I have spent years trying to protect my family by staying away. I don't know if that was right. I only know that I miss them.
If I don't return, tell Mason that I never stopped thinking about him.
Mason's hands trembled.
He read the letter again.
Then he lowered it.
Arthur put a hand on his shoulder.
For a long moment, Mason could not speak.
Finally, he said, "He came here."
"Yes."
"He was trying to find out what happened to William."
"Yes."
"And he never came home."
Arthur looked toward the river.
"No."
Mason closed the box.
The investigation had brought them closer to the truth.
But it had also opened the oldest wound in his life.
His father had not simply disappeared.
He had been searching for the same answers Mason was now trying to find.
And somewhere between the old bridge and the unknown road beyond it, that search had ended.
The investigators examined the box.
The photographs showed David in Fairhaven, then in several other towns.
One image was particularly important.
It showed him standing outside a small roadside motel.
The sign read:
PINE RIDGE INN.
The motel had closed years earlier.
Its property had been converted into a storage facility.
The investigators searched the archived guest records.
They found a registration under the name David Carter.
The date was July 1998.
There was another registration under the same name two weeks later.
Then nothing.
A former motel employee remembered him.
"He was polite. Kept to himself. He had a dark blue truck."
"Did anyone visit him?"
"One man."
"Can you describe him?"
"Older. Gray hair. Tall. He wore a suit."
Mason showed him the photograph of Samuel Price.
The employee nodded.
"That's him."
"Did they leave together?"
"I think so."
"Did you see where they went?"
"No."
The investigators found security records from the storage facility.
They showed that the motel's former maintenance building had been used by a private company between 1998 and 2000.
The company was connected to Meridian Protection.
Mason stared at the record.
"Samuel had a base there."
"Possibly," the investigator said.
"Can we search it?"
"We already have."
"And?"
The investigator hesitated.
"We found traces of an office. Several old files. No direct evidence of what happened to David."
Mason felt his hope falter.
"Then what?"
"We found a second set of vehicle records. One vehicle was registered to a man named Peter Vale."
Mason looked at Arthur.
Vale had already admitted driving William to North Lake.
"Is he still alive?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to speak with him again."
Peter Vale's health had deteriorated.
He was in a care facility, and his daughter had warned the investigators that he was becoming confused.
Mason visited him with Arthur and an investigator.
Vale recognized them.
"You found the box," he said.
Mason stopped.
"What box?"
"At the bridge."
Mason felt his pulse quicken.
"You knew it was there?"
Vale nodded.
"Samuel told me to put it there."
"Why?"
"Because David was supposed to find it."
"Did he?"
"Yes."
"Then what happened?"
Vale looked toward the window.
"Samuel met him."
"Where?"
"At the motel."
"Did you take him there?"
Vale nodded.
"Was my father alive when you left?"
"Yes."
"Did he leave with Samuel?"
Vale closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Mason leaned forward.
"Where did they go?"
"North."
"North Lake?"
Vale nodded.
"Was William there?"
"Not then."
"Then why take David there?"
"Samuel wanted him to sign something."
"What?"
"A statement saying William had authorized the attack."
Mason's jaw tightened.
"Did my father sign it?"
"No."
"Did Samuel hurt him?"
Vale's breathing became uneven.
"He threatened him."
"Did he use violence?"
Vale did not answer.
Mason waited.
Finally, Vale whispered, "Yes."
Arthur's face hardened.
"What happened afterward?"
"David escaped."
Mason felt a surge of hope.
"He escaped?"
Vale nodded.
"He ran. Samuel sent people after him, but he got away."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see him again?"
"No."
"Was he injured?"
Vale looked down.
"Yes."
"How badly?"
"I don't know."
Mason sat back.
The information was incomplete, but it was more than they had known.
His father had survived the meeting.
He had escaped Samuel.
He might have lived for years afterward.
Mason felt the possibility open in front of him.
"Did Samuel believe he was dead?"
Vale nodded.
"He said David would never come back."
"Did you believe him?"
"No."
"Why?"
Vale looked at Mason.
"Because your father was stubborn."
For the first time in the meeting, Mason almost smiled.
It was a small, painful expression.
But it was real.
The search for David continued.
The investigators followed the vehicle records from the motel and found a repair shop in a town called Redfield.
A mechanic named Thomas Avery remembered a man who had arrived in 1998 with a damaged truck and an injured wrist.
He had used the name David Carter.
Avery had helped him repair the vehicle.
"He stayed a few nights," Avery said. "He was hurt, but he refused to go to a hospital."
"Did he say why?"
"He said he didn't want anyone knowing where he was."
"Did he have family?"
"He showed me a photograph of a little boy."
Mason felt his throat tighten.
"Did he say the boy's name?"
"Mason."
Avery looked at him.
"That was you, wasn't it?"
Mason nodded.
Avery went to a drawer and returned with an old envelope.
"He left this with me. Said I should keep it until someone came looking."
Mason took it.
The envelope was sealed.
On the front was written:
For Mason, when he is old enough to understand.
Mason stared at the words.
He did not open it immediately.
He held it for several seconds.
Then he broke the seal.
Inside was a letter.
My son,
If you are reading this, it means I did not find my way home.
I don't know how old you are now. I don't know what you have been told about me. I hope you have been loved. I hope you have been safe.
I need you to know that leaving was not a choice I made because I wanted to be away from you. I left because people were using my presence to threaten you.
Your grandfather made a terrible mistake. He believed he could control Samuel Price. He believed that if he kept the business running, he could protect the family. He was wrong.
I was wrong too. I should have found a way to tell you the truth. I should have found a way to return.
I have tried more than once.
I don't know whether I will succeed.
If you grow up and discover that our family has done terrible things, do not feel obligated to defend them. You owe nobody that loyalty. You are allowed to build something better.