Page 15 of Echoes

“Yes. Your father was a government contractor, so not exactly an employee, but he was an engineer, and he made good money and got to choose his projects eventually. This man worked on one of them with him, I think. The projects were all secret to people outside ofthe teams, but I remember seeing him one day when I went to drop off lunch for your father. Your dad said they were working together. He seemed strange that day, now that you mention it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your father. I used to pack a lunch for him because he’d get busy and forget to eat. He left it at home that day, so I came by, and this Albert guy was in your dad’s office. I thought I heard them fighting before I walked in, but they stopped talking when I got there. I remember your dad calling him Albert. The guy left after that and said they’d catch up another time. Who drew this picture of him?”

“Mom, whenwasthis?”

“Before our trip. Before what happened.”

“How long before?”

“A month or so, maybe.”

“Did you see him after that?”

“No. Why?”

“He was at the funeral. I saw him.”

“Well, that would make sense; he worked with your father.”

“He’s the only person who didn’t come up to me to offer condolences.”

“I didn’t get the impression he knew your father well. Maybe he wanted to attend to pay his respects but didn’t feel comfortable talking to the family. Why are you even asking me about this? And why do you have this drawing of him?”

“Because this is the man who killed Dad,” she replied honestly.

“Oh, honey. No. He just worked with your father. The man who killed him was someone wandering in the woods with some kind of problem.”

“That’s what the cops used to think. But I remembered, Mom.”

“Remembered what?”

“Putting Dad’s stuff into storage, I… flashed on the memory of what happened. I saw this man stabbing him.”

“The man who killed your father had messy hair and a full beard.”

“He must have shaved it, or he could have worn a wig and a fake beard,” Eliza suggested.

“Why would he kill your father?”

“You said they were fighting.”

“Ithoughtthey were. But, honey, if this man really wanted your father dead, he could have killed him any day at the office.”

“But then, he would’ve been caught, Mom. Did you or Dad tell anyone about our trip?”

“Of course, we did. I’m sure your dad mentioned it at work, too. He was excited to take you out and go fishing and hiking. He wanted you to love the outdoors like he did.”

Eliza lowered her head and softly said, “I remember.”

“You’re saying you know that this is the man who killed your father?” her mother asked.

“Yes,” she replied, looking back up and meeting her mother’s eyes. “Like I know I have Dad’s eyes, Mom.”

“Well, I don’t know why he would do that, but if you think that he did, you can probably find his last name somewhere. The police can, I mean; not you. That office was locked down pretty well. Even I had to sign in just to drop off lunch. And there were badges that they had to use to get into most rooms.”

“I’ll tell the police that.”