Chapter 11: The Father Who Was Still Alive
The photograph lay in the mud between Andre's shoes.
For several seconds, he seemed incapable of moving.
Thomas Reed was rushed toward an ambulance while Detective Bennett ordered the officers to secure the site. Rebecca stood beside me, one hand covering her mouth.
Andre bent slowly and looked at the photograph without touching it.
The man in the image had gray hair and deep lines around his eyes. He stood outside a convenience store beneath a faded sign, wearing a brown jacket and holding a paper cup.
But the eyes were the same.
The same dark eyes Andre had inherited.
"That's my father," he whispered.
I had never heard his voice sound so young.
Detective Bennett returned with an evidence bag.
"Mr. Jackson, we'll need to examine this photograph before drawing conclusions.""
Andre looked up sharply.
"Thomas recognized him.""
"That doesn't establish when or where the photograph was taken.""
"Then ask him.""
"We will, as soon as he's medically cleared.""
Andre's jaw tightened.
For a moment, I thought he would argue.
Instead, he stepped aside.
He had spent twenty years fighting to be heard. He knew what happened when people treated suspicion as proof.
But I could see the hope fighting with the fear in his face.
If James Jackson was alive, Andre's entire understanding of his childhood had been built around a lie.
And if someone had hidden his father for twenty years, the question wasn't simply where James had gone.
It was why.
At the hospital, Thomas was taken into an examination room while Detective Bennett spoke with the medical staff.
Andre paced the corridor.
I sat beside Rebecca, staring at the photograph through the clear evidence sleeve.
"How could someone disappear for twenty years?"" I asked.
Rebecca spoke carefully.
"People disappear for many reasons. Some choose to leave. Some are forced to leave. Sometimes the people searching for them are given false information.""
"And sometimes people make sure nobody searches too hard.""
She nodded.
"Yes.""
Andre stopped pacing.
"Thomas told me my father was the last person he saw before he disappeared. He never mentioned seeing him alive afterward.""
"Perhaps he was afraid," I said.
"Of whom?""
I didn't have an answer.
A nurse emerged from the examination room.
"Mr. Reed is conscious. The doctor says he can speak with the detective, but he needs rest.""
Detective Bennett entered first.
A few minutes later, she came back out.
"Mr. Reed has agreed to speak with you both, provided you understand that we're still investigating the circumstances.""
Andre followed her inside.
Thomas lay on the bed with a bandage around his forehead and a bruise spreading across his cheek. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were clear.
When he saw Andre, he began to cry.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Andre stood beside the bed.
"Where is my father?""
Thomas swallowed.
"I don't know where he is now.""
"Then how do you know he's alive?""
Thomas closed his eyes.
"Because I saw him.""
"When?""
"Three months ago.""
Andre gripped the bed rail.
"Where?""
"At a gas station outside Louisville. I was visiting my sister. I saw a man getting into a truck, and I recognized him immediately.""
"Why didn't you call the police?""
Thomas looked ashamed.
"Because he saw me, too. He came over and told me not to say anything.""
"What did he tell you?""
Thomas hesitated.
"He said he was alive because he had no choice. He said if anyone knew where he was, people would die.""
Andre stepped back.
"That doesn't make sense.""
"I know.""
"Did he explain why he left us?""
Thomas shook his head.
"He said he couldn't explain it. Not there.""
Andre's eyes filled with tears.
"My mother spent years looking for him. She died believing he was dead.""
Thomas lowered his head.
"I know.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know whether he was telling the truth. And because the same man who threatened your father threatened me.""
"Edward Vale?""
Thomas nodded.
"He found me two weeks after I saw James. He told me that if I contacted you, he'd make sure the old investigation was reopened and I'd be charged with stealing evidence from the school.""
Andre stared at him.
"Why would Vale care whether I knew my father was alive?""
Thomas took a shaky breath.
"Because James knows what happened to the original drawing.""
The room fell silent.
I stepped closer.
"What does the drawing have to do with James's disappearance?""
Thomas looked at me.
"Everything.""
He explained that James had discovered the financial scheme years before the riverfront project. He'd found evidence that Vale's companies were diverting money from construction contracts through shell businesses. He planned to give the records to investigators.
But before he could do so, Bennett's company accused him of stealing confidential documents.
His job disappeared. His reputation was destroyed. Then, one night, he vanished.
Thomas said James had returned to Nashville briefly in 2006, hoping to retrieve the financial records he'd hidden before leaving.
"Did he meet Margaret Collins?"" I asked.
Thomas nodded.
"Your mother was the only person he trusted who wasn't connected to Bennett.""
I remembered the diary entry.
I have to speak to the only person who saw what happened.
"Did my mother hide the records?""
"She helped him.""
My throat tightened.
"Where?""
Thomas looked toward Detective Bennett.
"I can tell you what I remember, but I need protection. I won't survive another visit from Vale's people.""
The detective nodded.
"We can discuss protective measures with the appropriate authorities. But you need to be honest with us about everything you know.""
Thomas looked at Andre.
"Your father left something for you. He told me that if I ever found you, I should give it to you.""
He reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a small envelope.
Andre took it with shaking hands.
His name was written across the front.
The handwriting was unmistakable from the old school documents.
James Jackson.
Andre opened the envelope.
Inside was a short letter.
Andre,
If you're reading this, it means someone finally told you the truth. I never stopped loving you or your mother. I left because I believed it was the only way to keep you both alive.
I made mistakes. I trusted people I should have feared, and I stayed silent when I should have spoken.
I cannot explain everything in a letter. But I need you to know that the original evidence still exists, and it can prove who destroyed our family.
Look beneath the place where your mother kept her favorite photograph.
When you find it, you'll understand why I couldn't come home.
Andre read the letter twice.
Then he pressed it against his chest.
I watched him struggle to contain his grief.
All those years, he had believed his father had abandoned him.
Now he knew James had been alive, perhaps only a few hours away, while Andre built his life without him.
"Why didn't he contact me?"" Andre whispered.
Thomas had no answer.
Detective Bennett stepped forward.
"We'll need to preserve that letter. It may contain evidence relevant to the investigation.""
Andre handed it to her reluctantly.
"I understand.""
Then he looked at Thomas.
"Where was my mother keeping her favorite photograph?""
Thomas frowned.
"I don't know.""
I thought of the diary.
The family photographs in the house.
My mother had kept a framed picture of my father, herself, and me beside the staircase. But Andre's mother had her own home, her own memories, her own secrets.
"Did your mother have a favorite photograph?"" I asked Andre.
He nodded.
"She kept one on the mantel above our fireplace. It was taken on my seventh birthday.""
"Do you still have it?""
"No. The house was sold after she died.""
Thomas suddenly lifted his head.
"Wait.""
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked frightened again.
"Your mother didn't keep that photograph at home.""
Andre went still.
"Which mother?""
"Margaret.""
My heart began pounding.
Thomas continued.
"She gave me a photograph once. She said it was insurance. If anything happened to her, I was supposed to deliver it to James Jackson.""
"Where is it?"" I asked.
Thomas's face crumpled.
"I gave it to Daniel Brooks.""
Andre's expression turned cold.
"When?""
"After Margaret died.""
"Why?""
"He told me he was acting on your father's instructions. He said the photograph contained personal information that could compromise your family.""
Andre leaned closer.
"What was in it?""
Thomas looked directly at me.
"On the back, Margaret had written the location of the original evidence.""
My phone vibrated.
A message from my father.
*Come to the house immediately. I know where James Jackson is.*
A second message arrived before I could respond.
*And Emily, don't tell Andre.*
I looked up.
Andre was watching my face.
"What is it?""
I showed him the screen.
He read the messages.
Then he looked at Thomas.
"Did James ever tell you why he couldn't come home?""
Thomas swallowed.
"He said the person who could clear his name was someone he trusted more than anyone else.""
Andre's expression hardened.
"Who?""
May you like
Thomas whispered the answer.
"Richard Collins.""
