Chapter 15 - Andrew Reed's Last Secret|
The photograph caused an immediate uproar among investigators.
Andrew Reed's death had been officially documented. His body had been identified, his estate settled, and his name removed from the company's active records.
Yet the photograph appeared to have been taken years after the date of his supposed death.
Cameron studied it under a magnifying glass.
“The building in the background is the old foundation headquarters,” he said. “It was demolished twelve years ago.”
Daniel examined the photograph's markings.
“If it's genuine, Andrew may have survived the accident. But we need to establish when this was taken.”
Martin refused to answer questions about the photograph. He requested an attorney and denied any knowledge of Andrew's whereabouts.
Investigators began examining the original boating-accident records. They discovered that the identification process had been handled unusually quickly and that several photographs from the scene were missing.
A retired medical examiner was located in Florida. He remembered being asked to confirm the identity of a badly injured man without conducting the full examination he normally required.
He had refused.
Another examiner had signed the final report.
That examiner had later become a consultant for a company owned by Charles Whitmore.
The evidence did not establish that Andrew was alive, but it cast serious doubt on the official investigation.
Meanwhile, Cameron received a letter from a private mailbox registered under his grandmother's name. The envelope contained a short message and a location.
If you want to know what happened to Andrew, come to the old chapel at the Reed estate. Come alone.
Cameron showed it to Daniel and the investigators. They advised him not to go without police support.
He agreed.
That evening, we traveled to the estate where Cameron had grown up. The chapel stood behind a line of bare trees, its stone walls weathered by decades of rain.
Police officers waited nearby while Cameron and I entered.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and cold stone.
A small wooden box sat on the altar.
It contained a photograph of Eleanor Reed, a handwritten account book, and a letter addressed to Cameron.
The letter explained that Andrew had discovered Richard and Charles were using the foundation to move money through fraudulent medical contracts. Before he could expose them, he was involved in a boating accident.
Eleanor believed the accident had been staged to make him disappear.
She had never found conclusive proof that he survived.
But she had continued depositing money into a protected account in case he ever returned.
The final line read:
If Andrew is alive, he will know where Margaret hid the original ledger.
I looked at Cameron.
“Your grandmother believed he might come back.”
“Or she couldn't accept that he was gone.”
A sound came from behind the chapel.
We turned.
An elderly man stood in the doorway, leaning heavily on a cane. His face was thinner than the one in the photograph, and a pale scar crossed his forehead.
Cameron took one step forward.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him for a long time.
Then his eyes moved to me.
“Margaret's daughter,” he whispered.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
He looked back at Cameron.
“I'm Andrew Reed.”
Cameron stood frozen.
May you like
Andrew lifted a trembling hand.
“And if Charles knows I've returned, neither of you is safe.”
