Chapter 14 - THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN
Paul Mercer had worked with Richard for almost nine years.
Longer than Richard had known Claire.
Police reconstructed their history.
They had purchased failing properties together.
Created companies together.
Moved money together.
Whenever debts appeared, Mercer disappeared from the paperwork.
Whenever profits appeared, Richard became the public owner.
Richard looked like the businessman.
Mercer remained invisible.
Claire’s estate was supposed to be their largest score.
But at some point, Mercer decided sharing was no longer enough.
The GPS tracker beneath the coffin had not been there to help Richard.
Mercer was tracking Richard’s movements.
The hidden copy Vanessa mentioned was leverage.
If Richard cheated him, Mercer could expose everything.
“That’s why Vale got hurt,” Ortiz said.
“Vale knew too much.”
Claire sat in Megan’s living room after finally leaving the hospital.
Police watched the house around the clock.
Ethan sat beside her.
“Is Mercer worse than Richard?”
Claire considered the question.
“I don’t know.”
“That means yes.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“It means I’m done pretending I know people just because they smile at me.”
That night, someone attempted to access Ethan’s trust electronically.
The login came from a laptop previously registered to Paul Mercer.
The bank blocked the attempt.
But it confirmed Mercer was still nearby.
Then Ortiz received another lead.
A rental agency reported a dark SUV with a cracked left taillight overdue by four days.
The renter had used a false name.
Security footage showed Mercer collecting the vehicle.
The same SUV seen outside Dr. Vale’s motel.
Police found it abandoned near the river.
Inside was Vale’s blood.
A roll of duct tape.
A shovel.
And an empty gun case.
Mercer was now wanted for attempted murder as well.
The search expanded statewide.
Three nights later, Ethan woke to a sound outside his bedroom.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
He sat upright.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
The sound came again.
Three faint taps against the window.
Ethan reached for the alarm button police had placed beside his bed.
Before he pressed it, he saw something hanging outside the glass.
A photograph.
Someone had taped it to the window.
Police flooded the yard within seconds.
Nobody was found.
The photograph showed Claire standing beside Ethan at a park when he was six.
Richard had taken the picture.
Across Claire’s face, someone had drawn a black line.
On the back was a message.
THREE KNOCKS WON’T SAVE HER NEXT TIME.
Claire read it once.
May you like
Then she looked at Ortiz.
“I’m done hiding.”
