The Accident
Chapter 04 - The Accident
Caleb remembered the day Luke died.
A steel platform had collapsed at a Mercer-Reed construction site outside Philadelphia.
The investigation blamed a defective support beam.
Richard Reed had stood beside Caleb at the funeral.
He had hugged him.
He had told him accidents happened.
Caleb suddenly felt sick.
“What did Richard show you?”
Mara reached toward the bedside drawer.
Inside was a yellowed envelope.
She handed Caleb three photographs.
They showed Luke standing beside a damaged support column.
Another showed him speaking angrily to a site supervisor.
The last showed Richard Reed's car arriving at the construction site late the night before Luke died.
Caleb looked up.
“These prove nothing.”
“I know.”
Mara nodded.
“But Luke had discovered falsified safety inspections.”
Caleb's stomach tightened.
“He told me someone was signing off on unsafe materials to save millions.”
“Richard?”
“Luke never gave me the name.”
“Then why did you believe Richard killed him?”
“I didn't.”
That answer surprised Caleb.
Mara looked toward Eli.
“I believed Richard was capable of hurting my son.”
She explained that after Luke's funeral, Richard appeared at her apartment.
He knew about her pregnancy.
He knew where her mother lived.
He knew Caleb's schedule.
He placed fifty thousand dollars on the kitchen table and told her to leave.
Mara kept the money because she believed returning it would tell Richard where she was.
She moved from state to state.
Worked diners.
Cleaned motel rooms.
Raised Eli alone.
Caleb looked at the boy sitting near the window.
His nephew.
Luke's son.
A child who should have grown up surrounded by family.
Instead, he had spent nine years hiding.
Caleb's phone rang.
Vanessa.
He answered.
Her voice was shaking.
“Caleb, you need to come back.”
“I'm not finishing the wedding.”
“I know.”
Vanessa took a breath.
“I went into my father's office.”
Caleb stood.
“What did you find?”
“A file with Mara's name on it.”
There was a pause.
“And Caleb?”
May you like
“Yes?”
“There are files on you too.”
