Daniel had the same symbol.
The three lines represented three promises they had made when they were young.
Never abandon your brother.
Never betray your word.
Never run from the truth.
Jack had broken all three.
And now Daniel's daughter was standing in front of him.
The Photograph
Sara didn't want Jack anywhere near her daughter.
But something had changed.
She could see it in his eyes.
He wasn't the man she had expected.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't defensive.
He looked broken.
"I need to ask you one question," Jack said.
Sara crossed her arms.
"What?"
"Does Emma have anything that belonged to Daniel?"
Sara stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because if she does, someone may be looking for it."
That frightened her.
"What are you talking about?"
Jack leaned closer.
"Daniel didn't disappear because he wanted a new life."
Sara's face tightened.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know him."
"You knew him."
Jack accepted the correction.
"You're right."
He looked at Emma.
"What did your father give you?"
Emma reached into her sweatshirt pocket.
Sara immediately said:
"Emma, no."
But the girl had already pulled out a small metal object.
It was an old key.
Brass.
Worn.
A number was stamped into it.
Jack stared.
"Where did you get that?"
"Dad."
"When?"
"Before he died."
Jack looked at Sara.
"When did Daniel give her that?"
"She was five."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
Jack nodded.
"Fair."
Emma looked at him.
"Dad said the key was for a place where he kept something important."
Jack's face hardened.
"Did he tell you where?"
She shook her head.
"Only that if somebody with the black tattoo ever found me, I should give him the key."
Jack's stomach dropped.
"Why?"
Emma answered simply.
"Because he said you were the only person who could finish what he started."
Sara stared at her daughter.
Then at Jack.
Neither spoke.
Outside, a truck roared past.
Jack took the key.
He turned it over.
There was a tiny engraving on the back.
Three letters.
B.L.
Jack knew them immediately.
Blue Lantern.
The diner.
His eyes rose slowly.
"This isn't a key to a locker."
Sara frowned.
"Then what is it?"
Jack looked toward the old jukebox.
"The place where Daniel hid things."
Locker 17
The Blue Lantern had been around since 1974.
Before Jack was born.
Before Daniel was born.
Behind the kitchen was a narrow hallway that led to a basement.
Nobody used it anymore.
Except the owner.
When Jack asked about the basement, the owner, an elderly man named Walter, looked uncomfortable.
"Why?"
"Locker seventeen."
Walter stared.
"I haven't opened that locker in twenty years."
Jack's heart began pounding.
"Then it's still there?"
Walter nodded slowly.
Sara held Emma's hand.
Jack descended the stairs.
The basement smelled of dust and old grease.
At the far wall stood a row of metal storage lockers.
Most were rusted.
Some had broken doors.
Number seventeen was still locked.
Jack inserted the key.
It turned.
The lock clicked.
He opened the door.
Inside was a metal box.
No larger than a shoebox.
Jack lifted it out.
His hands were shaking.
The box contained three things.
A photograph.
A cassette tape.
And a folded piece of paper.
Jack opened the photograph first.
Daniel stood beside three men.
One was Jack.
One was a younger Walter.
The third man made Jack's blood turn cold.
He recognized him immediately.
Thomas Vance.
The man Jack had believed was dead.
The same man Daniel had suspected of selling information.
Jack turned over the photograph.
There was handwriting.
Daniel's.
"If Jack ever sees this, it means I was right."
Jack closed his eyes.
Sara whispered:
"Who is that?"
"Someone who should have disappeared with Daniel."
She looked at the cassette.
"What is it?"
Jack picked it up.
"Evidence."
"Of what?"
"Why Daniel died."
Before Jack could say more, footsteps sounded upstairs.
Heavy.
Slow.
Then the basement lights went out.
Emma screamed.
Jack immediately moved between her and the stairs.
"Everyone stay behind me."
Sara grabbed Emma.
A shadow appeared at the top of the staircase.
Then a voice echoed down.
"You should've left the past buried, Mercer."
Jack recognized it.
Thomas Vance.
Alive.
The Man Who Came Back
Jack had imagined meeting Thomas a thousand times.