Chapter 4 - The Second Patch Was Gone
Sarah searched the garage.
Every toolbox.
Every cabinet.
Every old coat.
No second patch.
Then she noticed one storage bin had been disturbed.
Dust marked the lid.
But the top was clean.
Someone had opened it recently.
Inside was Daniel’s old work jacket.
One square of fabric had been cut away from the inner lining.
Sarah stared.
The second patch had been removed.
She checked the home-security system.
Only thirty days of footage remained.
Nothing obvious.
Then Lily said:
“Grandpa came here.”
Sarah turned.
“What grandpa?”
Lily meant Daniel’s father, Walter Caster.
Sarah had met him only twice.
Daniel claimed they were estranged.
Walter had appeared at Daniel’s funeral.
Then vanished.
“When did he come?”
“Last week.”
Sarah’s pulse jumped.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were at work. Mrs. Evans let him in.”
Their neighbor sometimes watched Lily.
Sarah called her.
Mrs. Evans confirmed it.
Walter had said he was collecting one of Daniel’s old belongings for Lily.
“He was very polite.”
“What did he take?”
“I don’t know.”
Sarah called Walter.
Disconnected.
Martin Sloan helped locate him.
Walter Caster was living three states away.
Sarah drove there with Lily staying safely with her sister.
Walter opened the door.
The moment he saw Sarah, he sighed.
“Marcus saw the patch, didn’t he?”
Sarah stared.
“You knew this could happen.”
“Yes.”
“Where’s the second one?”
Walter looked away.
Sarah’s anger rose.
“Daniel is dead. Lily got shoved into lockers because a man recognized something from his past. Stop protecting secrets.”
Walter flinched at Lily’s name.
Then stepped aside.
The second patch sat inside a small lockbox.
Sarah picked it up.
He had cut it from Daniel’s jacket.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel told me if Marcus ever saw the first patch, I had forty-eight hours to secure this one.”
Sarah stared.
Daniel had planned for this.
Walter opened the seam.
A microSD card slid out.
Sarah almost laughed from shock.
Martin had been right.
Walter looked terrified.
“I never opened it.”
“Why?”
“Daniel made me promise.”
Sarah inserted the card into an offline laptop Walter kept.
There were seven folders.
Invoices.
Emails.
Audio clips.
Photographs.
Then one video.
Daniel appeared on screen.
Older than in the Ashford photographs.
Alive.
Recorded only six weeks before his death.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Sarah, if you’re seeing this, then Marcus Hayes found Lily.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
Daniel had predicted this exact moment.
Then he said:
“And if he’s afraid, it means he still thinks I died without proving what he did.”
Sarah froze.
Daniel didn’t say what Marcus had done.
Not yet.
May you like
But his next words were worse.
“Do not assume my accident was an accident.”
