"Was the report ever filed?"
Rebecca checked her notes.
"We found a reference to an incident report, but the original document is missing."
Arthur smiled sadly.
"Of course it is."
He removed another photograph.
This one showed his brother standing beside a young sheriff.
Harold Voss.
Mason looked at the picture.
"How old was Voss?"
"Twenty-eight, perhaps. He was a deputy then."
"And he was already working for Bennett?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Not initially. Voss was a good officer once. He believed in the law."
"What changed?"
"Money. Ambition. Fear. Sometimes all three."
Ray shifted his injured shoulder.
"Daniel Mercer was the one who approached him."
Arthur nodded.
"Mercer offered him money to lose certain reports. Then he offered him more money to make certain investigations disappear."
Mason stared at the photographs.
"And Voss accepted."
"Yes."
"Why didn't anyone stop him?"
Arthur looked at him.
"Because by the time we understood what was happening, he controlled the people who were supposed to investigate him."
Rebecca closed her notebook.
"We have enough information to reopen several cases. But we need original testimony."
Arthur nodded.
"You'll have mine."
Ray looked at him.
"And mine."
Mason turned.
"You're supposed to be recovering."
Ray gave him a tired smile.
"I can recover while telling the truth."
Rebecca looked at Mason.
"And you?"
Mason considered the question.
For years, he had wanted nothing more than to know what had happened to his father.
Now he knew.
But knowledge had not brought peace.
It had brought responsibility.
"I'll testify."
Rebecca nodded.
"Then we'll protect you."
Mason glanced toward the road where Frank had disappeared.
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
Rebecca did not argue.
Instead, she said something that Mason respected.
"We'll do everything we can. And we'll make sure you know exactly what risks remain."
The hospital room was quiet when Mason returned with Ray.
A nurse checked his bandages and adjusted his medication. The doctor explained that the wound would need several weeks to heal.
Ray listened patiently.
Then, as soon as the doctor left, he looked at Mason.
"Where's Arthur?"
"With the federal agents."
"Did you talk?"
"Some."
Ray nodded.
"I need to speak with him."
"You can do that after you've rested."
Ray shook his head.
"There's something I never told you."
Mason pulled a chair closer.
"What?"
Ray looked toward the window.
"When Daniel Mercer disappeared, I was the one who helped him."
Mason said nothing.
Ray continued.
"I knew he was involved in the transportation operation. I knew about the stolen equipment. But I didn't know he had ordered the killings."
"Why did you help him?"
"Because he was my brother."
Ray closed his eyes.
"He called me the night of the warehouse fire. He said he needed help getting out of town. I believed him when he told me he had been threatened."
"Did you know he was alive?"
Ray hesitated.
"Yes."
Mason stared.
"How long?"
"About twelve years."
Mason leaned back.
"Ray..."
"I know."
"You told me he was dead."
"Because I thought if you knew, you'd go looking for him."
"I did go looking for him."
"Exactly."
Ray swallowed.
"Daniel told me that if I ever revealed where he was, he would make sure nobody in our family survived."
Mason looked at the bandage.
"Did he arrange the attack on you?"
"I think so."
"Why?"
"Because I kept the photograph."
Mason looked at the envelope.
The picture of his father, Daniel Mercer, and Frank Dalton.
Ray nodded.
"Daniel wanted it destroyed."
"Why didn't you destroy it?"
"Because your father asked me to protect it."
Mason sat quietly.
Ray looked at him.
"Your father saved my life once. I owed him."
Mason shook his head.
"You don't owe him anything anymore."
Ray smiled faintly.
"Maybe not. But I owed you the truth."
Mason looked down.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Ray reached for his hand.
"Your father would have been proud of you."
Mason looked away.
"I don't know about that."
"I do."
Mason stood.
"I'll bring you some food."
Ray nodded.
As Mason reached the door, Ray spoke again.
"Mason?"
He turned.
"Don't let what happened to us turn you into somebody you don't recognize."
Mason remained still.
Ray continued.
"Those men took years from us. Don't give them the rest of your life."
Mason nodded slowly.
Then he left.
Emma was sitting in the garden when Daniel Bennett arrived at Willow House the following afternoon.
She had spent the morning refusing to speak about the previous meeting.
Patricia had allowed her to remain outside, where she could sit beneath a maple tree and watch the other residents playing basketball.
Daniel stood near the gate.
He had brought no gifts.
No flowers.
No expensive clothes.
He had only a small envelope containing photographs.
Patricia approached him.
"She's not expecting you."
"I know."
"She may not want to speak."
"I understand."
Patricia studied his face.
"Then why are you here?"
Daniel looked toward the garden.
"Because she told me I could come back."
Patricia nodded.
"I'll ask her."
A few minutes later, Emma appeared.
She wore the same blue sweater as the previous day.
Her expression was guarded.
"You came."
Daniel nodded.
"I said I would."
She looked at his empty hands.
"You didn't bring anything."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you to think I can buy my way into your life."
Emma studied him.
Then she pointed toward the bench.
"Sit."
Daniel sat.
Emma remained standing.
"Tell me about my mother."
Daniel swallowed.
"Her name was Catherine."
"Was she nice?"
He smiled sadly.
"She was the kindest person I ever knew."
"What happened to her?"
"She died when you were very young."
Emma looked down.
"How?"
Daniel hesitated.
"She became ill."
"That's what they told me."
He nodded.
"She had been ill for some time."
Emma sat at the far end of the bench.
"Did she know about me?"
"She loved you."
"Then why did I grow up somewhere else?"
Daniel looked at his hands.
"Because I made a terrible decision."
"What decision?"
"I believed that the people threatening us would never stop. I thought if you were raised away from me, they couldn't use you to hurt me."
Emma looked at him.
"Did it work?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Then why didn't you come back?"
"Because I was afraid that coming back would put you in danger."
Emma's expression hardened.
"That's not an answer."
Daniel looked at her.
"You're right."
He took a breath.
"The truth is that I became so frightened of losing you that I convinced myself staying away was the safest thing I could do. After a while, I stopped knowing how to return."
Emma looked toward the basketball court.
"Did you have another family?"
"No."
"Did you have another daughter?"