Chapter 9 - The Name Michael Never Used
Michael called Thomas six times.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
At 2:31 AM, Thomas finally responded.
“I’m here.”
Michael gripped the phone.
“Jonathan?”
“Alive.”
Emily closed her eyes in relief.
“What happened?”
“Someone fired through the motel window.”
Michael looked toward the hospital corridor.
“Did you see them?”
“No.”
“Camera?”
“Parking-lot cameras were disabled.”
Michael almost laughed.
Of course they were.
Thomas continued.
“We’re moving Jonathan.”
“Bring him to the hospital.”
“Too risky.”
Michael looked at Emily.
“Then where?”
Jonathan’s voice appeared faintly in the background.
“Ask Emily about Blackwood.”
Michael frowned.
“What is Blackwood?”
Emily went completely still.
Michael noticed.
“Emily?”
She looked toward the closed door.
“My father’s cabin.”
Michael stared at her.
“You have a cabin?”
“Had.”
“Where?”
“Upstate.”
“Why does Jonathan know about it?”
“Dad used it for private meetings.”
Michael’s frustration rose.
“How many secrets did your father leave behind?”
Emily looked at him.
“Probably fewer than your family.”
That stopped him.
Michael sat.
“What did Jonathan mean about my mother?”
Emily hesitated.
“There’s something I never told you.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Apparently tonight is full of those.”
Emily ignored the bitterness.
“Your mother came to see my father three weeks before he died.”
Michael stared at her.
“My mother and your father hated each other.”
“I know.”
“What did she want?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know she came?”
“I was there.”
Michael looked stunned.
Emily continued.
“They argued in his study.”
“About what?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“What did you hear?”
Emily looked at him.
“One name.”
Michael waited.
“Christopher.”
He froze.
Emily noticed.
“You know it.”
Michael looked away.
“Christopher was my brother.”
Emily’s face changed.
“You never told me you had a brother.”
“Because I barely remember him.”
“What happened?”
Michael swallowed.
“He died when I was six.”
“How?”
“My parents said there was an accident.”
“What kind of accident?”
“A boating accident.”
Emily stared at him.
Michael continued.
“They stopped saying his name after the funeral.”
“How old was he?”
“Fourteen.”
Emily looked disturbed.
“What does Christopher have to do with Carter Dynamics?”
“I don’t know.”
She reached for Michael’s hand.
Then stopped before touching him.
“Your father and mine knew each other before we met.”
Michael looked up.
“What?”
“My father told me once that he had been watching you since college.”
Michael’s face hardened.
“That sounds insane.”
“I thought so too.”
“Why would he watch me?”
“He said he owed someone.”
“Who?”
Emily whispered.
“A boy who never got to grow up.”
Michael felt the room tilt.
“Christopher.”
Emily nodded.
Before either could speak again, Mason opened the door.
He had been standing outside.
His face was pale.
“Dad?”
Michael turned.
“What is it?”
Mason held something in his hand.
A small brass key.
“I found this in Mom’s coat.”
Emily stared at it.
“I’ve never seen that before.”
Mason walked closer.
“It has a word on it.”
Michael took the key.
BLACKWOOD.
Emily slowly sat straighter.
“That’s the cabin key.”
Michael frowned.
“You said you didn’t know you had it.”
“I didn’t.”
Mason turned the key over.
There was another engraving.
C.C.
May you like
Michael stared at the letters.
Christopher Carter.
