Chapter 3 - The Photograph Beneath the Floorboards
The woman called herself Nora Bell.
She refused coffee.
She refused a chair.
She simply stood in the middle of the Copper Kettle as though the walls might be listening.
Kalida kept the photograph in her hand.
“My father died twenty-five years ago.”
Nora nodded.
“Yes.”
“What does Gabriel's father have to do with him?”
“More than you know.”
“Who is the woman?”
Nora looked at the photograph.
“Her name was Evelyn Mercer.”
Kalida frowned.
“Gabriel's mother?”
“Yes.”
“My father knew her?”
“They worked together.”
“Doing what?”
Nora looked toward Toby.
“Not here.”
Kalida's patience snapped.
“My son and I have survived three years of overdue bills, one useless ex-husband, and a restaurant that is dying. If my dead father left behind some kind of mystery, I think I deserve to hear it standing wherever I want.”
Nora almost smiled.
“Your father was an accountant.”
“I know.”
“No. He was a forensic accountant.”
Kalida's fingers tightened.
“He investigated financial crimes.”
“Which ones?”
“Organizations.”
“Like Gabriel's?”
Nora didn't answer.
“That means yes.”
“Your father worked for Gabriel's father.”
“For the mafia?”
Nora lowered her voice.
“He thought he was working against it.”
Kalida felt dizzy.
She sat.
Nora finally took the chair opposite her.
“Twenty-five years ago, Gabriel's father was trying to move his family out of criminal operations.”
Kalida frowned.
“Why would a crime boss do that?”
“Because he had a conscience.”
“What happened?”
“Someone inside the organization sabotaged him.”
“Who?”
Nora looked at the photograph.
“Your father discovered that millions of dollars were being siphoned from legitimate companies and used to buy influence.”
“By whom?”
“That's the question Gabriel has been trying to answer.”
Kalida's heart pounded.
“Why would they come for me?”
“Because your father hid evidence.”
“Where?”
Nora looked at the diner.
Kalida followed her gaze.
“What?”
“Your father trusted your mother more than anyone.”
“My mother died when I was nine.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying things you shouldn't know.”
Nora sighed.
“There was a box.”
“What box?”
“Your mother kept it.”
Kalida remembered a small wooden chest in the attic.
She had never known what it was for.
After Nora left, she went upstairs.
Toby followed.
“Mom, who was that lady?”
“Someone with a story.”
“Is it a scary story?”
“Probably.”
He thought about it.
“Can we have pancakes?”
Kalida laughed.
“That's what you got from that?”
“Yes.”
She kissed his head.
“I'll make you pancakes.”
At noon, the diner looked different.
Not better.
Different.
The snow had stopped.
The front windows were still cracked.
The linoleum still had blood stains.
But parked outside were two black SUVs.
Gabriel had left men behind.
Kalida went outside.
Elias stepped forward.
“We're here for security.”
“I don't need security.”
“You were nearly abducted.”
“I don't need fifteen men.”
“It's only four.”
She stared.
“Where are the others?”
“Watching the highway.”
She rubbed her forehead.
“Fine.”
One of the men handed her a package.
“Boss sent this.”
Inside was a new cash register.
Kalida stared.
“What?”
“He said yours looks older than he is.”
She laughed despite herself.
“This man is impossible.”
Elias smiled.
“You're the first person who says that to his face.”
That evening, Kalida opened the attic.
She searched old boxes.
Baby clothes.
School pictures.
Her father's watch.
Christmas decorations.
And finally the wooden chest.
The key was missing.
She remembered her father's old watch.
She opened the back.
Inside was a tiny brass key.
Her hands trembled.
The chest opened.
Inside were financial records.
A flash drive.
An envelope.
And a newspaper clipping.
The headline stopped her cold.
MERCER SHIPPING EXECUTIVE KILLED IN APPARENT ACCIDENT.
Gabriel's father.
Twenty-five years earlier.
Kalida sat on the attic floor.
A second article explained that the same month, an accountant named Thomas Ingles disappeared.
Her father.
She read the next page.
A handwritten note was attached.
Thomas knew who betrayed Gabriel's family.
Kalida heard footsteps.
She turned.
Gabriel stood at the attic entrance.
He had returned without warning.
His eyes immediately found the open chest.
“You found it.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Nora contacted me.”
Kalida stood.
“You sent her?”
“No.”
“You knew about my father?”
“I knew his name.”
“How much did you know?”
“Not enough.”
She held up the photograph.
“My father and your mother knew each other.”
Gabriel nodded.
“He worked for her.”
Kalida's eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because the people who betrayed him believed you were still a loose end.”
She looked at him.
“A loose end?”
“A person whose existence could expose them.”
She shook her head.
“I spent my whole life thinking my father was just gone.”
Gabriel took a slow breath.
“He wasn't just gone.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared while trying to protect my family.”
“Did you know him?”
“No.”
“But your father did.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel crouched beside the chest.
He picked up the flash drive.
“This could be what they wanted.”
“What is it?”
“We need to decrypt it.”
“Can you?”
“Eventually.”
Kalida stared at him.
“You came back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“You called?”
“I didn't.”
He smiled faintly.
“I lied.”
She almost laughed.
Then the floor below them creaked.
Gabriel became still.
“Someone is downstairs.”
Kalida's blood ran cold.
The security men shouted.
A window shattered.
Gabriel grabbed Kalida and pulled her behind the wall.
Three men entered through the rear door.
Another climbed the stairs.
Gunfire erupted.
Gabriel pushed Kalida toward the hidden attic crawlspace.
“Take Toby.”
“What about you?”
“Go.”
“You promised.”
He looked at her.
“I promised no one would hurt you.”
Then he stepped into the hallway.
Kalida ran.
She grabbed Toby from his bed.
The boy woke crying.
“Mom!”
“Quiet, baby.”
They crawled into the storage tunnel.
Kalida had never even known it existed.
At the end was a locked hatch.
She opened it.
Cold air hit her face.
They emerged behind the diner.
Elias appeared.
“Move!”
They ran to the SUV.
Kalida looked back.
Smoke was coming from the windows.
The Copper Kettle was burning.
Her stomach collapsed.
“My café.”
Elias grabbed her shoulder.
“Your son's alive.”
“But everything I own—”
“Can be rebuilt.”
She stared at the flames.
Then Gabriel emerged from the smoke.
Blood on his forehead.
Still walking.
Still alive.
He looked at Kalida.
She ran toward him before she could stop herself.
“You're hurt.”
“It's nothing.”
She slapped his chest.
“Don't ever do that again.”
He looked surprised.
“You care.”
She stared.
“I care because I don't want to explain to my six-year-old why the terrifying man from the diner died.”
Gabriel smiled.
“That almost sounded affectionate.”
“Don't ruin it.”
Behind them, the fire department arrived.
The blaze was contained.
Most of the café was destroyed.
Kalida stood in the snow holding Toby.
Gabriel came beside her.
“You can rebuild.”
“With what?”
“Mine.”
She turned.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“This is my life.”
“And I intend to give it back.”
She looked into his eyes.
“There is one condition.”
“What?”
“No charity.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Done.”
“And no control over how I run the place.”
“Agreed.”
“And Toby gets a dinosaur booth.”
“Three.”
She laughed.
He extended his hand.
“Business partners?”
Kalida stared at it.
Then shook it.
“Business partners.”
Neither of them noticed the man watching from across the highway.
He held a photograph of Kalida.
Then he made a phone call.
“She found the drive.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“The Mercer boy is with her.”
Another pause.
May you like
The man's smile disappeared.
“Then kill them both.”
