Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO KNEW HER SECRET
Vincent was halfway down the hospital corridor when Detective Reed caught up with him.
“Mr. Calder.”
Vincent stopped.
“What?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“About Amelia?”
“Yes.”
Vincent waited.
Reed lowered his voice.
“Does Raymond Fletcher mean anything to you?”
Vincent's expression didn't change.
“No.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
Reed studied him.
“You seemed interested when she mentioned the name.”
“I was concerned.”
“Why?”
“Because someone who assaults women doesn't usually stop at one incident.”
Reed nodded.
“That may be true.”
He hesitated.
“But there's something you should know.”
“What?”
“Derek Lawson wasn't acting alone.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“His phone contains messages from an unknown number.”
“About Amelia?”
“Yes.”
“Threats?”
“Not exactly.”
Reed handed him a photograph of the messages.
Vincent read them.
WHERE IS SHE?
DID SHE SAY ANYTHING?
IS CALDER INVOLVED?
Vincent looked up.
“When were these sent?”
“Over the last six days.”
“Who is the number registered to?”
“Burner phone.”
Vincent handed the photograph back.
“Why tell me?”
“Because your diner is involved.”
Reed walked away.
Vincent remained in the corridor.
Then his phone rang.
Paul.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
Vincent's expression hardened.
“What happened?”
“Someone broke into the diner.”
Vincent immediately left the hospital.
Calder's Diner looked untouched from the street.
The windows were intact.
The front door locked.
But inside, Vincent immediately saw what had happened.
The office door was open.
The safe stood open.
Papers covered the floor.
Paul waited near the counter.
“What did they take?”
“We don't know.”
Vincent walked into the office.
His eyes moved over the room.
The safe contained cash.
Jewelry.
Old documents.
But one drawer was empty.
Vincent opened it.
Nothing.
Paul stepped closer.
“What was in there?”
Vincent didn't answer.
He walked to the back wall.
Removed an old framed photograph.
Behind it was a second safe.
He entered the combination.
The door opened.
Inside sat a single envelope.
Still sealed.
Vincent picked it up.
His face changed.
Paul noticed.
“Boss?”
Vincent looked at the envelope.
It was addressed to:
AMELIA HAYES.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Amelia standing outside a courthouse.
Beside her stood a man.
Vincent recognized him.
Raymond Fletcher.
But that wasn't what disturbed him.
On the back was a date.
Four years earlier.
And beneath it:
SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE ACCOUNT.
Vincent stared.
What account?
He turned the photograph over again.
Another line had been added.
ASK CALDER WHAT HAPPENED TO HER FATHER.
Vincent froze.
Amelia's father.
He remembered the name.
Thomas Hayes.
A financial investigator who had disappeared fourteen years earlier.
Vincent had known him.
More than known him.
Thomas Hayes had once saved Vincent from prison.
Fourteen years earlier, Vincent Calder had been twenty-nine.
He had owned one diner.
He had a reputation for being stubborn.
He had also been involved in things he didn't discuss.
One night, federal investigators had raided several businesses along the Brooklyn waterfront.
Vincent had been arrested.
Money laundering.
Extortion.
Organized crime.
The charges were serious.
Thomas Hayes had been the financial investigator assigned to follow the money.
Instead of destroying Vincent, Thomas discovered that someone had used Vincent's businesses as a cover for transactions he knew nothing about.
Thomas helped prove it.
Vincent walked free.
Thomas disappeared six months later.
Everyone believed he had taken money and fled.
Vincent never believed it.
He had spent fourteen years wondering what happened.
Now the answer had walked into his diner wearing a black apron.
Vincent returned to the hospital.
Amelia was asleep.
He waited.
When she woke, he was sitting beside the window.
She looked at him.
“You came back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask you something.”
She sat up slowly.
“What?”
“Did your father know me?”
Amelia froze.
“Yes.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“How?”
“He told me about you.”
“What did he say?”
“That you weren't what people believed.”
Vincent leaned forward.
“Where is your father?”
“I don't know.”
“Amelia.”
“I was twelve when he disappeared.”
“What did your mother say?”
“She said he left.”
“Did you believe her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he left his wedding ring.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“He wouldn't have left that.”
“No.”
“Did he ever mention Calder's?”
Amelia hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said if anything happened to him, I should find you.”
Vincent went completely still.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he give you anything?”
Amelia looked toward her bag.
She reached inside.
Pulled out a small brass key.
Vincent recognized it.
His father had owned the same kind of key.
“What is that?”
“My father gave it to me the night before he disappeared.”
“What does it open?”
“I don't know.”
Vincent looked at the key.
Then at Amelia.
“We need to find out.”
The key opened a storage locker beneath an old train station.
Inside was a box.
Amelia opened it.
Documents filled the bottom.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Names.
Vincent picked up the first folder.
He knew several names.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
Police officers.
And one name that made his stomach tighten.
RAYMOND FLETCHER.
Amelia stared.
“What is he doing in my father's files?”
Vincent opened the folder.
Raymond had worked for a private security company.
But the company was a front.
The records showed payments to him.
Large payments.
The most recent was eleven months earlier.
The same month Raymond supposedly disappeared.
Amelia's hands trembled.
“He wasn't missing.”
Vincent nodded.
“He was working.”
“For my father?”
“No.”
Vincent turned the page.
A company name appeared.
CALDER MARITIME HOLDINGS.
Amelia looked at him.
“What is that?”
Vincent's expression became unreadable.
“My company.”
She stared.
“You said you only owned the diner.”
“I own more than the diner.”
“How much more?”
Vincent didn't answer.
The storage room suddenly went dark.
The door slammed shut.
Amelia screamed.
Vincent grabbed her hand.
“Stay behind me.”
A voice came from the hallway.
“You should have left the box alone.”
Vincent's expression changed.
Raymond.
Amelia recognized the voice instantly.
Her body began shaking.
Vincent whispered,
“Don't move.”
Footsteps approached.
Then stopped outside the door.
Raymond laughed.
“Hello, Amelia.”
She closed her eyes.
Vincent stood between her and the door.
Raymond continued.
“You always did hide behind strong men.”
Vincent's voice was cold.
“Open the door.”
“Not yet.”
“You have ten seconds.”
Raymond laughed again.
“You still think you're in charge.”
Vincent looked at Amelia.
“Get behind the shelves.”
She moved.
The lock clicked.
The door began opening.
Vincent lunged.
The two men collided in the darkness.
A gunshot exploded.
Amelia screamed.
When the emergency lights came on, Raymond was gone.
Vincent stood bleeding from his shoulder.
The storage box was missing.
And on the floor lay a single photograph.
Amelia picked it up.
It showed her father.
Standing beside Vincent.
And between them was Raymond.
May you like
All three men had known each other.
Long before Amelia ever met any of them.
