Chapter 6 - The River Road Report
At dawn Paul met Dana in the records room. They pulled Richard's death certificate, the accident report, and the coroner's paperwork. The documents lined up until they reached the signature verifying the dental match.
It belonged to a retired contractor who had lost his professional license a year before Richard's crash.
“That's not proof Richard survived,” Dana warned.
“I know.” Paul folded the page. “It's proof we need somebody outside this county to look.”
He called the state investigative bureau's child exploitation and public corruption intake line. By midmorning, Agent Leah Santos agreed to review the evidence and send a team. Paul requested that the investigation be kept away from the local sheriff until they knew where the leaks were coming from.
While they waited, Elena told Dana how Grant had changed after taking over Mercer Development. At first he was only secretive about money. Then he began insisting their daughters were “helping science.” He asked Elena to sign consent forms she hadn't read. When she refused, he said a judge would consider her emotionally unstable.
“What did you do?” Dana asked.
“I copied his invoices. I called Richard Hayes. He said he'd help me.”
Paul leaned forward. “You knew my brother?”
“He came to our house. He heard Violet crying behind a locked door. The next night, he vanished.”
Richard used to call Paul on the first Sunday of every month, no matter how busy he was. After the crash, Paul kept his phone charged beside his bed for weeks, a foolish habit he never admitted to anyone. He now wondered whether the calls he'd missed from unknown numbers had been telemarketers, threats, or his brother looking for one moment of courage.
Before Paul could answer, his phone rang. Grant Mercer's name filled the screen.
“Officer Hayes,” Grant said pleasantly. “I hear you've kidnapped my daughters and invited my unstable wife along for the ride.”
“They're receiving medical care.”
“I have a custody order. I also have friends at the hospital.”
Paul kept the call recording through authorized department procedures. “Then your attorney can contact the state investigators.”
May you like
Grant's voice cooled. “Ask your brother what happened when he tried that.”
The line went dead.
