Chapter 7: The Funeral Director's Secret
Loretta stared at her phone long after the call disconnected.
Across the library table, Michael Reed slowly closed the folder containing the trust documents. His expression had changed. The cautious reserve he had maintained throughout their meeting had given way to something resembling dread.
“What did Vanessa say?”” he asked.
Loretta placed the phone facedown.
“She said I needed to leave Birmingham immediately.””
“Did she explain why?””
“She said the man who arranged my husband's funeral knows what happened twenty-seven years ago.””
Michael's face lost its color.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he reached for his briefcase.
“We need to leave.””
Loretta didn't move.
“No.””
He looked at her sharply.
“Mrs. Mitchell, please listen to me.””
“I have listened to everyone for twenty-seven years. I've listened to the police officer who told me my husband was dead. I've listened to the funeral director who said I shouldn't see the body. I've listened to my daughter telling me that the house I helped buy belongs to her.””
Her voice trembled, but she kept her eyes on him.
“Now I want answers.””
Michael lowered his briefcase.
“I understand.””
“No, you understand that I know something you wanted kept secret. That's different.””
A librarian glanced toward them from the reference desk.
Michael lowered his voice.
“There's a man named Arthur Bell. He owned the funeral home that handled Daniel's arrangements. He retired years ago.””
“Where is he?””
“Outside Birmingham. At least, that's where he was living the last time I heard from him.””
“Then give me his address.””
Michael hesitated.
“Loretta, Arthur may not know the full story.””
“Then he can tell me what he does know.””
“He was paid to follow specific instructions.””
“By whom?””
Michael looked down at the photograph of Daniel.
“By Daniel himself.””
The answer landed like a blow.
Loretta gripped the edge of the table.
“My husband arranged his own funeral?””
“I don't know exactly what happened. I know Daniel wanted people to believe he had died. I was never told every detail.””
“And you helped him?””
“I helped him establish the trust and preserve certain financial records. I believed he was trying to protect his family from people who wanted to seize his business assets.””
“Did you know I would spend twenty-seven years mourning him?””
Michael closed his eyes.
“I knew you would believe he was gone.””
Loretta stood.
The chair scraped loudly against the floor.
A woman at the next table looked up, startled.
“You knew,” Loretta said.
“You knew what that would do to me.””
Michael remained seated.
“Yes.””
“And you let me bury him.””
“I thought the arrangement would be temporary.””
“How temporary?””
He swallowed.
“Daniel said he would return when it was safe.””
Loretta stared at him.
“When?””
“I don't know.””
“Did he ever try?””
Michael hesitated.
Then he reached into his briefcase and removed a small envelope.
“I received this six years ago. I never sent it because I couldn't verify where you were living at the time.””
Loretta took it.
Her name was written across the front in Daniel's familiar handwriting.
The date in the corner was six years earlier.
She slid a finger beneath the flap.
Inside was a photograph of a man standing beside a lake. He wore a gray sweater and held a paper cup of coffee. His hair was almost completely silver, but the scar on his chin remained.
On the back, Daniel had written:
I still remember the sound of your laugh in the kitchen. I hope one day I can hear it again.
Loretta's knees weakened.
She sat down without looking away from the photograph.
“He was alive six years ago.””
“Yes.””
“And you had this?””
“Yes.””
“Did you ever consider that I deserved to know?””
Michael's eyes shone.
“Every day.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because Daniel asked me not to. He said that if anyone knew you were in contact, you could become a target.””
Loretta folded the photograph carefully.
“And did he ever consider that keeping me ignorant might be another way of hurting me?””
Michael had no answer.
For a moment, Loretta wanted to tear the photograph in half.
Instead, she placed it inside her purse.
“Give me Arthur Bell's address.””
Michael wrote it on a piece of paper.
Then he added a telephone number.
“Please don't go alone,” he said.
“And don't tell anyone where you're going until you've confirmed he's willing to meet you.””
Loretta looked at the address.
“Thank you for finally telling me something useful.””
She walked out of the library without saying goodbye.
Arthur Bell lived in a modest brick house on a quiet street lined with oak trees. The lawn was neatly trimmed, and a white rocking chair sat beside the front door.
Loretta arrived shortly after three that afternoon.
She had contacted David first. He had arranged for a local attorney to know where she was and had advised her to keep the meeting public if possible.
Arthur had agreed to speak with her on his front porch.
When he opened the door, his eyes widened.
“Mrs. Mitchell?””
“You remember me.””
He looked older than she remembered, with thin white hair and deep lines around his mouth.
“I remember your husband.””
“Then we have something to talk about.””
Arthur glanced toward the street.
“Please come in.””
Loretta remained on the porch.
“No. We can speak here.””
He nodded reluctantly and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
For a moment, they listened to birds calling from the trees.
Then Loretta took Daniel's photograph from her purse.
“Is this the man whose funeral you arranged?””
Arthur looked at the picture.
His hand began to tremble.
“Yes.””
“Did you see his body?””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“No.””
Loretta felt something inside her collapse.
“Then whose funeral did I attend?””
Arthur gripped the porch railing.
“I was told the arrangements were necessary to protect the family.””
“By whom?””
“Daniel.””
“Did you know he was alive?””
“Yes.””
The word came out so quietly that Loretta almost missed it.
She stared at him.
“You looked me in the eyes at the funeral home. You told me the injuries were too severe for me to see my husband. You watched me sign the paperwork.””
Arthur lowered his head.
“I know.””
“You let me believe he was dead.””
“I did.””
“Why?””
He wiped his face with a handkerchief.
“Your husband came to me several days before the funeral. He said there were people searching for him. He said if they found out he was alive, they would come after you and your daughter.””
“Was that true?””
“I believed it was.””
“Did you see anyone threatening him?””
“No.””
“Did you see any evidence?””
Arthur shook his head.
“Then you took his word for it.””
“Yes.””
Loretta's voice became very quiet.
“And you never thought to warn me?””
Arthur looked at her with the expression of a man who had rehearsed his apology for years and never found the courage to deliver it.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Of being responsible if something happened to Vanessa.””
Loretta closed her eyes.
There it was again.
Vanessa's name, used as a reason to keep Loretta in the dark.
Everyone had claimed to protect the family.
Nobody had considered that Loretta was part of it.
“Was there a body?”” she asked.
Arthur hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Whose?””
“I was told it was a person who had died in an accident. The identification records were handled by others. I wasn't given the full details.””
“Did you know that the police would believe it was Daniel?””
“I knew the funeral would proceed under his name.””
Loretta felt sick.
“You buried a stranger under my husband's name.””
Arthur began to cry.
“I have regretted it every day.””
“Regret is what people call the truth when they have waited too long to tell it.””
He nodded, accepting the words.
Loretta put the photograph away.
“Did Vanessa know?””
Arthur looked toward the closed front door.
“I saw her once, years later. She came to my office asking for copies of the funeral documents.””
“When?””
“About twelve years ago.””
“Why?””
“She said she needed them for an estate matter.””
“Did you give them to her?””
“Yes.””
Loretta's heart began to pound.
“Did she ask you whether her father was alive?””
Arthur's face changed.
“She asked whether the records could be used to prove he had died.””
Loretta gripped the porch railing.
“What did you tell her?””
“I told her the documents showed that a funeral had taken place. I couldn't tell her anything else.””
“Did she already know?””
“I believe she did.””
The porch seemed to sway beneath Loretta's feet.
Vanessa had been twenty-nine when she visited Arthur.
She had been a grown woman with a daughter of her own, old enough to understand the difference between a father who had died and a father who had chosen to disappear.
“Did she ever come back?””
“Once.””
“When?””
“Last month.””
Loretta stared at him.
“Last month?””
Arthur nodded.
“She was very upset. She wanted to know whether anyone had requested the original funeral records. She asked whether I had spoken to Michael Reed.””
“Why?””
“I don't know. She said the old arrangement was becoming dangerous.””
Loretta's stomach tightened.
“What arrangement?””
Arthur shook his head.
“She wouldn't explain.””
Then he reached into his pocket and removed a folded piece of paper.
“I kept this because I thought someone might eventually need it.””
He handed it to Loretta.
It was a photocopy of a delivery receipt.
The sender's name was Daniel Mitchell.
The delivery date was six months earlier.
The recipient's signature belonged to Vanessa.
Beneath the signature was a handwritten note.
*I understand. I'll finish the transfer before she finds out.*
Loretta read the sentence twice.
“Do you know what she was transferring?””
Arthur shook his head.
“No.””
Loretta placed the receipt in her purse.
“Thank you for telling me the truth.””
Arthur looked at her desperately.
“Mrs. Mitchell, I know I don't deserve forgiveness, but I hope you understand that I never wanted to hurt you.””
Loretta looked at the man who had helped bury a lie beneath a coffin.
“I believe you never wanted to hurt me.””
Arthur's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Then Loretta continued.
“But you were willing to hurt me if it made things easier for everyone else.””
She walked down the porch steps.
At the end of the driveway, she turned back.
“One last question. Did Daniel ever tell you where he was going?””
Arthur hesitated.
“He said he would return to Atlanta when the property matter was settled.””
“When?””
“He mentioned October twenty-ninth.””
Loretta checked the date on her phone.
Tomorrow.
She felt the blood drain from her face.
Arthur watched her carefully.
“Is something happening tomorrow?””
Loretta looked at the delivery receipt in her purse.
“I think it already is.””
David answered on the first ring.
Loretta told him everything.
When she finished, he was silent for several seconds.
“The receipt could be important,” he said.
“Send me a photograph immediately. Don't contact Vanessa about it yet.””
“I won't.””
“Also, we need to determine whether the transfer referenced in that note relates to the trust, the house, or another asset.””
Loretta looked through the windshield at the quiet street.
“What if Vanessa is working with her father?””
“That's possible.””
“What if she's being threatened?””
“That's possible, too. We shouldn't assume her motive until we understand the evidence.””
Loretta closed her eyes.
She wanted to believe that Vanessa had been frightened into doing something terrible.
It would have been easier than believing her daughter had chosen money over her own mother.
But the threat against Jayden, the forged signature, and the suitcase outside the door could not be explained away by fear alone.
David continued.
“I've received an initial response from the lender. There's an application for a second loan, but it wasn't funded. The title company flagged the documentation before the transaction could proceed.””
“Who submitted it?””
“Vanessa's name appears on the application. The beneficial ownership information references the trust.””
“So she was trying to transfer the property.””
“Possibly. We need the full file.””
Loretta looked at the photograph of Daniel.
“If he returns tomorrow, what should I do?””
“Don't meet him alone. Arrange any meeting through your attorney. And remember that his being alive doesn't erase the legal questions we're dealing with.””
“I know.””
“Loretta, I need you to hear something else. You are not obligated to forgive anyone simply because they finally tell you the truth.””
She swallowed.
“I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive them.””
“You don't have to decide that today.””
After the call, Loretta drove back toward Atlanta.
The sky was darkening again, and headlights glowed on the wet highway.
Halfway home, her phone rang.
Vanessa.
Loretta answered.
“Mom,” Vanessa said, her voice breaking, “where are you?””
“On my way back to Atlanta.””
“Did you meet Arthur Bell?””
Loretta's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Why?””
“Because I need you to listen to me.””
“I'm listening.””
Vanessa began to cry.
“Dad is coming tomorrow.””
Loretta's heart pounded.
“You know where he is?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Why not?””
“Because he said if I told you, everything would fall apart.””
Loretta looked at the road ahead.
“Vanessa, everything has already fallen apart.””
“No, you don't understand. He's not coming back to make things right. He's coming back because he needs something from you.””
“What does he need?””
Vanessa's answer came in a whisper.
“The original deed.””
Loretta's blood ran cold.
Then Vanessa said something that made the steering wheel feel slippery beneath her hands.
“And, Mom, if you give it to him, you may never see Jayden again.””
The call ended.
Loretta pulled into a safe parking area and stopped the car.
For several minutes, she sat in silence.
Her husband was alive.
Her daughter knew it.
And both of them appeared to want the same thing: a document Loretta had never signed away.
She reached into her cardigan and felt the brass key.
Tomorrow, Daniel Mitchell was coming home.
May you like
But Loretta was no longer certain he intended to return as her husband.
He might be coming back as the final person who needed something from her before the family secret could be buried for good.
