CHAPTER 24 SEVENTY-THREE LETTERS
Thomas denied everything.
“Diane was trying to separate us.”
“She said the letters were written in different handwriting.”
“They were written over many years.”
“Show me.”
He brought out the copies.
I placed them across the dining table.
At first, they appeared normal.
Then Claire noticed the differences.
Some letters slanted to the left.
Others to the right.
The shape of the capital R changed repeatedly.
Three different versions of Thomas’s signature appeared.
“Did someone help you write them?” I asked.
Thomas remained silent.
“Dad.”
“They were not all written by me.”
The words felt like another betrayal.
“Who wrote them?”
“People who knew Rachel.”
He explained that after the fire, Rachel created a chain of witnesses.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Former Harbor House residents.
Each person wrote one letter containing part of a coded message.
Thomas mailed the letters to our home because he believed Diane would hide them rather than destroy them.
“She never threw away evidence,” he said. “She needed to possess it.”
The first word of every third paragraph formed a sentence.
Claire and I spent hours arranging the letters by date.
Just before midnight, we found the message.
ARTHUR KEEPS THE CHILDREN WHERE THE RIVER CROSSES THE BORDER.
Ortiz identified three former medical facilities near the Columbia River.
One had been converted into a private rehabilitation center.
One had burned down.
The third remained active under another name.
Vale Family Recovery Institute.
Its director was Dr. Malcolm Vale.
Arthur’s younger brother.
Federal records listed Malcolm as sixty-eight years old.
Nora had once mentioned Margaret taking her to a doctor every year.
She could not remember the name.
Ortiz found insurance records.
Malcolm Vale had treated Nora from infancy until she turned sixteen.
The federal team prepared a raid.
Before leaving, I confronted Thomas again.
“What did Diane mean about you not being my father?”
He lowered his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“That is not an answer.”
“Diane had affairs. She used the possibility against me.”
“Did you ever take a DNA test?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you were my son.”
The answer should have comforted me.
It did not.
The raid began at 3:00 a.m.
Vale Family Recovery Institute looked peaceful from the outside.
White fences.
Gardens.
Warm lights glowing through the windows.
Inside, agents found twenty-three women.
Most were pregnant.
All had been told the facility was protecting them from abusive families.
Several claimed they were there voluntarily.
Others became terrified when police entered.
No one admitted knowing Nora.
Malcolm Vale was found in his office.
He did not resist arrest.
“You are looking in the wrong building,” he told Ortiz.
“Where is Nora Hale?”
Malcolm smiled.
“Ask her uncle.”
Everyone looked at me.
“I have never been here.”
“Not you.”
Malcolm turned toward Thomas.
“Her other uncle.”
Thomas stepped backward.
“I don’t have a brother.”
Malcolm laughed quietly.
“Arthur Vale is not Nora’s father.”
The room became silent.
“He is Rachel’s half brother.”
Thomas stared at him.
Malcolm continued.
“Which makes him your son’s uncle too.”
Claire looked at Thomas.
“What is he talking about?”
Thomas’s lips moved, but no words came out.
Ortiz grabbed Malcolm’s shoulder.
“Who is Nora’s father?”
May you like
Malcolm looked directly at me.
“You are.”
