The Final Code

chapter twenty two

The call came late at night, just as I was about to turn off the light and finally try to get some sleep. I hadn't spoken to my cousin in a few days, so when her name flashed on the screen, I answered without hesitation.

"Scarlett," she said, her voice shaking slightly, a tremor I couldn't ignore. "There's more... something else I need to tell you."

I leaned back against the couch, my stomach knotting. "What is it, Ruby? What's going on?"

"I didn't want to bring this up," she began, clearly wrestling with something deep inside her. "I thought maybe it was just my mind playing tricks, but now... I'm not so sure anymore."

I braced myself for whatever came next. "Ruby, whatever it is, you can tell me."

She was silent for a moment before continuing, her words coming slower now, as if she had to push them out. "The last time we were together... at Dave's Diner, when we were in town for Christmas? I saw him again. He was there, Scarlett."

My heart skipped a beat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "Who, Ruby? Who are you talking about?"

"The man," she said, her voice barely audible. "The man who was at your father's funeral. I'm sure it was him. He was there that day, watching us. Watching you."

I felt a cold weight settle over me, my mind racing to that moment in the diner. I remembered it now—the brief flash of something in the corner of my eye, a sense of being watched, but I had dismissed it as nothing more than my own paranoia. But hearing it from Ruby... I couldn't ignore it anymore.

"What did he look like? Was he staring at you again?" I asked, urgency creeping into my voice.

Ruby took a deep breath. "He was standing near the counter, just sitting there. He wasn't eating or talking to anyone, but he kept looking over at our table—at you, specifically. It wasn't just a glance, Scarlett. It was like he was studying you, waiting for something."

The air seemed to grow thicker as I processed her words. The realization hit me hard: he was closer than I thought, following my every move, showing up where I least expected him. He wasn't just an anomaly in my past; he was still there, a presence that refused to fade.

"Ruby," I said, my voice sharp, "we need to do something about this. If you're sure it was him, then we need to get a sketch done. I need to see if we can identify him."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and I could hear the uncertainty in Ruby's breath. "You really think it's him? After all this time?"

"I know it is," I replied with a certainty I didn't even know I had. "We're not just dealing with some random person. This is bigger than that. I need you to help me with this, Ruby. I need you to work with the FBI, get a sketch done. It might be our only lead."

Ruby's voice dropped, almost as if the memory was too much for her. "I should have said something sooner, Scarlett. When I saw him at your dad's funeral... I didn't realize it back then, but I remember he was staring at you. Not just once or twice, but the entire time. Even when everyone else was grieving, when everyone else was focused on the ceremony, he was fixated on you, and I—I knew something was wrong. He looked like he was waiting for you, like he had some purpose."

The words hung in the air, reverberating in my mind. Waiting for me. My stomach clenched as the pieces began to fit together, something dark and sinister unfolding before me.

"Did you see him speak to anyone? Did he try to make contact with you or anyone else?" I asked, pushing for more detail, trying to grasp something solid in the chaotic swirl of thoughts.

"No," she said, her voice trembling. "But there was something unsettling about the way he carried himself. Like he didn't belong there, like he wasn't just another mourner, but someone who was marking that moment for a reason. I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't there to mourn... he was there for something else. And then, when it was all over... he disappeared. No one seemed to notice but me."

I closed my eyes, my mind racing back to that funeral, the sharp pain of losing both of my parents in the same night still fresh, the crowd of faces around me all blurred by grief. And there, in the distance, an unfamiliar face. I'd brushed it off, thinking it was just another stranger in a sea of mourners, but now... it felt different. It felt wrong.

"Ruby," I said, my voice steady despite the storm building inside me, "you were right to remember. We have to find him. I need you to get in touch with the FBI. We need to get a sketch of this man, right now. If he's been watching us, waiting for us all this time, then we need to find out who he is, and we need to do it fast."

"I'll do it, Scarlett," Ruby said, a hint of resolve in her voice now, but I could hear the fear still clinging to the edges. "But... Scarlett, I don't know what he wants from us, but it feels like we're being pulled into something much bigger than we realize."

Her words hit me like a cold wave, and I nodded, though I knew she couldn't see it. "I don't know either, Ruby. But whatever it is, we'll face it together."

"I will," she said softly. "I'll contact them. Just... be careful."

The line went dead, but the words she had said—the way she had described him—kept echoing in my mind. That man had been at my father's funeral, had watched me then, and now he was back, watching me again. He had a reason. A reason for his presence, a reason for waiting. But what was it?

I didn't know yet, but I would find out. The man who had been lurking in the shadows of my past had resurfaced, and this time, I wouldn't let him slip away again.