"We don't know."
"Could it be Mercer?"
"Possibly."
Mason felt the old anger returning.
"Is he still in custody?"
"Yes."
"Then who is this?"
Rebecca sighed.
"We're checking."
Mason looked toward the workshop.
Arthur was repairing a motorcycle.
Ray was helping the young apprentice.
For a moment, he considered saying nothing.
He had spent years chasing the past.
He had finally begun building something beyond it.
But the message was clear.
Someone wanted him to know that the story might not be finished.
He placed the photograph in an envelope.
Then he walked into the workshop.
Arthur looked up.
"Something wrong?"
Mason handed him the picture.
Arthur examined it.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get this?"
"Someone left it outside."
Arthur looked toward the lake in the photograph.
Then he whispered:
"That's Daniel's old property."
Mason stared.
"Daniel Mercer?"
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
Ray approached.
"What is it?"
Mason showed him the photograph.
Ray studied it.
Then he looked at Arthur.
"That's impossible."
Arthur shook his head.
"No."
Mason looked between them.
"What?"
Arthur lowered the photograph.
"There's another person we haven't talked about."
"Who?"
Arthur took a long breath.
"Your grandfather."
Mason frowned.
"My grandfather died before I was born."
Arthur nodded.
"That's what we were told."
Ray stepped closer.
"Arthur..."
Arthur looked at him.
"I think it's time he knew."
Mason felt the floor shift beneath him.
"You're telling me my grandfather might be alive?"
Arthur nodded slowly.
"Or that someone has been using his identity."
Mason looked at the photograph.
The man beside the lake was wearing a jacket.
On the back was an embroidered symbol.
A silver eagle.
Mason had seen that symbol before.
On the old motorcycle jacket hanging in his grandfather's workshop.
The jacket everyone believed had been buried with him.
He looked at Arthur.
"Where is the grave?"
Arthur answered quietly.
"At Saint Matthew's Cemetery."
Mason stared.
"Then tomorrow, we're going there."
Arthur nodded.
"Together."
The next morning, Mason, Arthur, and Ray drove to Saint Matthew's Cemetery.
The cemetery was older than Blackwater itself.
Its paths were narrow, and many of the headstones were worn by decades of rain.
Mason found his grandfather's grave near the eastern wall.
The name was carved clearly.
WILLIAM COLE.
1922–1986.
Mason stood before it.
He had never known the man.
He had heard stories.
His grandfather had been a mechanic.
He had served in the military.
He had raised two sons.
And he had supposedly died of a heart attack when Arthur was still in his thirties.
Mason looked down.
"Why would someone use his identity?"
Arthur crouched beside the grave.
He examined the ground.
Then he stood.
"Because this grave was opened."
Ray stepped forward.
"What?"
Arthur pointed toward the soil.
The ground had been disturbed recently.
Mason looked at him.
"How recently?"
"Within the last few weeks."
Mason called Rebecca.
She arrived with a forensic team.
They examined the site and confirmed that the grave had been disturbed.
The coffin was empty.
There were no remains.
Mason stared at the open grave.
"Where is my grandfather?"
Arthur looked toward the trees.
"I don't know."
Rebecca approached.
"Mr. Cole, we need to ask you something."
"What?"
"Did your grandfather have any connection to Thomas Bennett or Daniel Mercer?"
Arthur answered before Mason could.
"Yes."
Rebecca looked at him.
"What kind?"
Arthur took a breath.
"William Cole was the person who originally introduced Bennett to Daniel Mercer."
Mason stared.
"You told me my father met them through Grandpa."
"Yes."
"Then why is this important?"
Arthur looked toward the empty grave.
"Because your grandfather was not simply a mechanic."
Ray lowered his head.
Arthur continued.
"He was the man who built the original transportation network."
Mason felt cold.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that the organization we spent years trying to destroy began with him."
Rebecca looked at the empty grave.
Then at Arthur.
"Why wasn't this in the investigation?"
Arthur answered quietly.
"Because William Cole never died in 1986."
Mason stared.
The wind moved through the trees.
Somewhere in the distance, a church bell rang.
Arthur looked directly at him.
"Your grandfather disappeared because he knew what was coming."
Mason shook his head.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Arthur's voice broke.
"Because I thought he was dead."
Mason looked at the empty grave.
For years, he had believed his family was a collection of people destroyed by one criminal organization.
Now he was discovering that the organization had begun inside his own family.
Rebecca's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Then her expression changed.
She looked at Mason.
"We have a problem."
"What?"
"Daniel Mercer has requested an emergency meeting with federal prosecutors."
Mason frowned.
"Why?"
Rebecca looked toward the empty grave.
"Because he says he knows where William Cole is."
The meeting took place inside a federal detention facility.
Daniel Mercer sat behind a reinforced glass partition.
He looked older than the photographs.
His hair was white.
His face was thinner.
But his eyes remained sharp.
Mason entered with Rebecca and Arthur.
Ray waited outside with Leah.
Daniel looked at Mason.
"You're looking well."
Mason sat down.
"Let's skip the pleasantries."
Daniel smiled.
"Still impatient."
"Where is my grandfather?"
Daniel leaned back.
"That's an interesting question."
"Answer it."
"Your grandfather is alive."
Mason felt his jaw tighten.
"Where?"
Daniel looked at Arthur.
"Ask your uncle."
Arthur shook his head.
"I don't know."
Daniel smiled.
"Of course you don't."
Mason leaned forward.
"What do you want?"
Daniel looked directly at him.
"I want a deal."
Rebecca spoke immediately.
"You are not negotiating directly with him."
Daniel ignored her.
"I have information about William Cole. I have information about the original transportation network. I have information about every person who benefited from it."
Mason stared.
"Then give it to the prosecutors."
"Not without protection."
"You've spent years threatening people."
"And now I need protection."
Mason shook his head.
"You don't get to demand safety after taking it away from everyone else."
Daniel smiled faintly.
"That's a moral argument. I expected something more practical."
Rebecca closed her folder.
"Your offer will be reviewed through the appropriate legal channels."
Daniel looked at Mason.
"Before you leave, there's something you should know."
Mason waited.
"Your father didn't discover the network by accident."
Mason's expression hardened.
"What are you talking about?"
"William Cole showed him."
Arthur stared.
Daniel continued.
"Your grandfather gave your father the original records. He wanted him to expose everything."
Mason looked at Arthur.
Arthur shook his head.
"I never knew."
Daniel smiled.
"Your grandfather trusted your father more than he trusted either of his sons."
Mason felt his anger rise.
"Where is he?"
Daniel leaned forward.
"At North Lake."
Rebecca stood.
"That's enough."
Daniel continued.
"There's a house there. A boathouse. Under the floor is a safe."
Mason stared.
"What's inside?"