Chapter 12 - The Brother Who Never Died
For two days, authorities reviewed the photograph while we waited.
Then a federal investigator asked to speak with Rourke and me through our attorneys.
I told her about Aaron, the altered route, the missing supplies, and my old witness statement.
She listened without promising a conclusion.
At the end, she asked whether I would recognize the man in the photograph if I saw him again.
“Yes.”
“And are you aware he has been traveling under another legal name?”
“No.”
Her expression gave nothing away.
“Please do not try to locate him yourself.”
After the interview, I sat in Nora's parking lot for almost an hour.
Aaron had once dragged me behind a concrete barrier after shrapnel tore through my knee.
He'd pressed a hand against the bleeding while telling jokes so terrible I couldn't decide whether to laugh or scream.
He died before I could repay him.
I had built my quiet life partly because of that debt.
Now his brother was somehow connected to men trying to erase the evidence of what happened.
That evening, I received a call from Aaron's widow, Rachel.
She knew nothing about the investigation.
She had seen the edited gym video and wanted to check on me.
“I never believed what they were saying,” she told me.
“Thank you.”
She paused.
“Aaron would be furious somebody called you a coward.”
I almost lost my composure.
Then she said, “Cole, why did Owen send me money last month?”
I gripped the phone.
“What?”
“It came through an attorney's trust account, with a note that said it was an old family debt.”
“Owen is dead,” I said automatically.
“That's what I thought.”
Rachel lowered her voice.
“But the note was signed with the nickname only he used for Aaron.”
I told her to keep every record and speak to the investigators.
Before we hung up, she shared the name of the attorney who had sent the money.
May you like
Gavin Price.
