Chapter 12: The Woman Who Was Declared Dead
Evelyn Brooks was the first person to speak.
“Olivia, I need you to sit down.””
I didn't move.
“Rachel is alive?””
“We don't know that.””
“Michael said she was.””
“He also said he couldn't come home until he found her. That gives us a lead, not proof.””
I lowered the phone.
My hands were shaking so badly that Andrew took the chair beside me and guided me into it.
General Callahan remained on the video screen, staring at nothing.
“Michael said I signed the order that moved him,” he murmured.
I looked at him.
“Did you?””
“I signed an acknowledgment of a reassignment notice. I did not knowingly authorize a false death declaration.””
“Did you know the reassignment was connected to Meridian Systems?””
“No.””
“Did you know Michael was being moved outside the official personnel system?””
“I knew the assignment was restricted. I did not know he would disappear.””
I wanted to believe him.
But I couldn't afford to.
“Then we need the original order,” I said.
“Not your memory of it. Not a summary. The original document, including every signature and routing record.””
Callahan nodded.
“I'll request it through the appropriate investigative channel.””
Evelyn interrupted.
“And you must disclose the fact that Michael contacted Olivia. The recording of that call, if one exists, should be preserved. We cannot treat the conversation as authenticated without independent verification.””
I looked at her.
“Do you believe it was him?””
“I believe the caller knew details that deserve investigation. I won't go further than that until we have evidence.””
It was frustrating.
It was also exactly the discipline I needed.
I replayed the conversation in my mind.
The way he said my name.
The pause before he apologized.
The childhood promise.
The scar on his hand.
None of those details proved identity, but together they made it impossible to dismiss the call.
At 6:20 p.m., Evelyn received a reply from the investigator who had been asked to verify the report concerning Rachel Price.
The information was preliminary.
A woman using Rachel's legal name had been reported deceased in a neighboring county. However, the identification process was incomplete, and no public record had yet confirmed the identity.
Evelyn read the message twice.
“That means the report could be inaccurate,” she said.
“Or it could be correct.””
“Yes.””
I leaned forward.
“Can we establish whether the woman found was actually Rachel?””
“The authorities are already checking. We must not interfere with that process.””
I nodded.
Then another possibility occurred to me.
“Did Rachel have a reason to use another name?””
Evelyn looked at her notes.
“She changed her surname several years ago. Daniel told me she had done so after receiving unwanted contact concerning her father.””
“What name did she use?””
Evelyn gave it to me.
Rachel Morgan.
I wrote it down.
The name appeared in an old public article about a charity fundraiser held near Savannah. The article included a photograph of a woman with dark hair and a narrow face.
I enlarged the image.
I didn't recognize her.
But the date was recent enough to matter.
I turned the laptop toward Evelyn.
“Could this be Rachel?””
“Possibly. We'll verify the source and date.””
She made a note to have the image preserved.
Andrew paced beside the conference table.
“If Rachel is alive, why would Michael believe she was missing?””
“Because someone may have told him she was dead,” I replied.
“Or because she disappeared from the place where he expected to find her.””
“And if she's dead?””
“Then we find out why.””
The words sounded cold, but I couldn't afford to fall apart every time the investigation produced another uncertainty.
I had to keep moving.
At 7:05 p.m., my legal adviser contacted the investigator handling the report and provided the relevant information about Rachel's alternate name. The investigator agreed to consider it during the identification process.
We also supplied the anonymous messages and the details of Michael's call through the appropriate channels.
No one promised an immediate answer.
At 8:10 p.m., Madison called.
She had returned to her house and discovered that someone had left an envelope beneath the front door.
She hadn't opened it.
“Don't touch anything else,” I told her.
“Keep the area undisturbed and contact the police.””
“I already did. They're on their way.””
“Good. Did you see anyone outside?””
“No. But Olivia, there's something written on the envelope.””
“What?””
“My name.””
I closed my eyes.
“Just your name?””
“No.””
Her voice trembled.
“Underneath it, someone wrote, 'You were paid to forget.''”
I felt anger rise.
“Madison, listen to me. Do exactly what the officers tell you. Don't open it, don't photograph it yourself, and don't try to investigate who left it.””
“I won't.””
“Are you alone?””
“Yes.””
“Can you go somewhere safe once the police finish?””
She hesitated.
“I don't want to keep running.””
“This isn't about running. It's about giving yourself time to make good decisions.””
After a moment, she agreed to stay with a trusted friend.
When I ended the call, Andrew looked at me.
“Someone is trying to scare her into silence.””
“Or make it look that way,” Evelyn said.
“We should not assume who sent the envelope until it is examined.””
I nodded.
Every time I thought I had a clear enemy, another possibility appeared.
Thomas Reed might be involved.
Meridian Systems might be involved.
Someone might be using Reed's name.
Someone might be trying to frame General Callahan.
And Michael, if it really was him, had his own reasons for staying hidden.
I was beginning to understand why he had refused to come home.
The truth wasn't a single locked door.
It was a hallway full of doors, each one leading to another question.
At 9:30 p.m., Evelyn received a call from an investigator who had reviewed the initial information concerning Rachel's reported death.
She listened without interrupting.
Then she asked, “Are you certain?””
A pause.
“Understood. Please document that distinction in the report.””
She ended the call.
I stood.
“What did they find?””
“The woman reported dead was not yet conclusively identified as Rachel Price or Rachel Morgan.””
My chest tightened.
“So Michael could be right.””
“He could be. But we still don't know where Rachel is.””
I took a slow breath.
“Then how do we find her?””
Evelyn opened Daniel's email correspondence again.
“Daniel mentioned a former Meridian employee named Aaron Pike. He believed Pike had helped Rachel preserve records concerning her father.””
I looked at my notebook.
Aaron Pike.
The name from the morning.
“Have you found him?””
“Not yet. But there is an address in an old employment file. It's associated with a small storage facility outside Charleston.””
“Could Rachel be there?””
“Possibly. Or the address could be outdated. We'll verify it before anyone goes there.””
She contacted the appropriate authorities and provided the address for review. We agreed that no one would approach the location until the information had been checked and a safe, lawful plan established.
While we waited, I returned to Michael's statement.
The names at the bottom still bothered me.
Thomas Reed.
Peter Shaw.
Richard Callahan.
If Michael had written the statement, why had he included all three names without explaining their roles?
Was he identifying the people who had helped him?
Or the people who had betrayed him?
I enlarged the signature section.
At the bottom of the page, barely visible beneath a scan line, was a reference number.
*MS-07-4419.*
I typed it into my notes.
Then I compared it with the contract record we'd found earlier.
The restricted communications facility had been listed under a related reference ending in 4419.
The match might be significant.
It might also be a coincidence.
I sent the reference to Evelyn for independent verification.
At 10:17 p.m., my phone rang again.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Olivia.””
Michael's voice.
I stood so quickly that Andrew rose with me.
“Michael, where are you?””
“I can't stay on long.””
“Are you safe?””
“For now.””
“Rachel—”
“I know.””
“Is she alive?””
“I believe she is.””
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“Then tell me where she is.””
“I can't.””
“Michael, I need something. Anything I can verify.””
He was silent for a moment.
Then he said, “Do you remember the lighthouse?””
I closed my eyes.
Of course I did.
When we were children, our father had taken us to a lighthouse on the South Carolina coast. Michael had dared me to climb the narrow spiral stairs, then pretended not to be afraid when the wind rattled the windows at the top.
“You told me that if we ever got separated, we'd meet there,” I whispered.
“I remember.””
“Is that where you are?””
“No.””
“Then why bring it up?””
“Because the lighthouse wasn't the promise.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
He took a shaky breath.
“Look inside the book Dad gave you when you graduated. The one I wrote in.””
My heart began to pound.
I still had that book.
It was a worn copy of a military history, its pages marked with Michael's handwritten notes. He had given it to me before my first deployment, telling me that the best leaders learned from people who had made mistakes before them.
“What's inside it?””
“Something I left for you.””
“What?””
“The name of the person who helped me disappear.””
I gripped the phone.
“Michael, tell me now.””
“I can't.””
“Why not?””
“Because if I say it aloud, they may hear.””
“Who?””
He didn't answer.
Instead, he whispered, “Olivia, I need you to trust me one more time.””
I swallowed hard.
“I trusted you for five years.””
“I know.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
“I know.””
“You let me bury you.””
His voice broke.
“I am sorry.””
I pressed my free hand over my mouth.
For a moment, I was no longer a captain, an investigator, or a woman trying to preserve evidence.
I was a little sister who wanted her brother back.
“Come home,” I whispered.
“I will.””
“When?””
“When I know you can be safe.””
The line crackled.
“Michael?””
“One more thing.””
“Yes?””
“Don't let Richard tell you what happened to Samuel Price.””
The call ended.
I stood in silence.
General Callahan had heard enough to understand that Michael had spoken again.
“What did he say?”” he asked.
I looked at him.
“He told me not to trust your account of Samuel Price.””
Callahan closed his eyes.
Then he said something that made my stomach drop.
“Olivia, there's a reason I never told you the full story.””
I waited.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Samuel Price wasn't just the driver of the second vehicle.””
May you like
His voice faltered.
“He was the man who reported your brother missing.””
