Chapter 9: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
For a moment, nobody spoke.
My access code had supposedly opened a restricted hospital archive two years ago. Now it had opened a county evidence room containing a ledger connected to my wife's death.
I looked at Investigator Chen.
“I have never been inside that facility before tonight.””
“I believe you,” she said.
“But we need to establish how your credentials were used.””
“Someone is copying everything. My badge, my signature, my access code. How many times do I have to prove I'm not the person doing these things?””
“You shouldn't have to prove it alone,” Renee said.
Her voice was firm, but I noticed that she kept glancing toward the window.
She was expecting someone.
Or afraid someone would arrive.
Chen called the county evidence supervisor and ordered the room sealed. She instructed the facility to preserve the camera footage, access logs, and electronic lock records.
Then she looked at Olivia.
“You'll need to provide a formal statement about the pathology transfer record.””
Olivia nodded.
“I will.””
“Until we establish whether someone is targeting you, don't return to your apartment alone. We'll arrange a safe location through the prosecutor's office.””
Olivia glanced at me.
“Daniel, there's something else.””
I turned toward her.
“Go ahead.””
“Claire told me that if the transfer record disappeared, I should look for a person who could prove the hospital's records had been altered.””
“Who?””
“She didn't give me a name. She said the person would have a scar across the left palm.””
Renee's expression changed.
“What kind of scar?””
“A long, pale line. Like a surgical incision.””
She looked down at her own hands.
“Claire said the person had once worked in evidence processing before moving into hospital administration.””
Chen took a note.
“Did she mention the person's gender?””
Olivia shook her head.
“No. She said the person was trusted by both the police department and the hospital.””
Renee stared at the floor.
“There's only one person I can think of who fits that description.””
“Who?”” I asked.
She looked up.
“Samuel Price.””
The hospital administrator.
Marcus let out a breath.
“Dr. Price used to work as a civilian evidence technician for the police department. He left after an injury to his hand.””
Chen immediately called the prosecutor.
“We need to locate Samuel Price and secure his access credentials.””
She listened for several seconds.
Then her expression hardened.
“Understood. I'll send the details.””
She ended the call.
“Price's office is empty. His vehicle is gone, and he hasn't answered his phone.””
I looked at the confession on the table.
“Then he's running.””
“Possibly,” Chen replied.
“But we won't assume anything until we locate him.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*You have the wrong man. Price is only the clerk. Find the woman who died twice.*
I read it aloud.
Renee went completely still.
Chen took my phone and photographed the message.
“Did Claire ever mention a woman connected to her investigation?””
I tried to think.
“No.””
Olivia looked uncertain.
“Maybe she did.””
I turned toward her.
“What do you mean?””
“About three weeks before the accident, Claire asked me whether a person could be legally declared dead without a body being recovered.””
My chest tightened.
“What did you tell her?””
“That it depended on the circumstances, but it would be unusual if there were witnesses or a formal identification.””
“Did she explain why she was asking?””
Olivia shook her head.
“She said she was checking a case file. I assumed it was related to her work.””
Chen leaned forward.
“Did she mention a name?””
Olivia closed her eyes, searching her memory.
“Margaret Vale.””
Renee's head snapped up.
“Say that again.””
“Margaret Vale. Claire asked me whether I'd ever heard the name.””
Renee stood.
“Margaret Vale was declared dead nine years ago.””
“How?”” I asked.
“A house fire. The victim was identified through dental records, but the body was badly damaged. The investigation was closed after the family confirmed the identification.””
Chen opened her tablet.
“Was there a criminal investigation?””
“Yes. A missing evidence case involving the police department and a private medical contractor. Several records disappeared. Margaret was listed as a witness.””
“Who was the suspect?””
Renee hesitated.
“Thomas Mercer.””
I stared at her.
“The man who was murdered three days ago?””
“Yes.””
The room seemed to contract around us.
Thomas Mercer had been investigating Claire's death. Claire had been investigating him. Now a woman declared dead nine years earlier had appeared in the same chain of evidence.
I looked at the message again.
Find the woman who died twice.
“Can you find Margaret Vale's death certificate?”” Chen asked.
Renee nodded slowly.
“I can request it.””
“Do it through the county records office, not the police database.””
Renee made the call.
While she spoke, Chen received a notification from the evidence facility. She read it twice before turning the screen toward us.
The camera footage showed a figure entering the evidence room at 12:06 a.m.
The person wore a dark hooded jacket and a surgical mask.
They approached the table, opened the black book, and removed a single page.
Then they placed something else inside the ledger before leaving.
Chen paused the video.
“Can you identify the person?”” I asked.
“Not from this angle.””
“Can you see what they left?””
She zoomed in.
A small white envelope.
The same black bird with the broken wing.
My heart sank.
“Open it,” I said.
“We'll retrieve it under supervision and document it properly.””
“How long will that take?””
“An hour, perhaps less.””
I laughed bitterly.
“An hour is a long time when somebody is erasing your life one record at a time.””
Chen didn't respond.
She was studying the footage.
Then she pointed at the person's left hand.
“Look at the wrist.””
A thin strip of white fabric protruded from the sleeve.
Renee leaned closer.
“That's a hospital identification band.””
Marcus looked at the screen.
“It's the same type we use for restricted-area personnel.””
Chen called the facility supervisor again and asked for the figure's movements before entering the evidence room.
The supervisor reported that the person had used a side entrance and bypassed the lobby cameras.
“How?”” I asked.
“The side entrance has an older access system,” Chen explained.
“Someone with administrative credentials could have opened it remotely.””
“Price?””
“Possibly.””
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
*Locker 214 was never the destination. It was the warning.*
A photograph followed.
It showed the interior of a hospital room.
A woman lay in bed, her face turned toward the window. An oxygen line ran beneath her nose. Her dark hair rested against a white pillow.
I couldn't see her face clearly.
But I recognized the green coat hanging over the chair beside the bed.
Claire's coat.
The same one she'd worn in the photograph from the hospital entrance.
I enlarged the image.
A paper wristband was visible around the woman's arm.
The printed name was partly obscured by a fold.
Only the first letters were visible.
*C. WIL—*
My hands began to shake.
“That's Claire.””
Renee took the phone.
“Daniel, we don't know that.””
“Look at the coat. Look at the hair.””
“Those details aren't enough.””
“Then find the room!””
Chen immediately contacted the hospital's security office and asked whether the image could be matched to a current or archived patient room.
Marcus studied the background.
“That's not one of our standard rooms,” he said.
“The wall panel is older. It might be from the rehabilitation annex.””
“The annex was closed five years ago,” Renee replied.
“Not entirely. Some of the rooms were leased to a private care provider.””
Chen looked at him.
“Which provider?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Northbridge Recovery Services.””
Renee's face changed.
“Northbridge was investigated in connection with the Margaret Vale case.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“The company operated a secure rehabilitation facility for witnesses and patients requiring long-term care. There were allegations that records had been falsified, but the investigation collapsed after Margaret's death.””
Chen wrote down the name.
“We'll request the facility's records and identify the room.””
My phone vibrated once more.
This time, the message contained no text.
Only a video.
I pressed play.
The image was grainy and slightly tilted, as though someone had placed a phone on a shelf.
A woman sat in a chair beside a window.
Her face was thinner than I remembered. Her hair had grown longer. A pale scar crossed her forehead.
But when she turned toward the camera, I saw the small dimple in her left cheek.
The dimple that appeared whenever she tried not to laugh.
Claire had that dimple.
My wife had that dimple.
The woman leaned toward the camera.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
My knees nearly gave way.
“Claire?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“If you're watching this, they've found the evidence.””
She glanced toward the door.
Then she looked directly into the camera.
“Don't trust Renee. Don't trust Lawson. And whatever happens, don't let them take Nia to the hospital.””
The video ended.
I couldn't move.
Renee stood beside me, her face drained of color.
Chen stared at the screen.
Marcus had covered his mouth with one hand.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered without thinking.
A woman's voice whispered, “Daniel?””
I stopped breathing.
“Claire?””
“Listen to me. You don't have much time.””
“Where are you? Are you alive?””
“I can't explain everything right now.””
“Two years, Claire. I've spent two years believing you were dead.””
“I know.””
“Why didn't you come home?””
A sob escaped her.
“Because the last time I tried, they threatened to kill Nia.””
I gripped the phone so tightly my fingers hurt.
“Who?””
“Samuel Price. Officer Grant. And the man who signed your confession.””
“Lawson?””
“No.”” Her voice broke.
“Lawson is afraid of him.””
I stared at Renee.
“Then who is it?””
Claire took a shaky breath.
“Daniel, the person who ordered my death is—”
A loud crash sounded through the phone.
Claire screamed.
Then another voice spoke, calm and unmistakably familiar.
“That's enough, Claire.””
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Renee reached for her radio.
Chen was already moving toward the door.
And from the speaker, before the call finally disconnected, came the last words I heard.
May you like
“Hello, Daniel,” the man said.
“It's time we met properly.””
