I kept the phone against my ear and looked at my brother.<\/p>\n
Alan shook his head slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert heard him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk him about the envelope behind his garage breaker panel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me go quiet.<\/p>\n
Not anger this time.<\/p>\n
Something more exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that where it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam muttered a curse.<\/p>\n
Dale stepped away from us as if distance might keep him outside whatever came next.<\/p>\n
I spoke into the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does Alan have the last six pages?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s voice remained calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Henry gave them to him in 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said it was a packet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you gave it back to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Another half-truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you keep?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan rubbed the back of his neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix ledger pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad told me to destroy them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Grandpa had told me never to destroy anything he gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least one family instruction survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert spoke through the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy, get those pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen call me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to disappear every time you decide the conversation is inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been forty-eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Henry is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only one I can give you safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more deciding what I\u2019m allowed to know because you call it protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m getting the pages. Then you either meet me or I finish this without you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I disconnected.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked almost impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounded like Henry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure that\u2019s a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan was already moving toward his car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take you to the pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Pam said.<\/p>\n
Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n
She looked toward the lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale\u2019s truck and my SUV are obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone else is watching, they know all of us are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale gave her an incredulous look.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still think this is only family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer-Harper Development has outside investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if those land transfers are fraudulent, people besides us stand to lose money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrent value?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than twelve million.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
The number was too large to feel real.<\/p>\n
I thought of Dale complaining about bottled water after Grandpa\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n
Pam claiming furniture.<\/p>\n
Three hundred dollars for the basement.<\/p>\n
None of it had ever been about small things.<\/p>\n
Small things were cover.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take separate cars,\u201d Alan said.<\/p>\n
Samuel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause yours are recognizable.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tossed Alan a set of keys.<\/p>\n
An old Ford pickup sat behind the barn.<\/p>\n
I climbed into the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
Alan drove.<\/p>\n
For several miles neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Fields passed outside the windows in long strips of September brown and green.<\/p>\n
Finally I said, \u201cHow long have you known Dad was alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty-eight years.<\/p>\n
I turned toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy marriage was collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI called you crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
His hands tightened on the wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew our father was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you listened to me talk about being alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
He flinched.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
I wanted the truth to hurt someone besides me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Grandpa tell you and not me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad needed help moving records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheer ordinary nature of the answer nearly broke me.<\/p>\n
A truck.<\/p>\n
Decades of secrecy had rested partly on who owned a vehicle.<\/p>\n
Alan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa planned to tell you after the baby was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert saw your ex-husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a motel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The receipt from Box 114.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert Ellis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband met Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was the receipt there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your husband had been talking to Dale\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
My whole body went rigid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Curtis want with my husband?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo find out whether you knew anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Robert talk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Alan.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband was selling information about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how far it went.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you learn this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything from that period rearranged itself in my memory.<\/p>\n
Robert suddenly having money despite claiming he was broke.<\/p>\n
Unexplained nights away.<\/p>\n
His resentment whenever Grandpa visited.<\/p>\n
His insistence that I stop asking my family for help.<\/p>\n
The timing of our divorce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas my marriage destroyed because of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t answer that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think your marriage already had problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Curtis exploited them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
That was somehow worse.<\/p>\n
Not every pain was manufactured.<\/p>\n
Someone had simply noticed the cracks and pushed.<\/p>\n
We reached Alan\u2019s house fifteen minutes later.<\/p>\n
He parked in the garage and closed the door behind us before getting out.<\/p>\n
His breaker panel was mounted beside a workbench.<\/p>\n
He removed two screws from the wall trim.<\/p>\n
Behind it was a manila envelope flattened by age.<\/p>\n
He handed it to me.<\/p>\n
My name was not on it.<\/p>\n
Neither was Grandpa\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Only one word.<\/p>\n
Originals.<\/p>\n
I opened it at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
Six ledger pages slid out.<\/p>\n
The numbering continued directly from the black ledger hidden in Grandpa\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n
The first page contained entries from 1999.<\/p>\n
Then 2001.<\/p>\n
Then 2006.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had continued investigating long after Harper Holdings ceased operating.<\/p>\n
The entries listed entities.<\/p>\n
Mercer Agricultural Services.<\/p>\n
CH Logistics.<\/p>\n
Harper Land Trust.<\/p>\n
MHD Development.<\/p>\n
Each seemed to receive assets that had once belonged to Harper Holdings.<\/p>\n
Some later disappeared.<\/p>\n
Others merged.<\/p>\n
Eventually several trails converged into Mercer-Harper Development.<\/p>\n
I reached the fifth page.<\/p>\n
A notation from 2012.<\/p>\n
C.H. deceased? verify seal transfer.<\/p>\n
Curtis hadn\u2019t died until years later.<\/p>\n
Why would Grandpa question whether Curtis was deceased in 2012?<\/p>\n
I looked at Alan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Uncle Curtis sick then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why does Grandpa write \u2018deceased?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan leaned over the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never read these.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hid them for twenty-eight years without reading them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost mocked him.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered how thoroughly promises had controlled this family.<\/p>\n
I turned to the last page.<\/p>\n
The most recent entry was dated six weeks before Grandpa died.<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
MHD chain confirmed.<\/p>\n
Original 1983 transfer false.<\/p>\n
Seal impression inconsistent.<\/p>\n
Witness signature impossible.<\/p>\n
Below that:<\/p>\n
M.M. deceased 1996.<\/p>\n
Witnessed document 2004.<\/p>\n
Martin Mercer.<\/p>\n
Pam\u2019s father had died in 1996.<\/p>\n
Yet his signature had supposedly witnessed a 2004 document.<\/p>\n
Proof.<\/p>\n
Not suspicion.<\/p>\n
Proof.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had found a forged transfer.<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
Contact L.C. after confirmation.<\/p>\n
Linda Carver?<\/p>\n
The estate attorney?<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
R.H. has copy.<\/p>\n
S.B. has supporting books.<\/p>\n
N.L.E. must receive bonds + Box 114.<\/p>\n
Finally:<\/p>\n
If anything happens before filing, check death certificate and medication.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Alan read over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
I read the line again.<\/p>\n
Check death certificate and medication.<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa thought something might happen to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan pulled out a chair and sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was ninety.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what this says.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what everyone told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeart failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there an autopsy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis doctor signed the certificate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Weber.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew the name.<\/p>\n
Everyone in town did.<\/p>\n
He had treated half the county for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grandpa have heart problems?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow serious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cModerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need his medical records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just walk into a clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m executor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may help for estate purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd his prescriptions?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPharmacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I photographed every page.<\/p>\n
Then I called Linda Carver.<\/p>\n
She answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was about to call you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI obtained the order stopping the estate sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Alan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found a letter Henry mailed to my office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s marked to be opened only if he died before our scheduled appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the appointment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Monday after he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper tore on her end.<\/p>\n
For several seconds I heard nothing.<\/p>\n
Then Linda said, \u201cNancy, you need to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather show you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Read it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry says he uncovered evidence that the 1983 transfer of controlling shares in Harper Holdings was fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the ledger pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you also know Martin Mercer\u2019s signature appears on documents executed eight years after his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry intended to file a civil action and refer the matter for criminal review.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Pam and Dale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily. Against current entities and anyone involved in creating or knowingly using forged records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe planned to sign the complaint at our meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting he never reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda\u2019s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote that if he died unexpectedly before filing, I should not assume natural causes until his medication was reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk what medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Linda shuffled papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe names digoxin.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew the drug only vaguely.<\/p>\n
Heart medication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe writes that his dose had recently been changed without his authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cChanged by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho prescribed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the last ledger page.<\/p>\n
Check death certificate and medication.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we get the pharmacy records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs executor, likely yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can prepare the authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After hanging up, Alan stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Grandpa was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Grandpa thought somebody might tamper with his medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I folded the pages carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s enough to stop assuming.\u201d<\/p>\n
We met Linda at her office.<\/p>\n
She had already notified the auction company in writing and contacted the probate clerk about the incorrect will.<\/p>\n
The sale was officially canceled.<\/p>\n
For the first time in two days, I felt we had prevented something instead of arriving afterward.<\/p>\n
Then Linda handed me Grandpa\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
His handwriting wavered more than it had on older notes, but the language was precise.<\/p>\n
He wrote that the final forged transfer had been located in records attached to Mercer-Harper Development\u2019s refinancing.<\/p>\n
He believed the document could unwind ownership of several properties.<\/p>\n
He feared someone had learned he possessed proof.<\/p>\n
He specifically asked Linda to protect me from being pressured into surrendering the bonds.<\/p>\n
Then came one sentence she had not read aloud.<\/p>\n
Dale knows enough to be frightened, but not enough to understand his father deceived him too.<\/p>\n
That matched what I had seen at Samuel\u2019s barn.<\/p>\n
Below it:<\/p>\n
Pam knows more than she admits. She is neither innocent nor what Dale believes.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
Alan kept his promise too long.<\/p>\n
I glanced at my brother.<\/p>\n
His eyes filled but he looked away.<\/p>\n
The final paragraph was about Robert.<\/p>\n
If Robert refuses again to tell Nancy the truth, give her the address.<\/p>\n
Underneath was an address in Iowa.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
For nearly half a century, I had not known where my father was.<\/p>\n
Now the answer fit on one line.<\/p>\n
Alan read over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda asked, \u201cAre you planning to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I called Henry\u2019s pharmacy while you were driving over.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey confirmed a refill was picked up nine days before his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pickup signature was Pamela Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan went still.<\/p>\n
I felt every piece of the story shift again.<\/p>\n
Pam had saved my father when she was seventeen.<\/p>\n
Pam had hidden the truth for decades.<\/p>\n
Pam had fought Dale.<\/p>\n
Pam had tried to take Grandpa\u2019s ledger.<\/p>\n
Pam had picked up the medication Grandpa believed had been changed without permission.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Pam.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
For a moment all I heard was breathing.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cNancy, I need you to come alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I know you found the last pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because if you\u2019ve already checked Henry\u2019s prescription records, you\u2019re going to think I killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
Pam\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you pick up his medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he asked me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he had finally decided to trust me again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original corporate seal.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot where Henry left it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why call?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Henry told me what to do if the seal disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFind you before Dale does.\u201d<\/p>\n
A loud sound came through her phone.<\/p>\n
Glass breaking.<\/p>\n
Pam gasped.<\/p>\n
Then I heard a man\u2019s voice in the background.<\/p>\n
Not Dale.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Pam whispered, \u201cHe\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
I kept the phone against my ear and looked at my brother. Alan shook his head slowly. \u201cNancy.\u201d Robert heard him. \u201cAsk him about the envelope behind his garage breaker … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8389,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8369\/revisions\/8389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}