Chapter 9: Parcel Seven
Chapter 9: Parcel Seven
Nathan barely remembered the drive to the sheriff's office.
Victor Sloan was dead.
The one man who could have explained the forged deed, the fake bank transfer, and the connection to Horizon Valley Development had been silenced before he could answer a single question.
Deputy Collins met him outside.
"The medical examiner is still at the quarry."
Nathan nodded.
"I want to see the truck."
"I figured you would."
Miller's Quarry had been abandoned for nearly thirty years.
The water at the bottom was dark enough to hide almost anything.
Victor's pickup had already been pulled onto dry ground.
Its front end was crushed.
The windshield had shattered.
Nathan walked slowly around the vehicle.
"Looks bad."
"It does," Collins agreed.
"But something doesn't fit."
He pointed toward the driver's door.
"It was unlocked."
Nathan frowned.
"So?"
"Most people lock their doors."
Nathan looked closer.
The driver's window was rolled halfway down.
The ignition key remained in place.
But the gearshift was still in neutral.
Nathan turned toward Collins.
"A truck doesn't roll off a hill in neutral."
Collins nodded.
"Exactly."
Someone had pushed it.
The medical examiner approached carrying a clipboard.
"You Nathan Reed?"
"Yes."
"I'm Dr. Melissa Grant."
She extended a folder.
"I can't discuss everything yet."
Nathan appreciated her honesty.
"But I can tell you one thing."
She lowered her voice.
"Victor Sloan didn't die in the crash."
Nathan stared at her.
"What?"
"He was already dead."
Collins looked equally surprised.
"Cause?"
"Blunt-force trauma to the back of the head."
Nathan slowly looked toward the quarry.
"So the crash was staged."
Dr. Grant nodded.
"To hide a murder."
As investigators continued processing the scene, Nathan noticed something sticking out from beneath the passenger seat.
A leather briefcase.
One of the deputies carefully retrieved it.
"It's locked."
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
"Can you open it?"
The deputy handed it to Collins.
"We'll do it back at the office."
Two hours later, the briefcase lay open in the sheriff's evidence room.
Inside were contracts, maps, and financial statements.
Nathan immediately recognized the Horizon Valley logo.
Collins picked up the first contract.
"Land acquisition agreement."
Nathan looked over his shoulder.
Seller:
Carl Reed.
Buyer:
Horizon Valley Development.
Sale Price:
$2.3 million.
Nathan frowned.
"That can't be legal."
Collins flipped to the last page.
The agreement contained one handwritten condition.
Sale contingent upon obtaining full legal control of June Reed's property.
Nathan smiled without humor.
"So Carl already promised them the land."
"He promised something he didn't legally own," Collins said.
Nathan nodded.
"And someone got tired of waiting."
Near the bottom of the briefcase sat a sealed envelope labeled:
Personal
Nathan carefully opened it.
Inside was a single flash drive.
No note.
No explanation.
Collins held it up.
"Let's hope Victor kept copies."
A forensic technician connected the drive to a secure computer.
Folders appeared on the screen.
Financial Records
Property Surveys
Audio Files
Nathan's pulse quickened.
"Open the audio."
The technician clicked the first recording.
Static filled the room.
Then voices.
Victor Sloan.
Carl Reed.
Nathan leaned closer.
Victor sounded irritated.
"You promised she'd sign."
Carl answered nervously.
"She refused."
"Then you should've handled it."
"I tried."
Victor slammed something onto a table.
"We're out of time."
Another voice entered the conversation.
Calm.
Confident.
Richard Holloway.
"If she won't sign..."
He paused.
"...the court will."
Nathan felt every muscle tense.
The recording continued.
Carl asked quietly,
"And if Nathan comes back?"
Holloway laughed.
"He won't."
The recording ended.
Silence filled the room.
Deputy Collins looked at Nathan.
"This changes everything."
Nathan nodded.
"It proves conspiracy."
"It proves intent."
"And it proves they expected me to stay in Alaska forever."
The second audio file began.
Victor spoke first.
"The doctor's ready."
Carl asked,
"Are you sure he'll sign?"
"He already did."
Nathan glanced toward Collins.
Dr. Evans.
Victor continued.
"Once she's declared incompetent..."
Papers rustled.
"...the judge signs the guardianship."
Carl laughed.
"And then we own everything."
Nathan clenched his fists.
There it was.
The entire plan.
Not suspicion.
Not theory.
A recorded confession.
Collins immediately copied the files.
"I'm getting a warrant."
"For Carl?"
"And Holloway."
Nathan looked toward the screen.
"What about Dr. Evans?"
Collins nodded.
"Him too."
For the first time since Nathan returned home, the law was finally catching up.
That evening, Nathan and June sat together on Emily's front porch.
The summer air felt strangely peaceful.
June watched the sun disappear behind the old oak trees.
"Your father always loved sunsets."
Nathan smiled.
"I remember."
She rested her hand over his.
"I never told you something."
Nathan turned toward her.
"What?"
"The night before he died..."
She hesitated.
"...he kissed me goodbye twice."
Nathan frowned.
"Twice?"
"He walked out the door."
She smiled sadly.
"Then he came back."
"What did he say?"
June's eyes filled with tears.
"He said..."
Her voice cracked.
"...'If anything ever happens to me, trust Nathan. He'll always do the right thing.'"
Nathan looked away, fighting the emotion rising in his chest.
His father had known.
Maybe not exactly what would happen.
But he had known danger was coming.
Later that night, Nathan spread the geological surveys across the dining room table again.
This time he focused on Parcel Seven.
The narrow strip along the eastern creek seemed ordinary.
Until he noticed a handwritten note in the margin.
Survey Incomplete
Nathan frowned.
Another note appeared beneath it.
Access tunnel sealed.
Tunnel?
He compared every survey map.
Only Parcel Seven mentioned a tunnel.
His father had circled the notation in red ink.
Nathan looked toward June.
"Mom..."
She glanced up.
"Was there ever a mine on our property?"
She thought for a long moment.
Then her eyes widened.
"Not a mine."
"What then?"
"An old military bunker."
Nathan blinked.
"A bunker?"
She nodded slowly.
"Your grandfather showed it to your father once."
"Where?"
She pointed toward the east.
"Near the creek."
Nathan's heart began racing.
His grandfather had never owned a mine.
He had owned a hidden bunker.
And somehow...
It connected directly to Parcel Seven.
Before Nathan could ask another question, headlights swept across Emily's front yard.
Three black SUVs rolled silently to a stop along the road.
Their engines remained running.
The doors opened.
Six men stepped out.
None wore uniforms.
One of them calmly called toward the house.
"Mr. Reed."
Nathan stood.
The man smiled politely.
"Our employer would like the flash drive back."
The porch fell silent.
Nathan counted the men.
Six.
Then he looked inside the house, where June sat only a few feet away.
He quietly closed the front door behind him.
May you like
If they wanted the drive...
They were going to have to come through him first.
