660: The Accident

The Accident

"Shit," William grumbled while Damien had already sprinted after the man. The two bolted out of the same back door exit, looking left and right, their eyes quickly scanning the area to see where Joseph could have gone.1

There are a few junk cars at the back of the shop and a wide area with tall grass. Movement on the right caught their attention and they saw Joseph Bennet just as he emerged from hiding behind a wall of the next building and dashed toward the dirty patch of grass and mud.

Damien didn't think. He pushed his heels on the ground and ran.

"Goddamnit. My shoes aren't made for running!" William grunted.  "They're a thousand dollars!" he added as if to make a point.

"Catch him," shouted Damien. Neither of them was ready for this unexpected chase. Although he was wearing casual clothes, his dark suede loafers cost as much as William's if not more. But he was thoroughly convinced that Joseph Bennet had answers he was looking for that he couldn't care at the moment. There was no way the man would try to escape if he wasn't hiding something when all he heard was an accident from many years ago and Lawrence's name.

Joseph tread through the tall grass that reached his upper thigh. There could be snakes and whatnot in there, but Damien didn't give it a second thought when he followed the other.

"Mr. Bennet. We just want to talk!" he tried.

"I'm not talking to you anymore! I've finally moved on and I'm living peacefully now. I already swore I would never dig it up again. What more do you want from me? Leave me alone!" Joseph shouted back as he continued down the field.

What the hell was he talking about? Determined, Damien pushed further and then he lunged himself forward, tackling the other man to the ground. 

"Get off me!" Joseph tried to grapple with Damien. He was strong for having been in the police once and working as a mechanic, but Damien was taller and bigger than him. He didn't have a chance.

"Mr. Bennet!" Damien pinned him by the shoulders. William caught up with them in the next second and helped restrain Joseph. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just need answers for my father's death."

"Your father?" Joseph's wild eyes flickered, confusion filling them, but he didn't stop trying to fight them off him. 

"Lawrence Park is my father."

Joseph stiffened, his stare bouncing between Damien and William while his chest heaved and his nose flared. "How did you find me?"

"I had some help from a detective." Damien grabbed the man's hand and helped him stand. Joseph continued to look at them suspiciously as they brushed blades of grass and dirt off their clothes.

"Why'd you run?" William questioned with a scowl.

"It's been a long time since I've talked about that accident. The last time I did it almost cost me my family's life." Joseph clenched his hands at his sides. "I didn't want any more trouble."

Damien cast his cousin a curious look before facing Joseph again. "Did someone come after you? Who?"

Joseph stared at Damien as if he was studying him. "Are you really Lawrence Park's son?"

Wordlessly, Damien took out a picture from his wallet and showed it to Joseph. It was on his last birthday that he got to celebrate with his father. Damien had a smile on his face and so did Lawrence who stood behind him, his hands on Damien's shoulders. He nearly reached his father's height. They looked very much alike except for some features he got from Amelia.

"All these years I thought my father died of an accident until…someone told me there's a possibility that it could've been a foul play. I just want to know the truth."

Joseph let out a sigh as he returned the picture to Damien. "I'll tell you what I know. It ain't much, but after that, you leave this place and never look for me again." When Damien nodded, Joseph tipped his chin towards the garage. "Let's talk at the shop."

They all went back to the garage. Joseph pulled down the rolling steel doors to close the shop and flicked some switches on the wall that lit up the whole place. It was almost five in the afternoon, and they have no customers at the moment. He waved at the plastic chairs from the side of the wall for them to sit and they took one each while Joseph dragged a steel chair and positioned it so they faced each other.

"I don't know your father. I was just a regular cop," Joseph started.

"Then tell me what you know."

Joseph nodded. "My shift was about to end when a dispatch call about a car accident came through the radio. I was the closest to the area so I responded. When I arrived at the scene," he paused, "the car was totaled."

Damien closed his eyes as the onslaught of images rushed into his head of how that must've looked like—his father's car so banged up it was unrepairable and he was inside. A hand squeezed his shoulder. He knew without looking that it was William. The pressure on his shoulder rivaled the one in his chest at the memory of his father and their last phone call that night. 'Poor Dad,' he thought.

"I rushed to the car and the driver…" Joseph hesitated. "Ambulance and firetruck arrived as I pried open his car and they tried to revive him." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. This must be so hard for you."

When Damien opened his eyes again, he nodded. "Thanks. What happened then?"

"I was reviewing my notes when I checked the file from the hospital and saw that the victim's alcohol level was high. I thought it was strange because I was sure I didn't smell any alcohol on him. Normally, I wouldn't question the hospital if that's their finding, but while I was there, I interviewed the witness who called 911 and she said that a silver sedan was speeding down the road as if it was chasing your father's car. Both cars turned at the intersection and the silver sedan swerved, causing your father to hit the barricades that totaled his car."

"That's not on the report," Damien muttered, his brows drawn together in confusion.

"No, it's not."

"Why?" His tone turned cold. "And who was in the other car? Did you get the plates?"

Joseph shook his head. "The witness said there were no plates on the silver sedan. And…as for the report, our chief told me to rule it as DUI and close the case. We had a big argument where he threatened my job."

Damien's heart raced and a scowl formed on his face. "So that's why you left? Because he threatened you with your job?"

The man appeared insulted, his brows furrowing deeply as the vein in his forehead threatened to pop. "No. I didn't stop there. At least not at first. I couldn't understand why my boss wanted me to throw the investigation. I didn't cause the accident but I felt responsible, so I went to check your father's car in the junk shop."

A strange feeling builds in Damien's stomach upon hearing that Joseph continued the investigation despite the job insecurity.

"Did you find anything?" William chimed. He'd been quiet since they came back, but now he was as impatient as his cousin.

Joseph shook his head. "Nothing much. His car was clean except for a pen and an empty coffee cup in the holder. I did find a toll gate receipt from where he exited that night, but that was it."

"A toll gate receipt?" Damien narrowed his eyes and straightened his back, tension coiling at his shoulders. He didn't know his father had gone out somewhere far from the city that night where he needed to pass a toll gate."Where was he coming from?"

"Off Highway 38. I tried to dig further and wanted to meet the victim's family for questions, but every time I tried, the security drove me away. Which was ridiculous, considering they were Lawrence Park's family. Unless they were hiding something. And then my wife started having problems at work. I was forced to resign. The last straw was when my wife almost got run over by a truck on her way to work. On the same day, I received a note in my mailbox practically telling me to back off…or the next time, the truck wouldn't miss."

"Jesus…" Damien muttered at the same time that William cursed under his breath. Damien rubbed his hands down his face at everything he heard just now. Joseph didn't have to say it, but it was clear as day that someone in his family was covering tracks. And no one else was capable of doing that but Frederick.

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