Chapter 16 - The Woman in Palm Beach
The next twelve minutes felt longer than the previous eleven months.
Ethan stood in the library with the phone pressed to his ear while Detective Kim coordinated with officers in Florida.
Finally, a Palm Beach sergeant came on the line.
“Mr. Cole?”
“Yes.”
“Your mother is alive.”
Ethan grabbed the desk. “Is she hurt?”
“Minor cut to the forehead. She’s conscious.”
He shut his eyes.
“What happened?”
“Someone entered through the rear patio door. Your mother says a woman attacked her and took a laptop.”
Claire whispered, “A woman?”
The sergeant continued. “Neighbor camera caught a person leaving in a dark sedan. We’re sending the image.”
Ethan’s phone buzzed.
A grainy still appeared.
A woman in a baseball cap turned briefly toward the camera.
Ethan did not recognize her.
Daniel did.
“Oh, no.”
Ethan looked at him. “Who is she?”
Daniel enlarged the image. “Elena Mercer.”
Harold frowned. “Mercer?”
Daniel’s voice became thin. “My mother.”
Ethan stared. “You told me your mother was dead.”
“I thought she was.”
Daniel took the phone, looking almost sick. “She disappeared when I was sixteen. I was told she died under another name in Nevada.”
Claire stepped closer despite herself. “That woman worked for my father.”
Daniel looked at her.
Claire swallowed. “I remember her. She handled books at Vale Consulting before my father was arrested.”
The room shifted again.
Ethan felt like every answer opened two more doors.
Detective Kim said, “If Elena Mercer is alive, she may connect the original embezzlement case, the foundation theft, and Rachel’s death.”
Daniel sat down slowly.
“My mother used to say Richard Cole stole more than money from her.”
Ethan looked at him.
“What did she mean?”
Daniel shook his head. “I thought she meant my childhood.”
Claire stared at the floor. “Maybe she meant evidence.”
Ethan’s phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
A photo loaded.
Victoria sat in an ambulance, speaking to police.
The photo had been taken seconds earlier from across the street.
Whoever sent it was still nearby.
Then a message appeared.
BRING RACHEL’S PHONE TO THE OLD COLE TEXTILE MILL AT MIDNIGHT.
May you like
COME ALONE.
OR YOUR MOTHER WON’T SURVIVE THE NEXT VISIT.
