Chapter 4 - The Secret in the Ink
Rachel slipped into an empty supply closet and pulled out her radio, tuning it to a secure, scrambled frequency she knew Marcus monitored off-the-books.
"Marcus, it’s Brooks. Are you secure?"
"I’m here," Marcus replied, the sound of typing echoing in the background. "CSU just got back from the stairwell. Blood type is O-negative. It matches Sarah Evans’s medical file. You were right, Rachel. It’s a kidnapping."
"And Richard Vance is the prime suspect," Rachel said. "But he’s standing in the lobby with a judge’s signature, ready to take the kids as soon as the sun comes up. He’s going to use them as leverage to make Sarah sign whatever he wants, or worse, he’ll eliminate all three of them."
"We can't prove it, Rachel. He’s got an ironclad alibi. He was at a fundraising gala downtown all night. Five hundred witnesses saw him."
"He didn't do it himself, Marcus. He hired someone. I need you to run something for me. 14-08-33-West. It was written on the back of the prescription receipt Sarah left for Lily."
Silence hung on the line for a few agonizing seconds. Then, Marcus gasped.
"Rachel... that’s the format for the old Greyhound bus terminal lockers on West Street. They’re ancient, mostly used by transients, but they don't have security cameras."
"Sarah knew he was closing in," Rachel realized. "She left a dead man's switch. A cache of evidence she hid in case he ever found them. If we find what’s in that locker, we might find out who Richard hired, and where they took her."
"I’m sending you the address," Marcus said. "But Rachel, if you leave the hospital, Richard will take those kids."
"He won't," Rachel said, formulating a dangerous, career-ending plan. "I’m going to make sure they disappear."
Rachel walked out of the closet and headed straight for the pediatric ward's attending physician, a stern but compassionate woman named Dr. Aris.
"Doctor," Rachel said, pulling her aside. "Richard Vance is about to demand the discharge of Leo and Lily. If he takes them, they will not survive the week. I need you to buy me time."
Dr. Aris looked at Rachel, then down at the charts. She knew who Richard Vance was. Everyone in Detroit did. But she also remembered the terror in Lily’s eyes when she was brought in.
"Leo’s fever spiked again," Dr. Aris lied smoothly, not missing a beat. "He requires an aggressive course of intravenous antibiotics. I am placing a 48-hour medical hold on both children due to suspected severe neglect and trauma. No judge in this city can override my medical authority to quarantine a highly infectious pediatric patient."
Rachel felt a surge of gratitude. "Thank you, Doc."
"You have 48 hours, Officer Brooks," Dr. Aris warned. "Find their mother. Or I’ll be the one going to jail with you."
Rachel sprinted out the back exit of the hospital, ignoring her squad car and hailing a civilian taxi to avoid GPS tracking. She arrived at the decaying Greyhound terminal as the sun began to peek over the Detroit skyline, casting long, bloody shadows across the concrete.
She found Locker 33-West. She spun the dial. 14-08.
The rusty door popped open.
Inside sat a heavy, black waterproof pelican case. Rachel pulled it out and opened the latches. Inside was a treasure trove of damning evidence. There were photographs of Sarah covered in horrific bruises, medical records Richard had suppressed, and, most importantly, a USB drive taped to a printed ledger.
Rachel plugged the USB into her phone using an adapter.
It was a recording of a phone call. Richard’s voice echoed from the small speaker, cold and calculating.
“I don't care how you do it, Marcus. Just find her. I want the kids untouched. But my wife... take her to the shipyard warehouse on River Rouge. Make it look like an overdose. She’s a junkie, nobody will ask questions.”
Rachel froze. The man Richard was talking to on the recording wasn't just a random hitman.
He had called him Marcus.
May you like
Rachel’s blood turned to ice. She slowly pulled the radio from her belt. The dispatcher who had taken the call. The man who had been "helping" her all night. Marcus Thorne. He hadn't been helping her; he had been monitoring her every move for Richard Vance.
And she had just told him exactly where she was.
