Chapter 4 - THE MAN WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD|
Claire stared at Daniel Price's raised fingers until the image disappeared from the tablet.
Three fingers.
Three warnings.
Three years earlier, during a deployment overseas, Daniel had invented the signal after their communications equipment failed during a training exercise.
It meant that someone nearby could not be trusted.
Now Daniel had used it while standing in a hospital hundreds of miles away.
And Claire had been standing beside Corporal Ethan Brooks when she saw it.
She slowly turned toward him.
Brooks looked pale.
“What?” he asked.
Claire forced herself to remain calm.
“Nothing.”
Whitmore was already speaking to Colonel Bennett.
“I want the hospital footage preserved and Daniel Price located immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Verify his identity through independent medical records.”
Bennett nodded.
“And contact Army CID.”
Claire watched Brooks move his hand toward his pocket.
The movement was subtle.
Almost invisible.
But she noticed because Daniel had taught her to notice small things.
“Ethan,” she said.
He stopped.
“Yes, Sergeant?”
“Give me your phone.”
Brooks blinked.
“Why?”
“Because I need to check something.”
He glanced toward Whitmore.
Claire's voice hardened.
“Now.”
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Brooks slowly removed his phone.
He held it out.
Claire didn't take it.
“Unlock it.”
“Claire—”
“Unlock it.”
Brooks looked desperate.
“Please don't make me do this.”
Whitmore turned.
“What is happening?”
Claire kept her eyes on Brooks.
“Sir, I believe Corporal Brooks may have been compromised.”
The words struck him like a physical blow.
“I didn't have a choice.”
Colonel Bennett immediately stepped forward.
“Corporal, keep your hands visible.”
Brooks raised both hands.
His phone fell onto the floor.
“I never wanted anybody hurt.”
Claire felt something inside her break.
“Ethan, what did you do?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“They took my mother.”
Nobody spoke.
Brooks lowered his head.
“Three days ago, she disappeared after leaving work.”
Claire's anger faltered.
“They called me that night.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
He swallowed.
“They said she would come home if I gave them information about your investigation.”
Whitmore moved closer.
“What information did you provide?”
Brooks shook his head.
“Only your schedule at first.”
Claire's voice dropped.
“At first?”
“They asked what you were copying, who you were meeting, and whether you'd found the original convoy records.”
Claire stared at him.
“Did you tell them about Daniel?”
Brooks closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The admission hurt more than she expected.
Daniel had trusted both of them.
And Ethan had betrayed that trust.
Whitmore gestured toward the military police officers.
“Separate the corporal and begin a formal statement with appropriate counsel and investigators.”
Brooks suddenly grabbed Claire's sleeve.
“Sergeant, please.”
She looked down at his hand.
“Let go.”
He released her immediately.
“They told me if I warned you, she'd die.”
Claire's voice remained steady.
“You should have told us.”
“I know.”
“You let me walk around believing we were on the same side.”
Brooks began crying.
“I thought I could protect both of you.”
Claire stepped backward.
“You didn't protect either of us.”
The officers escorted him away.
For a moment, Claire stood motionless.
Then Whitmore spoke.
“Sergeant Morgan.”
She turned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Come with me.”
They entered an empty conference room.
Whitmore closed the door.
“I need you to understand that Brooks's actions do not invalidate your evidence.”
Claire stared at the table.
“I trusted him.”
“I know.”
“He was the one person who told me I wasn't imagining things.”
Whitmore waited.
Claire finally looked up.
“Sir, why was Daniel declared dead?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Then why is he at Walter Reed?”
“That's what we're going to determine.”
Claire shook her head.
“He wouldn't have shown himself on camera accidentally.”
Whitmore studied her.
“Explain.”
“Daniel knew we would recognize the signal.”
“You believe the message was intended for you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then perhaps he wanted you to know he was alive.”
Claire considered that.
“Or he wanted me to know someone had found him.”
A knock interrupted them.
Bennett entered holding a secure phone.
“General, Walter Reed confirmed the footage.”
Whitmore stood.
“Price?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What's his status?”
Bennett hesitated.
“He was admitted under an assumed identity seventeen days ago.”
Claire frowned.
“Seventeen days?”
That was two days before his reported death.
Bennett continued.
“His medical records show extensive injuries consistent with a severe assault.”
Whitmore's jaw tightened.
“Who authorized the admission?”
“A physician named Dr. Evelyn Hart.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Is she still at the hospital?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
Bennett looked at Whitmore.
“She's missing.”
Another silence settled over the room.
Then Bennett placed a second photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel lying in a hospital bed.
A woman in a white coat stood beside him.
Claire recognized her.
Not from the hospital.
From the base.
She pointed at the photograph.
“That woman visited General Hayes three weeks ago.”
Whitmore looked sharply at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“She identified herself as an outside medical consultant.”
Bennett enlarged the photograph.
“Dr. Evelyn Hart.”
Claire shook her head.
“She didn't use that name.”
“What name did she use?”
Claire stared at the woman's face.
Then the memory returned.
“Dr. Rebecca Lane.”
Whitmore went still.
Bennett looked toward him.
“Sir?”
He didn't answer.
Claire felt a terrible suspicion growing.
“General, you know her?”
Whitmore slowly sat down.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
He looked at the photograph one more time.
“Her real name is Evelyn Voss.”
Claire stopped breathing.
May you like
Whitmore continued.
“And she's Lieutenant General Nathaniel Voss's daughter.”
