Chapter 25 - THE THIRD MAN
Julian turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
Eleven years earlier.
The year Noah was born.
"Who is he?"
Julian didn't answer immediately.
I grabbed his arm.
"Julian."
He finally looked at me.
"His name is Daniel Mercer."
"Who is that?"
"Your grandfather's accountant."
"Was?"
"He's dead."
Again.
Another dead man.
Another person appearing in photographs years after their supposed death.
"What happened to him?"
"Suicide."
I stared at Julian.
"When?"
"Two years after Noah was born."
"Are you sure?"
"I handled part of the estate investigation."
I looked at the photograph again.
Daniel Mercer was staring directly at the camera.
And beside him was my grandfather.
But there was something else.
A small red circle had been drawn around Daniel's hand.
I zoomed in.
He was holding a USB drive.
The same kind of drive that had been inside Noah's original box.
I looked at Julian.
"Do you think that's why someone gave Noah the box?"
Julian nodded slowly.
"Maybe."
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A text message appeared.
STOP LOOKING FOR THE DEAD.
A second message followed.
START LOOKING FOR THE LIVING.
Then:
YOUR MOTHER KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE.
I looked at Julian.
"My mother?"
He immediately called her.
No answer.
We called again.
Still nothing.
Then her phone finally answered.
But no one spoke.
I heard breathing.
Then a man's voice whispered:
May you like
"She's not home."
The call ended.
