Chapter 4: Seventeen Names
“Lena!””
Nia burst out of the shed just as the motorcycle tore across the clearing.
Mud sprayed beneath the rear tire. Lena leaned low over the handlebars, the child gripping her waist so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“Stop!”” Nia shouted.
Lena glanced back.
For one brief second, her eyes met Nia’s.
There was fear in them.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Then she disappeared between the trees.
Bear came running behind Nia.
“Eli!””
The boy was still near the shed, frozen beside the doorway.
Nia turned immediately.
“Bear, stay with him.””
“I’m going after Lena.””
“No.””
“She has another child.””
“And you're not chasing a motorcycle into the woods with a six-year-old standing behind you.””
Bear stopped.
Nia pointed toward the shed.
“Take Eli and the other kids back to the road.””
Bear looked at the tree line.
Then at Eli.
He hated the order.
But he obeyed.
Nia grabbed her radio.
“Dispatch, I have another endangered child, female, approximately seven years old, taken from my scene by a woman named Lena Cole. Suspect is fleeing west on a motorcycle. I need units moving to—”
Static swallowed the rest of her transmission.
Nia frowned.
“Dispatch, repeat?””
Nothing.
She looked at her radio.
The battery indicator was full.
She pressed the button again.
“Dispatch, do you copy?””
Silence.
Behind her, the shed door creaked.
Nia turned.
Nobody had touched it.
The recorder on the table was still playing.
Ava’s voice was gone.
But there was something underneath the static.
A faint tapping.
Three taps.
Pause.
Three taps.
Nia walked back inside.
The sound was coming from the recorder.
She picked it up.
The tapping stopped.
Then a hidden compartment beneath the cassette player clicked open.
Inside was a small metal key.
And beneath it, a folded sheet of paper.
Nia opened it.
Seventeen names.
Seventeen ages.
Seventeen addresses.
Some were crossed out.
Some had dates beside them.
At the bottom, written darker than everything else, was one name.
*ELI HARPER — 6*
Beside it:
*STATUS: RECOVERED*
Nia's eyes moved lower.
The word recovered had been crossed out.
Underneath, someone had written:
*RETURNED TO BEAR.*
Her stomach tightened.
She flipped the page.
On the back were six names.
Five had red lines through them.
One did not.
*NIA BROOKS — 34*
Next to her name:
*ROLE: WITNESS*
Nia stared at it.
A branch snapped outside.
She spun.
Bear stood in the doorway with Eli beside him.
“What did you find?””
Nia folded the paper.
“Nothing good.””
Bear looked at her.
“You found the list.””
“How did you know?””
“Because Ava made one too.””
Nia stepped closer.
“Who is Ava protecting?””
Bear's eyes went to Eli.
“I don't know.””
“That answer is getting old.””
He flinched.
“You think I want this?””
“I think you know more than you're telling me.””
Bear's jaw clenched.
“I know what happened twelve years ago.””
“Then tell me.””
Eli stared up at them.
Bear lowered his voice.
“Ava worked at a youth shelter.””
Nia waited.
“She saw children coming in with bruises. Not random bruises. Same pattern. Same marks.””
“What kind?””
“Burns.””
Nia looked down at the paper.
“And then?””
“Ava started documenting everything.””
“Did she report it?””
“Yeah.””
“To whom?””
“The shelter director.””
“And?””
“He told her to stop.””
Nia felt anger rise.
“Why?””
Bear shook his head.
“He said those kids belonged to someone else.””
Nia stared.
“Someone else?””
“He called them inventory.””
The word hung in the air.
Nia looked at Eli.
The boy was listening.
She lowered her voice.
“Why didn't you tell me this at the roadside?””
“Because I didn't know if you were one of them.””
Nia's eyes hardened.
“One of who?””
“The people watching.””
Before she could answer, a cruiser appeared through the trees.
Then another.
Nia's shoulders loosened for half a second.
Finally.
Backup.
Two officers climbed out.
Officer Mason stepped toward her.
“What happened?””
Nia started to answer.
Then she stopped.
Something was wrong.
Mason wasn't looking at her.
He was looking at Eli.
Not at Bear.
Not at the list in her hand.
Eli.
Mason crouched.
“Hey, buddy.””
Eli immediately hid behind Bear.
Mason frowned.
“He doesn't have to be afraid.””
Bear shifted between them.
“Back up.””
Mason stood.
“I'm trying to help.””
Nia watched his face.
“Why do you know his name?””
Mason blinked.
“I don't.””
“You said 'buddy.''”
“So?””
“You looked at him before you looked at me.””
Mason's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Nia saw it.
She reached for her radio.
Mason's partner grabbed his shoulder.
“Nia,” he said, “you should come look at something.””
“Where?””
“Down by the highway.””
Nia didn't move.
“Tell me here.””
He lowered his voice.
“We found the motorcycle.””
Nia looked at Bear.
“Lena?””
“No.””
His partner shook his head.
“The bike is empty.””
“Where's the child?””
Silence.
Nia's pulse jumped.
“Where is the child?””
Mason answered.
“We think someone took her.””
Bear muttered something under his breath.
Nia stared at the officers.
“Who found the motorcycle?””
Mason's partner pointed toward the western trail.
“Us.””
“When?””
“Five minutes ago.””
Nia looked at her watch.
Impossible.
She had seen Lena less than two minutes earlier.
“Show me.””
Mason stepped aside.
Nia followed the second officer toward the highway.
Bear started after them.
Nia turned.
“Stay with Eli.””
He stopped.
Eli grabbed his vest.
“Grandpa, don't leave me.””
Bear looked at the boy.
“I’m right here.””
Nia followed the officers.
The motorcycle lay on its side beside an embankment.
Fuel leaked onto the dirt.
The front wheel was bent.
No Lena.
No child.
No helmet.
Nia crouched.
“Crash?””
“No skid marks,” Mason's partner said.
“Then why is the bike down?””
He shook his head.
“Maybe someone dropped it.””
Nia studied the ground.
A shoe print.
Small.
Child-sized.
Then another.
Leading away from the motorcycle.
She followed them.
They ended at a drainage tunnel beneath the road.
“Did you search this?””
“Not yet.””
Nia pulled her flashlight.
She entered.
The tunnel smelled like wet concrete and gasoline.
Ten feet in, she saw something scratched into the wall.
A number.
*17*
Below it:
*16*
Then:
*15*
She raised the flashlight.
The countdown continued.
14.
13.
12.
Nia's breathing slowed.
“What the hell…”
Behind her, footsteps entered the tunnel.
She turned.
Mason stood there.
Alone.
“Where's your partner?””
He smiled.
“Went for the car.””
Nia didn't return the smile.
“How long have you been with the department?””
“Eight years.””
“And how long have you known Bear?””
Mason's smile faded.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“Really?””
Nia pointed to the wall.
“Then explain the numbers.””
Mason glanced toward them.
His face remained calm.
Too calm.
“I don't know.””
Nia took a step closer.
“Why is my name on a children's list?””
Mason's eyes sharpened.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
He didn't answer.
Nia reached for her weapon.
Mason raised both hands.
“Officer Brooks, you're upset.””
“Don't call me that.””
“Let's talk.””
“No.””
“Nia—”
She froze.
He had never introduced himself to her as Nia.
Mason realized his mistake.
The silence between them became enormous.
“You knew my first name,” she whispered.
Mason's expression hardened.
“You were never supposed to see the list.””
Nia's hand went to her weapon.
“Where is the girl?””
“You don't understand.””
“Where is she?””
“She isn't the problem.””
“Then who is?””
Mason stared at her.
“You are.””
Something slammed into Nia from behind.
She hit the tunnel wall.
Her flashlight flew from her hand.
The darkness swallowed everything.
She heard a struggle.
A muffled cry.
Then Mason's voice.
“Don't hurt her.””
Another voice answered.
“She knows too much.””
Nia reached blindly across the concrete.
Her fingers found the flashlight.
She switched it on.
The beam cut through the darkness.
Mason was gone.
So was the other man.
But on the ground lay a police evidence envelope.
Nia picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
She lifted it toward the flashlight.
Ava stood outside the youth shelter.
Beside her was Bear.
Beside Bear was a much younger Lena.
And in Ava's arms was a baby.
Eli.
Nia turned the photograph over.
Written on the back:
*THE FIRE WAS STAGED.*
Underneath:
*Ava survived.*
And below that:
*THE BABY DID NOT.*
Nia stared at the words.
“No…”
A child's voice came from the darkness.
“Officer?””
Nia spun around.
The little girl from the motorcycle stood at the entrance of the tunnel.
Alone.
Barefoot.
Her face was streaked with tears.
Nia rushed toward her.
“Are you hurt?””
The girl shook her head.
“Where's Lena?””
The girl pointed deeper into the tunnel.
“She told me to run.””
“From who?””
The girl's lips trembled.
“The man who wears the police badge.””
Nia's heart dropped.
“What's his name?””
The child looked behind Nia.
Then whispered,
“Mason.””
Nia turned.
At the far end of the tunnel, a phone began to ring.
She recognized the ringtone.
It was hers.
Her personal phone.
The one locked inside her cruiser.
The girl grabbed Nia's sleeve.
“Don't answer.””
The ringing continued.
Again.
Again.
Then a text appeared on Nia's screen.
*YOU HAVE 16 MINUTES.*
Another message followed.
*ONE CHILD FOR EACH MINUTE.*
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Then a final line:
*START WITH ELI.*
