THE TRAIL GOES COLD
1535 Words
The first thing Declan did after Lara's call was call Reyes.
"She confessed," he said. "Over the phone. She said she was behind everything—the threats, the photographs, the break-in at Finn's window."
"Did you record the call?"
"No. I didn't think—"
"Declan, without evidence, her confession is meaningless. She could deny it. Claim someone was impersonating her. We need something concrete."
"She said she was at the treatment facility. That Mira Webb visited her. That they planned everything together."
"Mira Webb is already in custody. We picked her up an hour ago. She's not talking."
"Give me five minutes with her."
"Declan, you're not a cop. You can't just—"
"She visited Lara. She knows where Lara is. She might know what Lara is planning next."
A pause.
"I'll see what I can do."
---
The interrogation room was small and gray.
Mira Webb sat at the table, her hands cuffed in front of her, her eyes fixed on the wall. She looked different than she had at Declan's house—harder, colder, the grief and desperation replaced by something that looked like resignation.
Declan sat across from her.
"I know you visited Lara," he said. "I know you helped her escape."
Mira didn't respond.
"I know you've been working with her. Planning. Threatening my family. Watching my son."
Still nothing.
"Why, Mira? Why would you help her? After everything Elias did to Marcus. After everything he did to you."
Mira's eyes flickered.
"Marcus is dead," she said finally. "Because of you. Because of the trial. Because of the testimony you forced him to give."
"I didn't force him to do anything. He chose to testify."
"He chose to protect you. To save you. And Elias's people killed him for it."
"And now you're working with Elias's sister? The woman who wants to finish what he started?"
Mira's jaw tightened. "Lara isn't like Elias."
"No? She threatened my eight-year-old son. She broke into his room while he was sleeping. She's been watching him for months."
"She wouldn't have hurt him."
"She already did. He's terrified. He can't sleep. He checks the windows every night before bed."
Mira's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't know about the boy," she whispered. "Lara said she was just going to scare you. Make you back off. Make you stop digging."
"Digging for what?"
"The truth. About what really happened to Elias. About who killed him."
Declan's blood ran cold. "Elias killed himself. The prison ruled it a suicide."
"The prison was wrong. Elias was murdered. By someone on the inside. Someone who wanted to make sure he never talked."
"Talked about what?"
Mira leaned forward. "About the real Project Legacy. Not the memory transfers. Something bigger. Something he was building before he died."
"What?"
"A way to replace people. Not just their memories—their identities. Their faces. Their lives."
---
Declan walked out of the interrogation room in a daze.
Reyes was waiting in the hallway.
"What did she say?"
Declan told her.
Reyes's face went pale. "Body doubles? Plastic surgery? That's insane."
"That's what Elias was working on. Creating copies of people. Implanting them with false memories. Sending them out into the world to do his bidding."
"Declan, that's—"
"I know how it sounds. But think about it. How did Elias operate for so long without getting caught? How did he have people everywhere—in the police, in the courts, in the hospitals? He replaced them. With his own people. People who looked like them, talked like them, had their memories."
Reyes was quiet for a long moment.
"Where's Lara now?" she asked.
"Mira doesn't know. She said Lara went dark after the phone call. Cut all contact."
"Then we find her. Before she finds you."
---
Declan drove home.
The police car was still outside Claire's house. The lights were on inside. Claire was waiting at the door.
"You look terrible," she said.
"I feel worse."
He told her about Mira. About Lara. About Project Legacy.
Claire listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she said, "What do you need?"
"Time. Space. A chance to think."
"You can have that. But Finn needs you. He's been asking for you all day."
Declan walked to Finn's room.
The boy was sitting on his bed, a book open in his lap. He looked up when Declan entered.
"Dad? Did you catch the bad lady?"
"Not yet. But we're close."
"Is she going to hurt us?"
"No. I'm not going to let her."
Finn set the book down. "Mom said the bad lady was sick. That her brain was broken. Like yours was."
Declan sat beside him. "Your mom is right. Lara is sick. She's been sick for a long time. And she needs help."
"Then why are you trying to catch her?"
"Because she won't get help on her own. She needs someone to make her stop."
"Like you did with the other bad man?"
"Something like that."
Finn leaned against him. "I'm not scared anymore, Dad."
"Why not?"
"Because you're here. And you always keep your promises."
Declan kissed the top of his son's head.
"Always, buddy."
---
That night, Declan couldn't sleep.
He sat on the porch, watching the stars, the police car a faint presence at the curb. His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Declan." Lara's voice. "Mira told me you visited her."
"She told me everything. About Project Legacy. About the body doubles. About what Elias was building."
"Then you know why I have to finish what he started."
"No, Lara. I don't. Elias was a monster. He hurt people. He destroyed lives. He experimented on his own sister."
"He was trying to save me."
"He was trying to control you. There's a difference."
Lara was quiet for a moment.
"Meet me," she said. "Tomorrow. Alone. I'll tell you everything. And then I'll disappear. For good."
"Where?"
"The bridge. Where David Chen died. Noon."
The line went dead.
---
Declan told Reyes about the call.
"It's a trap," Reyes said.
"Probably."
"You can't go alone."
"I have to. She won't meet otherwise."
"Then we'll put agents nearby. Out of sight. If anything goes wrong—"
"Nothing will go wrong."
"You don't know that."
Declan looked at her. "I know Lara. She's not a killer. She's just lost."
"Lost people can still be dangerous."
"I know. But I have to try."
---
The bridge was old.
Steel beams rusted by years of rain. A pedestrian walkway that hadn't been maintained in decades. The river below was dark, sluggish, the water the color of mud.
Declan arrived at noon.
Lara was already there.
She stood at the railing, looking down at the water. She was thinner than he remembered. Paler. Her dark hair hung loose around her shoulders.
"Thank you for coming," she said without turning around.
"I almost didn't."
"I know. Reyes probably told you it was a trap."
"She did."
"It's not. I just wanted to talk. Before I go."
"Go where?"
"Somewhere far away. Somewhere no one knows my name."
Lara turned to face him.
Her eyes were red. She'd been crying.
"I'm sorry," she said. "For everything. For the threats. For the photographs. For terrifying your son."
"Why, Lara? Why did you do it?"
"Because I was angry. At you. At the world. At myself." She gripped the railing. "Elias was all I had. For years, he was the only person who cared whether I lived or died. And then you came along and took him from me."
"I didn't take him. He killed himself."
"He killed himself because he couldn't live with what you'd done to him. The trial. The testimony. The way the whole world turned against him."
"He did that to himself. He made his own choices."
"He was sick. Just like me. And you couldn't see that."
Lara stepped closer.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Declan. I'm not going to hurt your family. I just wanted you to know that I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back."
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know. Somewhere I can start over. Somewhere no one knows about Elias or the hospital or any of it."
"Lara—"
"Don't." She held up her hand. "Don't say you're sorry. Don't say you understand. Just let me go."
Declan nodded.
Lara walked past him, toward the end of the bridge.
She paused.
"One more thing," she said. "Mira wasn't telling you the truth. About the body doubles. About Project Legacy. Elias wasn't building anything. He was trying to undo something. Something he did a long time ago."
"What?"
"He created someone. A perfect copy. Of himself. And that copy is still out there."
Declan's blood ran cold. "What are you talking about?"
"Elias had a son. A boy he raised in secret. Trained from birth to be exactly like him. Same mind. Same memories. Same ambition." Lara looked back. "His name is Julian. And he's been watching you since the beginning."
She walked away.
Declan stood on the bridge, the river rushing below, Lara's words echoing in his ears.
Elias had a son.
A copy.
A legacy.
And he was still out there.
- Writer
