"Maybe someone made sure they didn't."
The investigators contacted the county records office.
The original missing-person file had been transferred twice and was now stored in an archive building.
It contained only a few pages.
The neighbor who reported Anna missing was Helen Brooks.
The same woman Mason and Arthur had spoken with.
They returned to Millbrook.
Helen was surprised to see them.
"Did you find something?" she asked.
Mason showed her the photograph.
She took it carefully.
"That's Anna."
"You remember her?"
"Of course."
"Did she ever tell you she was afraid of Samuel?"
Helen's eyes filled.
"Yes."
Mason waited.
"She came to my house once. It was late. She had the boy with her. She asked if she could use my telephone."
"Did she call someone?"
"I don't know. She went into the kitchen. I heard her whispering."
"Did she say where she wanted to go?"
Helen nodded.
"She said she wanted to leave. She wanted to take Daniel somewhere safe."
Mason looked at Arthur.
"Did she say why?"
"She said Samuel had become dangerous. She said he was keeping records of people and using them to control them."
"Did she mention the ledger?"
Helen frowned.
"No. But she said she had found something in the house."
"What?"
"She didn't tell me."
"Did she leave?"
Helen looked down.
"She came back the next morning. She said she had changed her mind."
"Why?"
"She said Samuel had promised to let her go if she stopped asking questions."
Mason felt his stomach tighten.
"Did he keep that promise?"
Helen shook her head.
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because a few months later, I saw the boy alone."
"Where?"
"At the roadside near the old church. He was carrying a small bag. He said his mother had gone away."
"Did you believe him?"
"No."
Helen's voice trembled.
"Children know when adults are lying to them. He looked as though someone had told him that if he asked another question, something terrible would happen."
Mason felt a deep anger rise inside him.
"What happened to Daniel?"
"Samuel came for him. I saw the car. The boy didn't want to go. Samuel opened the door and told him to get in."
"Did he force him?"
Helen nodded.
"He didn't hit him. He didn't need to. He just said something quietly. The boy went pale and got into the car."
Mason looked at the photograph again.
The child in it was Daniel Mercer.
A boy who had grown into a man who helped run the same network that had frightened him.
Arthur asked, "Did you ever see Anna again?"
Helen shook her head.
"No."
"Did you report what happened?"
"I tried. I went to the police station and told them what I'd seen. They said Anna had probably left with another man. They said there was no evidence of a crime."
"Who spoke to you?"
"An officer named Collins."
Mason's attention sharpened.
"Director Collins?"
Helen looked confused.
"Maybe. He was younger then."
Mason exchanged a glance with Arthur.
Director Collins had overseen the later investigation and had helped dismantle Rebecca Shaw's corrupt operation. If he had been involved in the original failure to investigate Anna's disappearance, that would require careful examination.
But it could also have been another officer with the same surname.
Mason did not jump to conclusions.
"Do you remember his first name?"
Helen shook her head.
"Only the surname."
"Did he take a statement?"
"He wrote something down. Then he told me not to interfere in another family's affairs."
Mason thanked her.
As they left, Helen called after him.
"Mason?"
He turned.
"That little boy used to come to my garden. He liked the apple tree. He would sit under it and read."
Mason waited.
"Do you think he's still alive?"
"Daniel?"
"Yes."
"Yes. He's alive."
Helen looked toward the road.
"Then tell him his mother didn't leave him."
Mason nodded.
"I will."
The old police records became a separate investigation.
Director Collins was contacted and asked to review the missing-person file. He was surprised by the reference to his surname, but he did not dismiss it.
He requested the original records.
After examining them, he confirmed that he had worked in the county as a junior officer in 1992.
He also confirmed that he had taken a statement from Helen Brooks.
But he denied closing the investigation.
"I remember the case," he told Mason. "I remember the neighbor. I remember that she was worried about the boy. I wrote a report and passed it to my supervisor."
"Who was your supervisor?"
"Deputy Chief Martin."
Mason searched the old records.
Martin had died years earlier.
"Did you follow up?"
"No. I was transferred to another department."
"Did you know Anna Price had disappeared?"
"I believed she had left voluntarily."
"Why?"
"That was the information I was given."
"By whom?"
Collins paused.
"I don't remember."
Mason placed the missing-person file on the desk.
"There's a photograph of Anna with Samuel and Daniel. There's a witness who says she was frightened and wanted to leave. There's evidence that Daniel was taken away against his will. And there's no record of a proper investigation."
Collins looked at the file.
"I understand."
"Can you help us find out what happened?"
"Yes."
Collins took the file.
"I'll have the original duty logs reviewed."
Mason watched him carefully.
He had no reason to assume Collins was responsible, but he had learned that old failures rarely disappeared on their own.
They simply waited for someone to examine them.
Daniel Mercer received the news three days later.
Mason returned to the detention facility with Arthur and an investigator.
He placed a copy of the photograph on the table.
Daniel stared at it.
For a long time, he did not speak.
Then he touched the edge of the paper.
"Where did you find this?"
"At Samuel's winter house."
Daniel looked at the woman in the photograph.
"That's my mother."
"Her name was Anna Price."
"Anna Bell," Daniel corrected. "She kept her maiden name in private."
Mason nodded.
"We found the missing-person report."
Daniel's fingers trembled.
"She didn't leave."
"No."
"She didn't abandon me."
"No."
Daniel lowered his head.
For several seconds, his shoulders moved as he tried to control his breathing.
Then he covered his face.
Mason watched him.
There was no satisfaction in seeing Daniel break down.
There was only the painful recognition that a child had been made to carry a lie for decades.
When Daniel finally looked up, his eyes were red.
"Did you find out what happened to her?"
"Not yet."
"Do you think she's alive?"
"I don't know."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Samuel told me she had gone away because she didn't want me."
Mason remained silent.