Season 2 Chapter 2: The Impossible Witness
Chapter 2: The Impossible Witness
Michael Brooks barely slept that night.
The recovered footage played over and over in his mind.
Thomas Brooks had been there.
Daniel Carter had died exactly as George had confessed.
But Thomas was no longer the biggest mystery.
The silent figure standing behind the stone statue haunted Michael far more than the murder itself.
Someone had watched everything.
Someone carrying a Brooks estate master key.
Someone who had never come forward.
The next morning, Detective Sarah Mitchell arrived at Michael's office carrying a thick evidence folder.
"Our forensic team finished enhancing the video."
Michael immediately stood.
"Did you identify the witness?"
Sarah slowly shook her head.
"Not completely."
She placed several enlarged photographs across the conference table.
"The image quality is too poor for facial recognition."
Michael examined every picture carefully.
The mysterious figure remained hidden in darkness.
Only small details could be seen.
A long black overcoat.
Leather gloves.
An expensive wristwatch.
And hanging from the belt...
A heavy brass key.
Sarah pointed to it.
"That's the original Brooks master key."
Michael nodded.
"My father had only six of those made."
"Who owned them?"
Michael thought carefully.
"My father."
"My mother."
"Thomas."
"Myself."
"Our estate manager."
"And..."
He suddenly stopped speaking.
Sarah noticed immediately.
"And who?"
Michael slowly looked up.
"There was a sixth key."
"But it disappeared years ago."
Sarah frowned.
"When?"
"No one ever reported it missing."
Michael leaned back in his chair.
"My father simply said it had been misplaced."
Sarah closed the folder.
"I don't think it was misplaced."
Before Michael could answer, Andrew Brooks hurried into the office.
His face was pale.
"You need to see this."
He placed an old leather notebook on the table.
"I found it while clearing the mansion."
Michael recognized it immediately.
George Brooks' personal appointment journal.
Most pages contained ordinary meetings.
Business dinners.
Board meetings.
Family birthdays.
Then one page caught Michael's attention.
August 14, 2001.
The day Daniel Carter died.
The schedule listed only one sentence.
8:00 PM — Meet The Witness.
Michael frowned.
"There was supposed to be a witness."
Sarah looked surprised.
"But George never mentioned anyone."
"He couldn't."
Michael slowly closed the journal.
"Because if there really was a witness..."
"...then my father knew someone else saw Daniel die."
Sarah immediately picked up her phone.
"I want every employee who worked here in 2001 identified."
Andrew hesitated.
"There aren't many left."
"Most retired."
"Some passed away."
"And one disappeared."
Michael looked up.
"Who?"
Andrew swallowed.
"Samuel Reed."
"The old estate manager."
"He resigned two days after Daniel Carter's death."
Sarah quickly searched her database.
"No forwarding address."
"No tax records."
"No driver's license renewal."
"No medical history."
Michael frowned.
"It's like he vanished."
Sarah quietly nodded.
"Or someone made him disappear."
At that moment, Michael's office receptionist rushed inside.
"Mr. Brooks..."
"There's an elderly man downstairs asking for you."
Michael looked confused.
"Who is he?"
"He wouldn't give his name."
"He only asked me to tell you one sentence."
"What sentence?"
The receptionist looked visibly uncomfortable.
"He said..."
"'The witness never disappeared.'"
"'He has been hiding from your family for twenty-five years.'"
Silence filled the room.
Michael slowly looked toward Detective Mitchell.
Neither of them spoke.
Because both realized the same terrifying possibility.
The witness was still alive.
And after twenty-five years...
May you like
He had finally decided to come back.
END OF CHAPTER 2
