Chapter 4 - THE EMPTY OFFICE
Z
The intruder never reached Roman's desk.
Building security intercepted him in the executive corridor after an access alert triggered a lockdown.
He carried no weapon.
But he had a forged employee badge, a concealed camera, and a small electronic device investigators believed was intended to collect information from the office network.
The man claimed he had been hired to perform a security assessment.
No such assessment had been authorized.
The credential he'd used belonged to Graham Pike.
Roman listened to the report without interrupting.
Then he asked Calvin one question.
“Where is Graham?”
“Not answering.”
“Home?”
“His wife says he left before dawn.”
Roman looked toward Meredith.
She was already reaching for her phone.
“Let the investigators handle the search,” she said.
Roman nodded.
He had spent years responding to threats by tightening his control over everything around him.
This time, control would not be enough.
He needed evidence.
At eleven, Narelli received a message from an unknown number.
It contained six words.
HE IS NOT YOUR BROTHER ANYMORE.
Beneath the message was a photograph.
A man standing near a marina.
Dark hair.
A familiar profile.
A pale scar beneath his chin.
Roman stared at the screen.
His knees almost gave way.
“Julian.”
Narelli caught his elbow.
He sat heavily.
For eleven years, Roman had imagined what his brother would look like if he had lived.
Older.
Taller.
Perhaps with gray at his temples.
The man in the photograph matched those impossible imaginings.
But Roman knew photographs could be manipulated.
He forced himself to look for details.
The scar.
The shape of the ears.
A small notch in the left eyebrow.
Julian had gotten that scar when they were children.
Roman had pushed him off a bicycle during an argument.
Their mother had made him apologize for a week.
His eyes filled.
Narelli sat beside him.
“Roman.”
He shook his head.
“I buried him.”
“I know.”
“I stood beside his grave.”
She reached for his hand.
He held on.
That afternoon, investigators confirmed something extraordinary.
The original dental identification used after Julian's crash had relied on records supplied through a private intermediary.
The records contained inconsistencies.
The medical examiner's office agreed to review the identification.
Roman stared at Meredith.
“Are you saying we buried someone else?”
“I'm saying the original identification is in question.”
Roman looked toward the photograph.
His brother might be alive.
May you like
But that possibility brought another terrible question.
If Julian had survived, why hadn't he come home?
