Chapter 23 - THE ACCIDENT
The next morning, Julian came to my house.
He looked exhausted.
He placed a folder on the kitchen table.
"I spent all night going through the old case."
I opened it.
"What did you find?"
"The accident report."
"I've seen it."
"Not this version."
He handed me another document.
The original police report.
I read it.
Then I read it again.
"The car went over the bridge."
"Yes."
"His body was recovered?"
Julian shook his head.
"No."
I looked up.
"What?"
"The report says the vehicle was recovered."
"That's not what I asked."
He pointed at the page.
"There was no body."
My hands went cold.
"Then how was he declared dead?"
"His personal identification was found inside the car."
"That doesn't prove he died."
"No."
Julian looked at me.
"It proves only that someone wanted everyone to believe he died."
Noah was listening from the hallway.
I didn't notice him until he spoke.
"Then Grandpa could still be alive."
Julian and I looked at each other.
Neither of us answered.
Noah walked into the kitchen.
"Why did everyone lie?"
I knelt beside him.
"Sometimes adults hide things because they're afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
I didn't know.
Then I remembered the box.
I opened it again.
The key inside had a number engraved on it.
417.
Julian recognized it immediately.
"That's a storage unit."
"Where?"
"Downtown."
He looked at me.
"Your grandfather rented it under another name."
I stared at the key.
"How long?"
May you like
Julian checked the old records.
"Twenty-two years."
