Chapter 3 - The Dead Man's NotebookThe next morning, Hollis did not go to work.
She went to the county archives.
Daniel had spent years documenting freight routes.
She knew where he kept copies.
The problem was finding which copies mattered.
At 8:40 a.m., August arrived.
“You followed me.”
Hollis turned.
“No.”
“You're lying.”
“I came because you were followed.”
She looked around.
Nobody.
August handed her a coffee.
She stared at it.
“I don't drink coffee.”
“You've had three this week.”
“How do you know?”
“I watch details.”
She looked at him.
“That's creepy.”
“Yes.”
They sat together in the archive room.
Hollis opened Daniel's notebook.
“Why did he write this?”
August read a freight number.
“That route doesn't exist.”
“Yes, it does.”
“No.”
He pointed.
“That warehouse closed three years ago.”
Hollis shook her head.
“Daniel was there four months ago.”
August went still.
“Show me.”
She gave him another page.
He read.
Then another.
A pattern emerged.
Daniel had been using internal company codes.
Not to track shipments.
To track people.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
August recognized several.
Executives.
Politicians.
A judge.
A city inspector.
Then he saw one name.
Rafferty Dow.
His chief strategist.
August's closest adviser.
He looked at Hollis.
“Where did you get this?”
“My husband.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“He gave it to you?”
“No.”
“He hid it?”
“Yes.”
August leaned back.
“Why?”
“Because he knew someone was watching him.”
August stared at the pages.
Then asked:
“Why did you think it was me?”
“Because every trail led to your companies.”
“That doesn't mean it led to me.”
“It does when you're the owner.”
He nodded.
“Fair.”
Hollis looked at him.
“You're not angry.”
“I've been accused of worse.”
She almost smiled.
Then her phone rang.
The hospital.
Emma.
Her sister had gone into distress.
Hollis jumped up.
August followed.
“What's wrong?”
“I need to go.”
They reached the hospital.
Emma lay in a bed surrounded by monitors.
A nurse approached.
“There's a problem with her insurance authorization.”
Hollis stared.
“What problem?”
“They canceled coverage.”
“Why?”
“Administrative review.”
Hollis understood.
Victor.
She clenched her fists.
August looked at the chart.
“Who authorized the cancellation?”
The nurse checked.
“MidWest Continental.”
August's face changed.
“They're targeting your family.”
Hollis looked at him.
“You said the same thing yesterday.”
“And now we have proof.”
He took out his phone.
“Get the insurer's director on the line.”
Within ten minutes, the authorization was restored.
Hollis stared at him.
“You did that?”
“I made a call.”
“How?”
“You don't want to know.”
She looked at him.
“That answer makes you sound exactly like the man I believed you were.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
He didn't leave.
He stayed outside Emma's room.
Hollis sat beside him.
“You don't have to.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I heard you promise an unborn child that you were almost done.”
She looked down.
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything.”
Her eyes softened.
“You really don't talk much.”
“Talking creates evidence.”
She smiled.
Then they heard footsteps.
Rafferty.
He approached.
“August.”
August stood.
“What?”
“We found the missing shipment.”
“Where?”
“Warehouse 17.”
August looked at Hollis.
Her face changed.
Warehouse 17 was the location Daniel had circled.
The place where he had died.
They went together.
Inside, they found a truck.
Empty.
But beneath the floorboards was a metal case.
Hollis opened it.
Inside was a recording.
Daniel's voice.
If you're hearing this, I didn't make it home.
Hollis covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
The driver logs were altered.
The truck was redirected.
Someone inside Branick Holdings ordered the change.
Not August.
Someone above the transportation division.
Daniel named the person.
Rafferty Dow.
Hollis looked at August.
Rafferty had vanished.
August's phone rang.
He answered.
Rafferty's voice.
“You found it.”
August's eyes became cold.
“Yes.”
“You should have left it buried.”
August looked at Hollis.
“We're done.”
Rafferty laughed.
“No.”
“You are.”
“I have your daughter.”
August froze.
He had no daughter.
Hollis's face went pale.
“Who?”
Rafferty answered:
“Not yours.”
A pause.
“Marin's.”
He hung up.
Hollis stared.
“Who is Marin?”
August looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Then the metal case clicked.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was a photograph.
Hollis recognized the woman instantly.
It was her mother.
Standing beside Rafferty.
Hollis whispered:
“My mother knew him.”
May you like
August looked at the photograph.
And for the first time, he seemed truly afraid.
Related Stories
