He kept thinking about Arthur's letter, the photograph, and the possibility that the accident had been deliberately caused.
He opened the department's archived case system and searched for the Bennett collision.
The original report appeared immediately.
CASE NUMBER: 11-1048.
The summary was brief.
A single-vehicle accident.
One fatality.
One surviving driver.
No criminal charges.
Daniel opened the attached documents.
The photographs showed a dark sedan resting upside down beside a wet road. The passenger side was badly damaged.
He studied the tire marks.
Then he found something unusual.
A handwritten note from Thomas Reed.
Possible mechanical failure. Vehicle to be examined before release.
Daniel searched for the mechanical inspection report.
There was none.
He tried another archive.
Nothing.
Then he found a document marked as deleted.
Its title was:
SUPPLEMENTAL VEHICLE EXAMINATION β CONFIDENTIAL.
He opened it.
The report stated that the brake line had shown signs of damage before the collision.
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
The report also contained a witness statement.
A driver had seen a dark pickup truck following the Bennett vehicle shortly before the accident.
The truck had never been identified.
Daniel printed the document.
Then he called the medical center.
"Can I speak with Arthur Bennett?"
A nurse answered.
"He's awake, but he has a visitor."
"Who?"
"His daughter."
Daniel froze.
"Emily?"
"Yes."
He ended the call and immediately drove to the hospital.
When Daniel entered Arthur's room, he saw a woman standing beside the window.
She was in her mid-thirties, with shoulder-length brown hair and tired eyes.
She looked exactly like the little girl in the photograph.
Emily Bennett.
Arthur was sitting upright in bed.
Neither of them was speaking.
Daniel hesitated at the doorway.
Emily turned.
"Who are you?"
"Officer Daniel Brooks."
She looked at her father.
"Did you call the police on me?"
Arthur shook his head.
"No, sweetheart."
"Then why is he here?"
Daniel stepped forward.
"Your father and I met yesterday. He told me about the accident."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"Of course he did."
"Miss Bennett, I think there may be new information about what happened that night."
Her expression changed.
"What information?"
Daniel placed the report on the table.
"An archived vehicle examination suggests the brake line may have been damaged before the collision."
Emily stared at the document.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because the police told us the accident was caused by my father driving too fast."
"That was the conclusion in the original report. But a supplemental examination was never included."
Emily picked up the paper.
Her hands began shaking.
Arthur looked at his daughter.
"Emily..."
She turned toward him.
"Don't."
"I never wanted your mother to die."
"I know what you said."
"No. You don't know everything."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"Do you think I wanted to hate you? Do you think I enjoyed spending every birthday without you?"
Arthur looked devastated.
"Then why didn't you come home?"
"Because every time I looked at you, I remembered that night!"
She pointed toward the photograph.
"I remember the hospital. I remember the doctor telling me Mom was dead. I remember you lying in that bed, unable to explain why you were still alive."
Arthur began crying.
"I know."
"And I remember you telling me that you were the one driving."
"I was."
"Then what else is there to explain?"
Daniel stepped between them gently.
"Miss Bennett, I understand that this is painful, but I think your father is trying to tell you something important."
Emily looked at him.
"You don't know anything about us."
"You're right. I don't. But I know this report was hidden."
Emily looked down again.
For the first time, her anger seemed to give way to confusion.
"Who would do that?"
Daniel didn't have an answer.
Then Arthur spoke.
"Your mother was investigating something before she died."
Emily turned slowly.
"What?"
Arthur looked at his daughter.
"She told me someone had been following her. She said she had found evidence of financial fraud at the company where she worked."
"Mom worked at a bank."
"Not just a bank. She was an accountant for a company that handled government contracts."
Emily shook her head.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
Arthur looked toward Daniel.
"Of the people who caused the accident."
The room became silent.
Then Emily whispered:
"Are you saying Mom was murdered?"
Arthur closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
But the expression on his face suggested that he had feared the answer for eleven years.
Emily left the hospital without saying goodbye.
Daniel watched her walk down the corridor.
Arthur didn't try to stop her.
He simply sat in his bed, holding the photograph of his wife.
"She'll come back," Daniel said.
Arthur gave a faint smile.
"You're very kind to say that."
"I'm not saying it to be kind."
Arthur looked at him.
"Then why?"
"Because she came here today. After eleven years, she still came."
Arthur lowered his eyes.
"Maybe she only came because she wanted answers."
"That's still a beginning."
Daniel left the room and called the station.
He requested the full accident file and asked for any records involving Margaret Bennett's employer.
A few minutes later, he received a call from an unknown number.
"Officer Brooks?"
"Speaking."
"My name is Grace Miller. I'm the nurse who contacted your department about Arthur Bennett."
Daniel recognized the name.
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"I think you need to know why Mr. Bennett left the care facility."
Daniel leaned against the corridor wall.
"Go ahead."
"Three days ago, he received a letter. After reading it, he became extremely upset. He packed a bag and left that same afternoon."
"Who sent the letter?"
"There's no return address. But I found an envelope in his room."
"Can you describe it?"
"It was addressed to him. The message inside said that someone had finally found the missing evidence from the accident."