The station lobby felt smaller than it had a few minutes earlier.
Not because there were more people.
Because the truth had taken up space.
“Daniel Price,” Rachel repeated.
Laura nodded.
“He was Thomas’s partner.”
“What kind of partner?”
“They restored old recordings.”
Rachel looked confused.
“Music?”
Laura nodded.
“Thomas loved old audio equipment.”
Ethan looked at his mother.
“I didn’t know that.”
Laura’s face tightened.
“I know.”
The words carried more regret than explanation.
“I kept thinking I was protecting you.”
Ethan looked down.
“But you were protecting yourself too.”
Laura closed her eyes.
The sentence hurt because it was true.
Rachel watched the mother and son stand there with years of things they had never said between them.
Sometimes secrets were not created because people wanted to hurt each other.
Sometimes they were created because people were afraid of what honesty would destroy.
“Can we go to the house?” Rachel asked.
Laura looked at her.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if there are recordings, we need to secure them.”
Laura hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“I’ll take you there.”
Before they left, Rachel checked on Mark.
He was still in the interview room.
He looked up when she entered.
“Are we done?”
“Not yet.”
Mark sighed.
“I figured.”
Rachel sat across from him.
“Why did you request property records tonight?”
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“You found out about that?”
“Yes.”
Mark looked away.
“I was trying to understand something.”
“What?”
“Why Laura never trusted me.”
Rachel waited.
Mark rubbed his hands together.
“I found Daniel’s name in an old document.”
“When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“In the basement.”
Rachel watched him carefully.
“You were in the room again.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Mark looked frustrated.
“Because I was tired of feeling like a stranger in my own house.”
The answer was uncomfortable because it sounded human.
Not innocent.
Not guilty.
Human.
“What did you find?”
“A receipt.”
“For what?”
“Storage equipment.”
Rachel paused.
“Daniel Price?”
Mark nodded.
“I searched his name.”
“And?”
“He died.”
Rachel looked at him.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
The timing mattered.
“What did you think that meant?”
Mark looked down.
“I didn’t know.”
Rachel studied him.
“You searched him before tonight.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell anyone.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Mark gave a tired smile.
“Because every time I asked Laura about something, she looked at me like I was a threat.”
Rachel did not respond.
Because there was something uncomfortable about the statement.
Sometimes people became secretive because they were hiding something.
Sometimes they became secretive because they felt excluded.
Both could look the same from the outside.
“Did you know Thomas was investigating something before he died?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the recordings?”
“No.”
“Did you know Laura hid the key?”
“No.”
Mark looked toward the floor.
“I knew she was afraid.”
Rachel watched him.
“Of what?”
May you like
He answered quietly.
“Of losing another person.”
