Mara held the phone between them. Daniel’s final words remained frozen on the screen, but the sentence beneath them seemed louder than anything he had said: ASK HIM WHO REALLY KILLED CLAIRE.
Arthur did not try to take the phone. He stood beside the open locker, one hand resting against the metal door, his face drained of color. Around them, the airport continued its ordinary rhythm. Wheels clicked across tile. Announcements echoed overhead. A child complained about a delayed flight. Yet Mara felt as though the corridor had become sealed off from the rest of the world.
“Answer me,” she said.
Arthur swallowed.
“I don't know who killed Claire.”
“You said someone pushed her.”
“I believe someone did.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Arthur looked directly at her.
“I was not there when she died.”
Mara's fingers tightened around Eli.
“Then why did you look frightened when Daniel asked me to question you?”
Arthur lowered his eyes.
“Because I know what Daniel is capable of.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No,” he said quietly. “It isn't.”
The security officer returned at a run, breathing hard. The gray-coated man had disappeared into a service corridor, and airport security was checking exits. He looked from Mara to Arthur and immediately noticed the tension between them.
“What happened?”
Mara raised the phone.
“My husband says Arthur is hiding something about Claire.”
The officer looked at Arthur.
“Is that true?”
Arthur did not answer.
The officer's expression hardened.
“Sir.”
Arthur finally said, “There is something I never told the police.”
Mara felt a chill move through her.
“Tell us now.”
Arthur looked at the child in her arms.
“I found Claire that night.”
Mara stared.
“You said you weren't there.”
“I said I wasn't there when she died.”
The distinction made her angry.
“You found her afterward?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“At the bottom of the stairs.”
Mara's voice dropped.
“What did you see?”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Claire was still alive.”
The officer straightened.
“That's important.”
“She couldn't speak properly. She kept trying to reach for me.”
“What did she say?”
Arthur's lips trembled.
“She said, ‘Take Elias.’”
Mara looked at Eli.
Arthur continued.
“She wasn't asking me to protect him from a stranger. She was afraid of someone she knew.”
“Who?” Mara demanded.
“I don't know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because Claire died before she could tell me.”
The officer stepped closer.
“Did you call emergency services?”
“Yes.”
“Immediately?”
Arthur nodded.
“Then why wasn't her statement recorded?”
Arthur looked toward the floor.
“Because by the time the paramedics arrived, she had lost consciousness.”
Mara watched him carefully.
“And Daniel?”
“He arrived later.”
“How much later?”
“Twenty minutes.”
Mara's stomach turned.
“Where was Elias?”
Arthur hesitated.
“With him.”
“Then where did the child go?”
“I don't know.”
“Arthur.”
“I swear to you, Mara, I never took him.”
She believed the fear in his voice.
But belief was not trust.
“Why did you tell me my son was your grandson?”
“Because I recognized the mark. Because his age matched. Because his name matched the name Claire had chosen.”
“That still doesn't prove anything.”
“No.”
Arthur looked toward the USB drive.
“But the hospital bracelet does.”
The officer placed the evidence bag on the table.
“We need a laboratory comparison before anybody makes conclusions.”
Mara nodded.
Then she noticed something she had missed.
The bracelet's printed date was three days after Claire's death.
She pointed.
“Why was Elias in a hospital after she died?”
Arthur's face changed again.
“I don't know.”
The officer examined it.
“That's strange.”
Mara felt a new fear settle in.
If the bracelet belonged to Elias, then someone had taken him to a hospital after Claire died. Someone had used the name Bennett. Someone had later changed his identity to Cole.
And Daniel had somehow become Mara's husband.
She looked at the USB.
“Open it.”
The officer hesitated.
“We need proper equipment.”
“Then call whoever can examine it.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Not here.”
Mara looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent this knew exactly where we would be.”
He pointed toward the ceiling.
“Those cameras.”
Mara looked up.
“Every movement is recorded.”
“Exactly.”
The officer's radio crackled.
A colleague reported that the gray-coated man had left through a restricted loading entrance.
The officer swore under his breath.
Mara turned toward Arthur.
“Who is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Look at his face.”
“I saw him.”
“Do you recognize him?”
Arthur hesitated.
Then he nodded.
“His name is Victor Hale.”
The officer immediately looked up.
“You know him?”
Arthur's expression was grim.
“I've seen him before.”
“Where?”
“Outside Claire's workplace.”
Mara felt the pieces shift again.
“What did he do there?”
“He worked for the company.”
“Which company?”
“Northbridge Medical.”
The same company Claire had worked for.
The same company where she had allegedly discovered fraudulent identities.
The same company connected to the USB drive.
Mara looked at Arthur.
“Why didn't you tell me this earlier?”
“Because I wasn't sure how much of it was connected.”
“And now?”
“Now I think all of it is.”
The officer took out his radio.
“Get investigators from financial crimes and child protection. We may have a larger case.”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
The officer looked at her.
“I want to leave.”
“You can't.”
“I have my son.”
“Exactly.”
“I don't know who I can trust here.”
Arthur said nothing.
The officer lowered his voice.
“Then stay with me.”
Mara looked at Eli.
The child had fallen asleep again, exhausted by fear he could not understand.
She kissed his hair.
“I'll stay.”
Arthur stepped back.
“You should keep him away from me.”
Mara looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel warned you.”
“You're afraid of what?”
Arthur stared at the floor.
“I'm afraid he may be right about one thing.”
“What?”
“That I have not told you the whole truth.”
Mara waited.
Arthur slowly reached into his jacket and removed another photograph.
He had been carrying it separately from his wallet.
He handed it to her.
It showed Claire sitting on a hospital bed.
She was holding a newborn baby.
Beside her stood Daniel.
But Daniel looked different.
Younger.
Tired.
And on his wrist was the silver watch.
Mara stared at it.
“Daniel had the watch before Claire died.”
Arthur nodded.
“He always had it.”
“But he told me it belonged to his mother.”
“He lied.”
Mara turned the photograph over.
A date was written on the back.
Six months before Claire died.
Below it was a sentence in Claire's handwriting.
DANIEL DOESN'T KNOW WHAT I FOUND.
Mara's breath caught.
“What did she find?”
Arthur shook his head.
“That is what the USB should tell us.”
The officer's phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
Then his face changed.
“Ma'am.”
Mara looked at him.
“The USB has been accessed.”
“By whom?”
“Someone inside the airport network.”
Arthur went rigid.
“Can they see the files?”
The officer nodded.
“Possibly.”
Mara looked at the USB.
Someone was racing them.
The officer said, “We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Secure interview room.”
Mara gathered Eli closer.
Arthur reached for his suitcase.
Then a sound came from the corridor.
A metallic click.
All three turned.
At the far end stood Victor Hale.
He was holding something in his hand.
Not a weapon.
A photograph.
He raised it toward Mara.
Then he said, loudly enough for them to hear:
“Ask Arthur why Claire was afraid of him.”
He dropped the photograph.
Then disappeared through the emergency door.
Mara ran forward.
The officer caught her arm.
“Don't.”
She struggled.
“That man knows something.”
“We'll find him.”
Mara looked down at the photograph on the floor.
Arthur bent to pick it up.
He stopped before touching it.
Mara saw the image.
It showed Arthur standing outside Claire's house.
And beside him was Daniel.
The photograph had been taken the night Claire died.
Mara looked at Arthur.
“You told me you weren't there.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“I was.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART6: The Photograph Forced Arthur to Admit Where He Had Been That Night, While Mara Learned Why Daniel Had Hidden the Truth About Their Son
The Elderly Stranger at the Airport Who Asked a Tired Young Mother One Question She Had Spent Years Trying to Forget
Part 5 of 16
