Chapter 3: The Man in the Photograph
The phone kept ringing.
Three times.
Four.
Five.
James stood perfectly still, staring at the screen as though the number itself had reached through the phone and grabbed him by the throat.
I had never seen him look like that.
Not after a six-month deployment.
Not when he'd told me about mortar alarms going off in the middle of the night.
Not when he'd called me once from somewhere he wasn't supposed to name and quietly said, "I need you to trust me.""
This was different.
This looked like recognition.
"James," I whispered.
"Who is it?""
He didn't answer.
The phone stopped.
The kitchen became silent again.
Then it started ringing.
Same number.
James finally picked it up.
"Hello?""
I watched his face.
His eyes narrowed.
"Who is this?""
Nothing in his expression moved for several seconds.
Then he said, "Where did you get this number?""
A pause.
His shoulders stiffened.
"You don't get to threaten my family.""
Another pause.
Then James ended the call.
I stared at him.
"What did they say?""
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Nothing useful.""
"That isn't true.""
He looked at me.
I held up my phone with the photographs still open.
"Who is that man?""
James rubbed a hand over his jaw.
"His name is Daniel Reed.""
The name meant nothing to me.
"Who is Daniel Reed?""
James didn't answer immediately.
That scared me more than anything else.
"James.""
"He was attached to my unit.""
"Attached how?""
"Same operation.""
"You said you knew him.""
"I do.""
"From where?""
"Over there.""
"That's not enough.""
His eyes met mine.
"No. It isn't.""
I could hear the refrigerator humming behind us.
The clock over the stove clicked forward one minute.
I looked at the photograph again.
Lauren was standing outside our house.
Daniel stood beside her.
They looked comfortable.
Like they had done it before.
"Why was he here?""
"I don't know.""
"You don't know?""
"I didn't know he'd been here.""
I stared at him.
"Then why did you tell me not to answer the phone?""
"Because that number isn't one I recognize.""
"You recognized it.""
James went quiet.
That was answer enough.
I stepped backward.
"What aren't you telling me?""
He lowered his voice.
"I was hoping you'd never have to know.""
My stomach dropped.
"That's not an answer.""
"No.""
"Then give me one.""
James pulled out a chair.
"Sit.""
"I don't want to sit.""
"Anna.""
There was something in his voice that made me stop.
Not command.
Concern.
I sat.
He remained standing.
"About three weeks before I came home, Daniel disappeared.""
I frowned.
"Disappeared?""
"He left his assigned post.""
"Why?""
"We were told he had a family emergency.""
"And did he?""
"We didn't know.""
James looked toward the window.
"Then two days later, I got a message from a number I didn't recognize.""
"What did it say?""
"It said Daniel had information that could get people killed.""
My mouth went dry.
"What information?""
"That's classified.""
"James.""
"I can't tell you the operational details.""
"I don't need classified information. I need to know why the man in that photograph was standing outside our house.""
"I don't know.""
"You keep saying that.""
"Because it's the truth.""
He leaned against the counter.
"I came home thinking Daniel was still missing.""
"But he's not.""
"No.""
"How did he get here?""
"I don't know.""
"Why is Lauren with him?""
"I don't know.""
I pushed my phone across the table.
"Who sent me these?""
"I don't know.""
"Who knew you were coming home?""
"My command. The family. A few close friends.""
I stared at him.
"Lauren knew.""
"Yes.""
"How?""
"You told her.""
"I told my sister that you were coming home.""
"Exactly.""
I looked back at the photograph.
Something bothered me.
The picture was clearly taken from a distance.
Not a random snapshot.
Someone had been watching.
"James.""
He looked at me.
"Look at the car.""
"What?""
"In the first picture.""
I zoomed in.
A dark SUV was parked across the street.
Only part of it was visible.
James took the phone.
He enlarged the image.
His face tightened.
"What?""
"That's not Lauren's car.""
"Whose is it?""
"I don't know.""
"Can you identify it?""
"Not from this.""
He set the phone down.
I watched him think.
Then I asked the question that had been sitting inside me since Thanksgiving.
"Did Lauren hurt Emma because she was angry?""
"I don't know.""
"Or was she trying to scare me?""
James looked at me sharply.
"Why would you say that?""
"Because she said I didn't know what you were protecting me from.""
He didn't move.
"She said that?""
"Yes.""
"Exactly?""
"Those words.""
James looked down.
"What?""
He shook his head.
"Something's wrong.""
I almost laughed.
"Something has been wrong all night.""
"No.""
He looked directly at me.
"I mean something else.""
He reached for his phone again and opened a message thread.
"Three months ago, I got an email from an account I didn't recognize.""
"What did it say?""
"Someone was asking about you.""
My blood ran cold.
"Me?""
"Yes.""
"What did they want?""
"They asked where you lived. Whether Emma was yours. Whether I planned to stay in the military.""
I stared at him.
"And you never told me?""
"I didn't know whether it was a threat.""
"That's not your decision.""
"I know.""
"Do you?""
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I thought keeping you out of it would keep you safe.""
I stood.
"And did it?""
He didn't answer.
I started pacing.
Everything I'd thought was separate suddenly seemed connected.
Lauren asking about James.
Lauren borrowing money.
Lauren appearing at the house.
Daniel outside our home.
Someone asking questions about me.
And now someone sending me photographs.
"What happened three months ago?"" I asked.
James took a breath.
"I reported the email.""
"To whom?""
"My commanding officer.""
"And?""
"We investigated the account.""
"What did you find?""
"Nothing.""
"Nothing?""
"Nothing we could prove.""
I looked at him.
"But you suspected something.""
"Yes.""
"What?""
He hesitated.
"Someone inside the operation was leaking information.""
My chest tightened.
"To whom?""
"We didn't know.""
"And Daniel?""
"He was one of the names that came up.""
Silence.
I slowly sat back down.
"So Daniel may have been involved.""
"May have been.""
"And Lauren was with him.""
"Apparently.""
"Outside our house.""
"Yes.""
I pressed both hands against my temples.
"Why would my sister be involved with a military intelligence leak?""
"I don't know.""
"Then maybe she isn't.""
James nodded.
"Maybe.""
It was the first thing he had said that sounded like he wanted to believe.
I looked down at the photograph again.
Lauren's face was turned slightly toward Daniel.
She was smiling.
My sister had always been impulsive, selfish, difficult.
But smiling beside a man connected to a military investigation was something else.
"Do you know what she wanted from me?"" I asked.
"No.""
"The money.""
James looked up.
"Maybe.""
"Maybe what?""
"Maybe it wasn't for debt.""
"Then what was it for?""
"I don't know.""
My phone buzzed again.
Both of us looked at it.
A new message.
*You have ten minutes. Then he gets the rest of the file.*
Underneath was a photograph of an envelope.
White.
Sealed.
My name was written across it in black ink.
*ANNA WALKER*
I stared at the screen.
"What file?""
James grabbed his coat.
"What are you doing?""
"I'm going to your parents' house.""
"Why?""
"Because Lauren left something there.""
"How do you know?""
"She was carrying a bag when she arrived.""
I thought back.
The bottle of wine.
Her purse.
And another small black bag she'd tossed beneath the hallway table.
I hadn't noticed it until now.
James was already heading for the door.
I followed.
"Wait.""
He stopped.
I held up my phone.
"What if the person sending these wants us to go there?""
"They probably do.""
"Then why are we going?""
"Because whatever they're trying to show us is probably already there.""
The drive back to my parents' house felt unreal.
Neither of us spoke much.
Rain had started falling, thin and steady, turning the road into a mirror.
When we arrived, the house was dark.
My father usually kept the porch light on.
Tonight, it was off.
James noticed.
"Stay behind me.""
I almost argued.
Then I remembered the photograph.
I didn't.
He unlocked the door with the spare key my mother had given me years ago.
Inside, the house was silent.
Too silent.
The Thanksgiving dishes were still on the table.
Half-finished glasses.
Folded napkins.
A serving spoon lying beside the mashed potatoes.
It looked as if everyone had vanished in the middle of dinner.
"Mom?"" I called.
No answer.
"Dad?""
Nothing.
James moved toward the hallway.
I followed closely.
Then I saw it.
The black bag.
Exactly where Lauren had dropped it.
Under the hallway table.
James crouched and opened it.
Inside were several envelopes, a flash drive, and a small silver key.
He picked up the first envelope.
His expression changed.
"What?""
He handed it to me.
It had my name on it.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
I read the first line.
Then the second.
My knees almost gave out.
"Anna?""
I handed it to James.
His eyes moved across the page.
He stopped halfway through.
Then he whispered, "Oh, God.""
I grabbed his arm.
"What does it say?""
He didn't answer.
He turned the page over.
On the back was a handwritten note.
*Ask your husband what happened the night Daniel came to your house.*
I looked at James.
"Daniel came here?""
He stared at the note.
"Yes.""
"When?""
"Before I deployed.""
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"You told me no one from your unit ever came to our house.""
"I was wrong.""
"No.""
He looked at me.
"I lied.""
Before I could say another word, a loud crash came from the kitchen.
We both turned.
Then the lights came on.
My father stood in the doorway.
His face was white.
And behind him stood Lauren.
She was holding a gun.
May you like
"Don't move," she said.
"We need to talk before you open that envelope.""
