Chapter 9: The Name Andre Never Spoke
I read the message so many times that the words stopped looking real.
Ask Andre who his father really was.
My mother had been dead for fourteen years. Andre's mother had been dead for several years. And someone was still sending warnings about a school competition that had taken place twenty years ago.
I forwarded the message to Rebecca.
She photographed the screen, recorded the number, and told me not to respond.
"Someone wants you to react," she said as we drove toward Nashville.
"We don't know whether the message is a threat, a warning, or an attempt to make you distrust Andre.""
"Why would I distrust him?""
"Because whoever sent it knows you're investigating the past. They may believe that if they can turn you against him, you'll stop cooperating.""
I stared out the window.
"Do you think Andre's father was involved?""
"I don't know.""
Neither did I.
But I couldn't ignore the fact that the sender knew something about Andre's family that might change everything.
I called him.
He answered almost immediately.
"Emily?""
"I need to ask you something.""
"Go ahead.""
"Who was your father?""
Silence.
Not the ordinary pause of someone thinking. This was different.
It was the silence of someone who had been waiting for a question he hoped would never come.
"Why are you asking me that?"" he said.
"Someone sent me a photograph of my mother at the school parking lot. The message said I should ask you who your father really was.""
I heard him exhale.
"Where are you?""
"In Rebecca's car. We're heading back to Nashville.""
"Don't go home yet.""
"Andre, what's going on?""
He was quiet for several seconds.
Then he said, "Meet me at the hotel on Fifth Avenue. I'll explain what I can.""
Twenty-five minutes later, Rebecca dropped me outside a modern hotel owned by Jackson Hospitality Group.
Andre was waiting in a private lounge on the second floor.
He stood when I entered.
His expression was more guarded than I'd ever seen it.
Rebecca remained near the entrance while I approached him.
"You knew someone might send me that message," I said.
Andre shook his head.
"I knew someone might try to use my family against me. I didn't know they'd contact you.""
"Then tell me who your father was.""
He motioned toward a chair.
I sat.
Andre remained standing for a moment, then took the seat opposite me.
"My father was James Jackson. He worked as a project estimator for a construction company in Nashville. He was good at his job, but he never seemed to get ahead.""
"What happened to him?""
"He disappeared when I was twelve.""
I frowned.
"Disappeared?""
"He left for work one morning and never came home. My mother filed a missing-person report. The police questioned his employer, his friends, and everyone who knew him. They found his car abandoned near a bus station three days later.""
"Did they ever find him?""
"No.""
Andre's hands rested on the table.
"My mother spent years trying to locate him. She hired investigators when she could afford them. She contacted hospitals and checked every unidentified-person report she could find.""
I felt a knot form in my stomach.
"Was he involved with Walter Bennett?""
Andre looked directly at me.
"Yes.""
The answer came without hesitation.
"How?""
"My father worked on a development proposal for Bennett's company in the late 1990s. He discovered irregularities in the construction estimates. Materials were being billed twice, subcontractors were being charged for work they never received, and several payments had no legitimate recipient.""
I remembered Rebecca's discovery of Meridian Advisory.
"Did he report it?""
"He tried.""
Andre looked down.
"Two weeks later, he disappeared.""
I covered my mouth.
"Do you think Bennett had him killed?""
"I don't know what happened to my father. I won't accuse anyone without evidence.""
He paused.
"But a few months before he disappeared, my father told my mother that he had discovered something that could destroy Bennett's business.""
"What was it?""
"A network of shell companies used to move money between construction projects. He kept copies of some records at home, but after he disappeared, those documents were gone.""
I remembered the handwritten code in my father's office.
MB-17.
Meridian Advisory.
The same company that had received payments from Collins Development for nearly nine years.
"Andre, what if the riverfront project was connected to the same scheme?""
His expression changed.
"That's what I've been trying to establish.""
I leaned forward.
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know whether the connection was real. I have spent years researching my father's disappearance, and every time I thought I had a lead, someone had already erased the trail.""
He looked toward the window.
"Your mother may have found the same network. The payment to Meridian, the missing drawings, the threats. They may all be connected.""
I thought of Thomas Reed.
"He said he heard Brooks mention someone they couldn't afford to anger.""
Andre nodded.
"That may be the person we're looking for.""
I took out my phone and showed him the photograph of my mother.
He studied it closely.
"Where did you get this?""
"Someone sent it to me today.""
He zoomed in on the image.
Behind my mother and Daniel Brooks stood a man in a dark coat.
Andre's face drained of color.
"Do you recognize him?"" I asked.
He didn't answer.
"Andre?""
He placed the phone on the table.
"I've seen him before.""
"Where?""
"In a photograph my mother kept.""
He looked at me.
"She told me he was the last person who saw my father before he disappeared.""
A chill passed through me.
"Who is he?""
Andre stood and walked to a cabinet beside the lounge.
He removed a thin folder and returned to the table. Inside were several old photographs, photocopies of police reports, and a yellowed newspaper clipping.
He placed one photograph in front of me.
It showed a younger James Jackson standing outside a construction site beside three men.
One was Walter Bennett.
Another was Daniel Brooks.
The third was the man in the photograph my unknown caller had sent.
His name was written on the back.
*Edward Vale — Bennett Development Group.*
I stared at the name.
"Who is Edward Vale?""
"At the time, he was Bennett's chief financial officer. He handled the company's financing and negotiated its major contracts.""
"Is he still alive?""
Andre nodded.
"He's now the chairman of a private investment firm. He owns properties across several states and sits on the boards of two regional banks.""
I felt sick.
"Does he know you're investigating your father?""
"I believe he does.""
"Then why would someone send me his photograph?""
Andre looked at me.
"Because they want us to know the past isn't finished.""
My phone rang.
My father's name appeared on the screen.
I hesitated, then answered.
"Hello?""
"Emily, where are you?""
"Why?""
"Because Daniel Brooks has filed a complaint against you. He claims you removed confidential company documents without authorization.""
I stared at Andre.
"That's ridiculous. The documents are evidence of what happened to Andre.""
"That's not what the complaint says. It says you stole company property and accessed restricted records.""
"Did you tell him to do this?""
My father hesitated.
"Daniel believes he's protecting everyone involved.""
"Everyone except the people who were hurt.""
"Emily, please listen to me. You need to stop speaking to Andre and hand over whatever you found at the old office.""
"No.""
His voice hardened.
"You're making this much worse than it needs to be.""
"Then tell me who Edward Vale is.""
Silence.
A long, terrible silence.
My father finally spoke.
"Where did you hear that name?""
"Answer me.""
"Emily, do not contact that man.""
"Why?""
"Because you have no idea what he's capable of.""
I felt my heart racing.
"Did he threaten Mom?""
My father didn't answer.
"Did he threaten Andre's family?""
"Emily—"
"Did he have anything to do with James Jackson's disappearance?""
My father abruptly lowered his voice.
"Listen to me. If Vale discovers you're asking these questions, he won't send you a warning.""
I gripped the phone.
"What will he do?""
My father breathed heavily into the receiver.
Then he said something that changed the entire investigation.
"Your mother wasn't the only person who tried to expose him.""
I looked at Andre.
My father continued.
"James Jackson came to my office three days before he disappeared. He told me he had proof that Vale was stealing money from Bennett's projects.""
My throat tightened.
"What did you do?""
"I told him to go to the police.""
"Did you?""
"No.""
"Why not?""
"Because Vale called me that night and told me James had stolen confidential records. He said if I helped him, he'd make sure Collins Development never received another loan.""
I could barely speak.
"So you did nothing.""
"I was afraid.""
I closed my eyes.
Another person who had been afraid.
Another person who'd chosen silence.
"Did you see James again?""
"No.""
"Did you know what happened to him?""
"No.""
"Then why are you warning me now?""
My father was silent for a moment.
"Because I received something this morning.""
"What?""
"A letter.""
"From whom?""
"Edward Vale.""
Andre leaned closer, listening.
"What did it say?""
My father's voice trembled.
"It said that if I continued cooperating with you, he'd release documents proving that I helped him conceal the riverfront theft.""
I stared at the photograph on the table.
"Did you help him?""
My father didn't answer.
Then the call ended.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
Andre picked up the photograph of Edward Vale and studied it.
"We need to find Thomas Reed," he said.
I nodded.
"He disappeared after giving me the memory card.""
Andre looked at Rebecca.
"Have our attorneys contact the police and request a welfare check. Quietly, but immediately.""
Rebecca was already making the call.
I looked down at my phone.
A new message had arrived from an unknown number.
This time, there was no photograph.
Just one sentence.
*Thomas Reed won't be your next witness.*
I showed Andre.
His expression turned cold.
He stood and reached for his coat.
"Where are you going?"" I asked.
"To find Thomas.""
"You're not going alone.""
He looked at me.
For the first time since we'd met again, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't anger, disappointment, or calculation.
Fear.
"Emily," he said quietly, "if Vale is involved in James's disappearance, then this isn't just about stolen drawings or a failed investment.""
He slipped the photograph into his pocket.
"It's about what happened to my father.""
His phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then went completely still.
When he lowered the phone, his face had turned pale.
"They found Thomas Reed's car.""
My heart stopped.
"Where?""
Andre looked at me.
"At an abandoned construction site outside Nashville.""
May you like
He paused.
"The site where my father disappeared twenty years ago.""
