Chapter 10: The Man Behind the Voice
“It's time we met properly.””
The voice stayed in my head long after the call ended.
I knew it.
Not because I recognized every word, but because I recognized the calmness. The deliberate pauses. The way the speaker sounded as though he had already decided how the conversation would end.
Captain Renee Mitchell reached for her radio.
“Investigator Chen, get the county unit moving. We need the location of that transmission and immediate protection for Daniel Williams and his daughter.””
Chen was already dialing.
“I'm requesting emergency protection through the prosecutor's office. We also need to determine whether the call came from a traceable number.””
I barely heard them.
Claire was alive.
My wife, whose funeral I'd attended, whose ashes I kept in a small wooden box beside our wedding photograph, had just spoken to me.
For two years, I'd whispered goodnight to a woman I believed could no longer hear me.
Now I knew someone had taken her from me while allowing the world to believe she was dead.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Renee, you knew something was wrong with that accident report.””
She looked at me.
“I suspected it.””
“You knew there was a missing evidence bag.””
“Yes.””
“You knew Claire had been investigating Mercer.””
“Yes.””
“And now my wife calls me from somewhere, tells me not to trust you, and the person threatening her sounds like someone you recognize.””
Renee absorbed every accusation without interrupting.
“Daniel, you have every right to question me. But I did not know Claire was alive.””
“Why should I believe you?””
“You shouldn't. Not because I say so.””
She took off her badge and placed it on the table.
“You should believe evidence. And if the evidence shows I helped conceal what happened to your wife, I'll answer for it.””
I looked at the badge.
For the first time, I wondered whether Renee's decision to help me had been an attempt to correct a mistake—or a carefully managed effort to keep me where she could watch me.
Chen ended her call.
“The video was transmitted through a temporary server. The connection bounced through several locations, but our technical team is trying to isolate the original source.””
“Can they find Claire?”” I asked.
“Not from that call alone.””
“Then find the hospital room.””
“We're working on it.””
I stood.
“I'm going to Northbridge.””
Chen moved in front of the door.
“No.””
“She's alive, and she's frightened. I'm not sitting here waiting for another message.””
“Northbridge was closed years ago. If someone is using that site, it may be a trap.””
“Then send officers.””
“We will. But you won't go alone, and you won't leave without a plan.””
I wanted to argue.
Then I remembered Claire's warning.
Don't let them take Nia to the hospital.
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
“Where is my daughter?””
Renee checked her phone.
“She is at a protected location with two county officers.””
“Which location?””
“The prosecutor's office arranged a family protection suite. Only Chen and I have the details.””
I stared at her.
“You said only you and Chen know.””
“Yes.””
“Then how did Claire know to warn me about the hospital?””
Renee's expression changed.
“That means she knows something about the protection plan—or she's warning us not to use a hospital as a safe location.””
Chen interrupted.
“Captain, we have an update. Northbridge Recovery Services was acquired by a private medical group three years ago. The facility's administrative records are incomplete, but one building remains operational.””
“Where?”” I asked.
Chen gave us an address on the outskirts of Brookhaven.
It was less than twenty minutes from the hospital.
The property was registered to a company called Meridian Care Holdings.
I recognized the name.
Meridian had supplied specialized monitoring equipment to our hospital. I'd repaired their devices dozens of times.
And every contract I'd handled had been approved by Dr. Samuel Price.
Renee called the county tactical unit and requested a welfare check at the facility. Chen obtained authorization to accompany them and inspect the premises.
I was ordered to remain at the prosecutor's office.
I refused.
Chen stared at me across the table.
“Daniel, I understand why you want to go. But you are not trained to enter a potentially dangerous facility.””
“I'm trained to recognize when someone is using my life as cover for a crime.””
“That won't protect you from a gun.””
“No. But neither will leaving my wife there.””
Renee stepped between us.
“He comes with me. We remain outside the secured perimeter unless the tactical commander authorizes otherwise.””
Chen looked as though she wanted to object.
Instead, she nodded.
“Fine. But if the commander tells you to stay back, you stay back.””
We left in an unmarked vehicle.
As we drove, Renee sat beside me in silence.
Finally, I asked, “What happened to Martin Shaw?””
She stared through the windshield.
“I was assigned to his investigation shortly before his death. He believed someone inside the department was altering evidence records. He asked me to help him obtain the original transfer logs.””
“Did you?””
“I tried. The records had already been removed.””
“Then what?””
“Two nights later, his car went off the road. The department ruled it an accident.””
“Did you believe that?””
“At first.””
“And later?””
She hesitated.
“Three weeks after his death, someone left a photograph on my desk. It showed Martin standing outside the evidence room the night before he died. Behind him was a man wearing a hospital identification badge.””
“Samuel Price?””
“I couldn't identify the face. The photograph disappeared before I could submit it as evidence.””
I watched the road ahead.
“You should have told someone.””
“I did. My supervisor said the photograph had never existed.””
“And you accepted that?””
“No. But I had no proof.””
She turned toward me.
“That's the mistake I made, Daniel. I thought I needed undeniable proof before I could challenge the people involved. By the time I understood how they were operating, the witnesses were gone.””
The vehicle slowed as we approached Meridian's property.
A high metal fence surrounded a sprawling complex of low buildings. Security lights illuminated the parking lot. A sign near the entrance read:
*MERIDIAN SPECIALTY CARE — AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.*
Two tactical vehicles stood near the main gate.
Chen met us beside the command vehicle.
“The facility's administrator says the building is empty except for overnight maintenance staff. However, the security system shows activity in the east wing.””
“Can we see the footage?”” I asked.
She showed me a still image from a hallway camera.
A woman stood outside a room with a numbered door.
Her face was turned away, but she wore a green coat.
Claire's coat.
I stepped toward the screen.
“That's her.””
“We can't confirm that yet,” Chen said.
The tactical commander approached.
“We have authorization to enter the east wing and conduct a welfare check. Nobody approaches the building without clearance.””
Renee nodded.
The team moved toward the entrance.
I watched them disappear inside.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
Then the radio crackled.
“Command, we have an open room and signs of recent occupancy. No patient located.””
My stomach tightened.
“Check the adjoining rooms,” the commander ordered.
Another pause.
“Negative. The wing appears vacant.””
Chen swore under her breath.
Then a second transmission came through.
“Command, we've located a workstation with active monitoring equipment. There's a video feed running to an external address.””
“Can you identify the destination?””
“Working on it.””
A minute later, the answer came.
“The feed is transmitting to Brookhaven County Hospital.””
I turned toward Chen.
“Someone at the hospital is watching this building.””
“Or someone at this building is feeding the hospital's system.””
Renee's phone rang.
She answered, listened, and went pale.
“What happened?”” I demanded.
She lowered the phone.
“The two officers assigned to protect Nia have lost contact with the county dispatcher.””
My blood ran cold.
“Where is my daughter?””
“The protection suite is empty.””
I grabbed Renee's arm.
“You said she was safe!””
“She was.””
“Then find her!””
Chen was already calling the prosecutor's office.
A county officer approached, carrying a small plastic evidence sleeve.
“We found this in the east wing.””
Inside was a child's pink hair clip.
Nia's.
I recognized the tiny white flower attached to it. I'd bought it for her school picture day.
My vision blurred.
There was a note folded beneath the clip.
I opened it with shaking fingers.
If you want your daughter back, bring the black book to the old pathology wing. Come alone.
At the bottom was a handwritten signature.
*S. PRICE.*
Renee reached for the note.
I pulled it away.
“No.””
“Daniel, listen to me—”
“You promised she was safe.””
“And I will find her.””
I looked at the dark windows of Meridian's building.
My wife was alive.
My daughter was missing.
And the man who had spent two years making me look like a murderer had finally given me a choice.
Save the evidence.
Or save my child.
I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket.
“I'm going to the pathology wing,” I said.
Renee shook her head.
“Not alone.””
“Then stay out of my way.””
I started toward the vehicle.
Behind me, Chen's radio crackled with an urgent message from the hospital.
May you like
The old pathology wing had just been reopened.
And someone inside had activated a medical monitor under Claire Williams's patient number.
