The officer at the front desk looked surprised.
"Thomas Reed? You were the lead investigator in his case, weren't you?"
"I was."
"Well, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."
The officer gave him a strange smile.
Daniel didn't respond.
He was escorted through several security doors before entering a small visiting room. A few minutes later, Thomas appeared.
He was thinner than Daniel remembered. His hair had turned almost completely gray, and his face carried the exhaustion of a man who had spent too many years waiting for justice.
But his eyes were unchanged.
Cold.
Intelligent.
And deeply disappointed.
Thomas sat opposite Daniel.
For nearly a minute, neither man spoke.
Finally, Thomas smiled.
"Well, look who decided to visit."
Daniel folded his hands.
"I need to ask you some questions."
Thomas laughed.
"After fifteen years?"
"I know I made mistakes."
"No, Sheriff. You didn't make mistakes. You ignored the truth."
Daniel accepted the accusation without argument.
"Emily Carter is alive."
Thomas's smile disappeared.
For the first time, he looked genuinely shocked.
"What did you say?"
"She's alive. I spoke to her last night."
Thomas leaned forward.
"Did you see her with your own eyes?"
"Yes."
Thomas slowly leaned back.
Then he closed his eyes.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"I knew it."
Daniel frowned.
"You knew she was alive?"
"I knew the woman in that farmhouse wasn't Emily."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I did. I told you during the trial. I told the prosecutor. I told anyone who would listen."
Daniel remembered the courtroom.
Thomas had repeatedly claimed that the body had been misidentified. But the medical examiner had testified that the dental records and forensic evidence confirmed the victim's identity.
Daniel had believed the science.
Now he wondered whether the science had been manipulated.
"Who was responsible?" he asked.
Thomas looked toward the security camera.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Richard Carter."
Daniel stiffened.
"Emily's father?"
Thomas nodded.
"Richard was involved in something bigger than you can imagine. He controlled a network of people who used the county's businesses to move illegal money. Anyone who threatened his operation disappeared."
"Why would he frame you?"
"Because I worked for him."
Thomas explained that he had been a mechanic at a private garage owned by Richard Carter. One evening, he accidentally discovered a hidden compartment in a vehicle containing documents, cash, and photographs of several local officials.
Among those photographs was Daniel Hayes.
Thomas had become frightened and decided to contact the police.
But before he could do so, Emily disappeared.
Two days later, Thomas was arrested.
"I never touched that woman," he said. "I was framed because I knew too much."
Daniel stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me about Richard?"
Thomas gave him a bitter look.
"I did. You told me Richard Carter was dead."
Daniel said nothing.
Then Thomas leaned closer.
"Your wife visited me three days before she died."
Daniel's heart began beating faster.
"Sarah came here?"
"Yes."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted to know whether I still had the original evidence from the Carter investigation."
"Did you?"
Thomas nodded.
"I hid it before they arrested me. A copy of the original medical report, photographs, and a recording."
Daniel felt a sudden rush of hope.
"Where is it?"
Thomas looked toward the prison officer standing by the door.
Then he whispered an address.
"An old repair shop on Route 19. There's a red toolbox behind the eastern wall. The evidence is inside."
Daniel wrote it down.
But Thomas wasn't finished.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Sarah told me she was afraid of someone close to you."
"Who?"
Thomas stared at him.
Then he said a name Daniel never expected to hear.
"Deputy Sheriff Michael Bennett."
Daniel immediately stood up.
Michael Bennett had been his most trusted deputy for nearly twenty years. He had worked beside Daniel during the Emily Carter investigation and had even testified during the trial.
"He couldn't have been involved," Daniel said.
Thomas shook his head.
"That's exactly what I told Sarah. Then she showed me a photograph."
"What photograph?"
Thomas swallowed.
"It showed Michael standing beside Richard Carter the night Emily disappeared."
Daniel felt the room begin to spin.
He had promoted Michael twice.
He had trusted him with confidential files, keys, and evidence.
He had even considered him a friend.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Thomas gave him a tired smile.
"Because I didn't know whether you were part of it."
Daniel stared at the prisoner.
For fifteen years, he had believed Thomas Reed was a murderer.
Now the man he had imprisoned might be the only person telling him the truth.
As Daniel turned to leave, Thomas called after him.
"One more thing, Sheriff."
Daniel stopped.
"Sarah didn't die in that car accident."
Daniel slowly turned around.
"What?"
Thomas's expression became serious.
"She was murdered. And the person who ordered it is still walking around your office."
The prison officer approached and announced that the visit was over.
Daniel stood frozen.
He had come looking for answers about Emily Carter.
Instead, he had uncovered a conspiracy that reached into his own family.
And as he walked through the prison gates, his phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from Michael Bennett.
"Sheriff, we need to talk. I know where Emily is."
The message from Michael Bennett remained on Daniel's phone long after he had finished reading it.
"Sheriff, we need to talk. I know where Emily is."
Daniel stared at the screen while sitting inside his parked vehicle outside the penitentiary. Rain tapped against the windshield, and the gray afternoon sky seemed to reflect the darkness gathering inside his mind.
Michael knew where Emily was.
That was impossible.
Unless he had been involved in her disappearance all along.
Daniel reached for his phone and called his deputy.
Michael answered after the second ring.
"Daniel? I've been trying to reach you."
"How did you know I was visiting Thomas Reed?"