Chapter 3: The Room That Wasn't on the Floor Plan
Daniel motioned for me to stay behind the desk.
He raised his radio.
"Federal agents under fire at the old Ashborne station. Request immediate backup.""
The radio answered with static.
He tried again.
Nothing.
"That's not good," he whispered.
I looked toward the doorway.
Trevor's footsteps moved slowly through the hallway.
He wasn't running.
He wasn't shouting.
He was taking his time.
That was worse.
"Agent Hayes," Trevor called again.
"You really should have listened to me.""
I pulled my weapon from its holster.
Daniel glanced at me.
"Do not engage unless necessary.""
"I know.""
A shadow crossed the doorway.
Trevor stopped outside.
"You know what your mother did?""
I kept my eyes on the entrance.
"Tell me.""
"She destroyed lives.""
"Whose?""
"People who were trying to keep this town safe.""
I almost laughed.
"By disappearing innocent people?""
Trevor didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Your mother wasn't innocent.""
Daniel looked at me.
I remained silent.
Trevor continued.
"Elizabeth Hayes came here twelve years ago, asking questions about Rebecca Shaw. She thought she could expose everything. She thought she could take down men who had been protecting Ashborne for generations.""
"And what happened?""
"She made a mistake.""
"What mistake?""
"She trusted the wrong person.""
A door slammed downstairs.
Trevor's footsteps moved away.
Daniel leaned closer.
"We need to get out of here.""
I nodded toward the filing cabinet.
"We need that folder.""
He looked at it.
"Can you grab it?""
I reached out and pulled the folder into my bag.
Then we moved toward the back hallway.
A narrow staircase led to the basement.
Daniel checked the landing.
"Clear.""
We descended.
The basement was colder than the upper floor. Water dripped somewhere behind the walls. Old filing boxes were stacked beneath exposed pipes.
At the far end stood a steel door.
I noticed something strange.
The door had a modern electronic lock.
That didn't belong in an abandoned building.
Daniel examined the panel.
"Someone's maintaining this place.""
I looked at the wall beside it.
A small camera was hidden behind a smoke detector.
"Daniel.""
He followed my gaze.
"Don't touch it.""
A faint electronic beep came from the lock.
The door opened.
We both raised our weapons.
Beyond it was a narrow corridor.
And at the end of that corridor was another door.
This one had a number painted on it.
214.
I felt a chill crawl up my back.
"That's not possible," Daniel whispered.
"According to the building plans, Room 214 is upstairs.""
"Exactly.""
I approached the second door.
There was a small observation window.
Inside, I saw a metal bed, a chair, and a wall covered in photographs.
One photograph showed my mother.
Another showed Rebecca Shaw.
A third showed me.
I stepped back.
Daniel looked through the window.
"How long have they been watching you?""
I couldn't answer.
There were photographs of me leaving FBI headquarters.
Photographs of me entering my apartment.
One showed me standing beside my mother's grave.
The date was six months earlier.
Someone had been monitoring me long before I arrived in Ashborne.
Then I noticed something else.
A small television sat on a shelf.
It flickered to life.
A woman's face appeared.
She looked older than the woman in my mother's photograph, but her eyes were the same.
Rebecca Shaw.
She leaned toward the camera.
"Kendra?""
I stopped breathing.
Daniel moved closer to the screen.
"Rebecca?""
The woman nodded.
"Listen carefully. You don't have much time.""
"Where are you?""
"Somewhere they can't hear me for long.""
"Who has you?""
Rebecca looked over her shoulder.
"Your mother's killer.""
My grip tightened around the weapon.
"Who killed my mother?""
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
"She wasn't killed in a car accident.""
"I know.""
"No, Kendra. You don't understand. Your mother survived the crash.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?""
Rebecca leaned closer.
"They took her from the hospital before the ambulance arrived.""
My mouth went dry.
"Who took her?""
"Trevor's father.""
Daniel looked at me.
"His father?""
Rebecca nodded.
"Robert Rock was the sheriff back then. He was running everything. Trevor was just a young officer, but he knew what happened.""
I remembered the photograph.
My mother.
Rebecca.
Trevor.
Chief Brennan.
They had all been standing together.
"Where is my mother now?"" I whispered.
Rebecca shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Then how do you know she survived?""
"Because I saw her.""
"When?""
"Three weeks ago.""
I stepped closer to the screen.
"Where?""
Rebecca opened her mouth.
A loud bang interrupted her.
Her eyes widened.
"He's coming.""
"Rebecca, wait!""
She looked directly into the camera.
"Don't trust the man who brought you here.""
The screen went black.
Daniel turned toward me.
"What does that mean?""
I stared at the dark television.
"You're the one who brought me here.""
He looked genuinely confused.
"Kendra, I had nothing to do with—"
A metallic click sounded behind us.
We turned.
The steel door had locked.
A red light flashed above the electronic panel.
Daniel rushed toward it.
"Control room!""
He pulled at the handle.
Nothing.
Then a speaker crackled overhead.
A man's voice filled the corridor.
"Good evening, Agent Hayes.""
I recognized him.
Chief Walter Brennan.
"Welcome back to Ashborne.""
Daniel drew his weapon toward the speaker.
"Open this door!""
Brennan laughed.
"You're wasting your breath, Agent Grant.""
I looked toward the observation window.
The television flickered again.
A new image appeared.
It showed a woman sitting in a hospital bed.
Her hair was gray.
Her face was thinner.
But I recognized her immediately.
My mother.
Elizabeth Hayes.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then she raised a trembling hand and held up a piece of paper.
Three words were written across it.
*TREVOR IS YOUR BROTHER.*
My knees nearly gave way.
I stared at the screen.
No.
That couldn't be true.
My mother had never mentioned another child.
I was an only daughter.
I had spent twelve years believing she was gone.
The speaker crackled again.
Brennan's voice returned.
"Now that you've seen the truth, Agent Hayes, perhaps you'll understand why we invited you here.""
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"Kendra, don't believe everything you're seeing.""
But I couldn't look away.
Because my mother had begun speaking.
And although the audio was distorted, I heard her say one unmistakable sentence.
"Don't let them tell you who your father was.""
May you like
Then the screen went black.
And somewhere behind the locked door, someone began turning a key.
