CHAPTER 5 — THE MAN WHO WAS PAID TO LIE
CHAPTER 5 — THE MAN WHO WAS PAID TO LIE
The name was Daniel Mercer.
Ethan found it written on the back of an old traffic citation.
A name buried in a file that should never have existed.
Daniel Mercer.
Age thirty-eight at the time of the crash.
Commercial driver.
No criminal record.
No history of substance abuse.
And, according to the original police report, completely unrelated to Ava's accident.
Except he wasn't.
Ethan discovered the truth at 8:12 the next morning.
Daniel had been driving the second vehicle.
The vehicle the police report claimed had never existed.
The vehicle whose tire tracks disappeared from the official evidence.
The vehicle whose driver had supposedly been nowhere near Blackwood Road.
Ethan stared at the old photograph.
A black sedan.
Front bumper damaged.
One headlight shattered.
Exactly the kind of damage that would have been caused by a collision with Ava's vehicle.
The photograph had been taken by an insurance investigator.
Then removed from the official file.
Someone had forgotten to destroy the duplicate.
Ethan called the number listed on the report.
It was disconnected.
He searched another database.
Nothing.
A third.
Nothing.
Then he found a property record.
Daniel Mercer had purchased a small house in Maine two years after the accident.
Cash.
Ethan looked at the amount.
$480,000.
Daniel had never earned enough to afford it.
Someone had paid him.
Ethan drove north.
The house stood alone at the end of a narrow road.
No neighbors.
No cameras.
No signs.
Just trees and snow.
Ethan knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
A voice came from inside.
“Go away.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Daniel Mercer?”
Silence.
“My name is Ethan Hale.”
The silence became heavier.
“I know what happened on Blackwood Road.”
The door opened.
Only a few inches.
A man's face appeared.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
Daniel stared at Ethan.
Then whispered:
“You shouldn't have come.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You know who I am.”
“Yes.”
“You know my wife.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“I knew her before you did.”
Ethan's pulse accelerated.
“Let me in.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because people who ask questions about that night don't stay safe.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“My father is dead.”
Daniel said nothing.
“My wife was nearly killed.”
Nothing.
“My mother has been drugging her for three years.”
Daniel's eyes widened.
“She survived?”
“Yes.”
He slowly opened the door.
“Come in.”
The house was nearly empty.
One table.
Two chairs.
A small kitchen.
A fireplace.
No photographs.
No family.
Daniel poured two cups of coffee.
His hands trembled.
“You should leave.”
“I came here for answers.”
“You won't like them.”
“I stopped caring about that.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You look like your father.”
Ethan froze.
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I drove him once.”
“When?”
“The night he died.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“You were the driver?”
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.”
“Whose car?”
“My own.”
“Where did you take him?”
“I didn't.”
“Then what happened?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I was paid to lie.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“By whom?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Who paid you?”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“I can't tell you.”
“You can.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm still afraid.”
“Of whom?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
Then whispered:
“Everyone who knew the truth is dead.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Detective Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone else?”
Daniel nodded.
“Three others.”
“Who?”
“I won't say.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to be next.”
Ethan placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Ava's wrecked car.
Daniel stared at it.
“I remember that night.”
“Tell me.”
“I was driving east.”
“On Blackwood Road?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Someone called me.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked away.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“I received a phone call.”
“From whom?”
“A blocked number.”
“What did they say?”
“They told me where to go.”
“And?”
“I saw Ava's car.”
“Before the crash?”
“No.”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“After.”
“What did you do?”
“I stopped.”
“Why?”
“Because there was another car.”
Ethan's heart raced.
“What car?”
“A dark SUV.”
“Who was inside?”
“I couldn't see.”
“You saw them.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Two.”
“Men?”
“One man.”
“One woman.”
Ethan thought of Margaret.
“Was my mother there?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“How long before the police?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“And you?”
“I stayed.”
“Why?”
“Because I was told to.”
“By whom?”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“I can't.”
“You already admitted you were paid.”
Daniel nodded.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Ethan stared.
“For lying?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“That I caused the accident.”
Ethan froze.
“You confessed?”
“I told police I had crossed the center line.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they threatened my daughter.”
Ethan stopped.
“They knew about her.”
“Yes.”
“What did they threaten?”
“Her life.”
Daniel stood and walked toward the fireplace.
He removed a loose brick.
Behind it was a metal box.
He brought it to the table.
Inside were bank records.
Photographs.
A phone.
And a handwritten statement.
“I kept everything.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I knew someday someone would come.”
“Someone like me?”
“Someone who wanted the truth.”
Daniel handed him the statement.
Ethan read it.
It described the accident.
But one paragraph had been crossed out.
“What is this?”
“The part they made me remove.”
“What's it say?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
“That Ava's car was hit from behind.”
Ethan stared.
“Hit?”
“Yes.”
“By the SUV?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I never saw.”
“You said two vehicles.”
“There were three.”
Ethan froze.
“Three?”
“Ava's car.”
“The SUV.”
“And another vehicle.”
“What kind?”
“Black sedan.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“Who was driving?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see the license plate?”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
Daniel looked at him.
“I wrote it down.”
Ethan's heart began pounding.
“Where?”
Daniel pointed toward the box.
“Inside.”
Ethan searched.
Nothing.
He searched again.
Still nothing.
“It's gone.”
Daniel looked confused.
“I put it there.”
“Someone took it.”
Daniel's face became pale.
“When?”
“I don't know.”
He checked the other documents.
One envelope was empty.
The seal had been broken.
Daniel whispered:
“They found me.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
Daniel pointed toward the window.
A black SUV sat across the road.
Engine running.
Ethan stood.
“Call the police.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if they're here, the police won't help.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Then what do we do?”
Daniel reached beneath the table.
He pulled out a second phone.
“There's one recording.”
“What recording?”
“The call.”
“What call?”
“The call I received before the crash.”
Ethan stared.
“You recorded it?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
Daniel smiled bitterly.
“The phone automatically recorded every unknown number.”
He handed it over.
Ethan pressed play.
Static.
Then a man's voice.
“Daniel.”
Daniel's younger voice answered:
“Yes?”
“You know what to do.”
“I'm not hurting anyone.”
“You're not being asked to.”
“What happens if she survives?”
A pause.
“She won't remember.”
Daniel's voice trembled.
“And if she does?”
“Then you already know what happens to your daughter.”
The recording ended.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“That voice.”
“I know.”
“Who is it?”
Daniel shook his head.
“You know him.”
“I don't.”
“You do.”
“Tell me.”
Daniel stared at him.
“He was in your father's company.”
Ethan's mind raced through names.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Partners.
Investors.
Then Daniel added:
“And he wasn't working for your mother.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“He gave her orders.”
The room became silent.
“You're saying my mother wasn't the mastermind?”
“No.”
“Then who was?”
Daniel looked toward the black SUV.
“I don't know.”
“You know something.”
“I know enough to stay alive.”
Ethan grabbed his arm.
“People have been dying because of this.”
“I know.”
“My wife was drugged.”
“I know.”
“My father was killed.”
“I know.”
“My mother helped them.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me who gave the order.”
Daniel's eyes filled with fear.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if I say his name, you'll die.”
Ethan stared at him.
“I'm already involved.”
“Not like this.”
“Tell me.”
Daniel shook his head.
Then the sound of breaking glass exploded through the house.
Daniel dropped to the floor.
Ethan ducked.
A bullet struck the wall.
Another shattered the window.
“Down!”
Daniel crawled toward the back door.
Ethan followed.
They escaped through the kitchen.
They ran into the woods.
Behind them, the house filled with smoke.
Daniel grabbed Ethan's arm.
“Keep running!”
They reached a small shed.
Daniel slammed the door.
Both men breathed heavily.
Ethan whispered:
“Who?”
Daniel looked at him.
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
“The person behind all of this doesn't want Ava's money.”
Ethan stared.
“Then what does he want?”
Daniel shook his head.
“He wants something your father left behind.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why did they try to kill Ava?”
Daniel's eyes hardened.
“Because she had it.”
“What?”
“Your father gave it to her.”
Ethan froze.
“Gave her what?”
Daniel reached inside his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Arthur standing beside Ava.
On the back were four words.
She carries the key.
Ethan stared.
“What key?”
Daniel looked at him.
“The one your father died protecting.”
They returned to the house an hour later.
The black SUV was gone.
The front door was open.
The inside had been destroyed.
Documents were scattered everywhere.
The metal box was gone.
The phone was gone.
The statement was gone.
Everything was gone.
Except one thing.
A small envelope had been placed on the kitchen table.
Ethan picked it up.
His name was written on the front.
ETHAN HALE
Inside was a single photograph.
Ava.
Three years ago.
Taken inside the hospital.
She was unconscious.
Margaret stood beside her bed.
And behind them stood a man.
Ethan recognized him immediately.
Jonathan Pierce.
His mother's lawyer.
But that wasn't what frightened him.
On the back of the photograph was another sentence.
Ask him who ordered the crash.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Daniel was staring at the photograph.
“Do you know him?”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He was the man who paid me.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Jonathan?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
Then whispered:
“Jonathan was only the messenger.”
Ethan's phone rang.
Ava.
He answered immediately.
“Hello?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Ethan…”
“What happened?”
“Someone came to the hospital.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you safe?”
“I am now.”
“What did they want?”
Ava was silent.
Then:
“They asked me about the key.”
Ethan's blood turned cold.
“What key?”
“I don't know.”
“Did they hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did they say anything else?”
Ava began crying.
“They said something about your father.”
“What?”
“They said…”
Her voice broke.
“They said he didn't hide the key.”
Ethan waited.
“What did they say?”
Ava whispered:
“He put it inside me.”
The call went silent.
Ethan stared into the darkness.
Daniel slowly looked at him.
“What did she say?”
Ethan lowered the phone.
“She said my father put something inside her.”
Daniel's face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
“That means…”
He stopped.
“What?”
Daniel stared at Ethan.
“The people behind this aren't searching for money.”
“Then what are they searching for?”
Daniel whispered:
“They're searching for something Ava has carried with her since the night of the crash.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
And suddenly the years of medication made sense in a completely different way.
Maybe the pills hadn't only been meant to weaken Ava.
May you like
Maybe they had been meant to keep her from remembering where the secret was.
TO BE CONTINUED…
