Chapter 3: The Name on the Phone
Colonel Harris didn't move.
The message remained glowing on the phone screen.
Ruby couldn't read all of it from where she stood, but she saw enough to understand the word *girl*.
“Colonel?”” Lewis said.
Harris locked the phone.
“Get the gate supervisor.””
Lewis stared at him.
“Sir, should I call military police?””
“Not yet.””
“Sir—”
“Not yet.””
Lewis nodded and walked away.
Ruby watched him.
Then she looked back at Harris.
“Who was that?””
Harris slipped the phone into his pocket.
“I don't know.””
Ruby frowned.
“You looked like you knew.””
Harris said nothing.
She stepped closer.
“Was it my mom?””
“No.””
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
Ruby's voice became smaller.
“Then why are you scared?””
Harris looked at her.
It was the first time anyone had asked him that question in years.
“I’m not scared.””
Ruby studied his face.
“My mom says grown-ups lie when they're scared.””
Despite himself, Harris almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, he looked at the torn photograph.
“Your mother taught you to pay attention.””
“She teaches me lots of things.””
“Like what?””
“Don't open the door unless I know who's outside.””
Harris's expression tightened.
“What else?””
“Don't tell strangers where we live.””
“Anything else?””
Ruby hesitated.
“Never trust a uniform.””
Harris looked down at his own uniform.
“Then why did you come here?””
Ruby looked at the wallet.
“I thought you might be different.””
The answer landed heavily.
Harris looked away.
Across the road, the black sedan remained parked.
Its windows were dark.
Lewis returned with another security officer.
“Sir, we checked the plate.””
“And?””
“Registration is obscured.””
Harris's eyes narrowed.
“Obscured how?””
“Cover over the rear plate.””
“Can you see the driver?””
“No.””
“Then keep watching it.””
Lewis glanced toward Ruby.
“Should we move the girl inside?””
Harris answered immediately.
“No.””
Ruby looked surprised.
Harris corrected himself.
“Not through the main entrance.””
Lewis nodded.
Ruby hugged her backpack.
“I don't want to go inside.””
Harris looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because my mom said never to.””
“I understand.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
Ruby's gaze dropped to the photograph.
“Then why do you keep looking at it?””
Harris turned it over again.
The handwriting on the back was old.
Faded.
But unmistakable.
He had seen that handwriting before.
A long time ago.
He remembered the way Amelia used to write names on photographs so no one would forget them.
Except this photograph had one name missing.
The missing name had been torn away with the face.
Harris suddenly noticed something else.
A tiny crease ran along the bottom edge.
He unfolded it carefully.
Inside was a second piece of paper, almost hidden between the layers.
Ruby leaned closer.
“What is it?””
Harris unfolded it.
Only four words had been written.
*SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH.*
Ruby stared at him.
“Who?””
Harris looked at her.
“You.””
Ruby's eyes widened.
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Not you.””
“Then who?””
“Your mother.””
Ruby looked toward the black sedan.
“Maybe we should leave.””
Harris nodded.
“Yes.””
Ruby blinked.
“You believe me?””
“I believe that you're in danger.””
She swallowed.
“Is my mom in danger too?””
Harris didn't answer.
Ruby's voice cracked.
“Colonel Harris?””
He crouched in front of her.
“I need you to tell me everything you remember about this morning.””
“I woke up.””
“What time?””
“Before the sun came up.””
“Why?””
“Mom was packing.””
“What did she pack?””
“Clothes. Food. My school things.””
“Did she seem afraid?””
Ruby nodded.
“She kept looking through the curtains.””
“What happened next?””
“She gave me the backpack.””
Harris looked at it.
“Did she put the photograph inside?””
“No.””
“Then how did it get there?””
Ruby stared at the worn backpack.
“I put it there.””
“When?””
“Before I left.””
“Why?””
“Because I wanted something that belonged to her.””
Harris's eyes softened.
“Did she say anything before you left?””
Ruby nodded.
“She hugged me.””
“What did she say?””
Ruby's lips trembled.
“She said, ‘If I don't come back by tonight, go to the base.’”
Harris went completely still.
Ruby continued.
“She said there was one person there who could keep me safe.””
Harris barely breathed.
“Who?””
Ruby shook her head.
“She didn't tell me.””
The colonel stared at her.
Then the black sedan's engine started.
Lewis turned sharply.
“Sir.””
The sedan began moving.
Slowly.
Straight toward the gate.
Harris stood.
“Lock it down.””
The chain barrier dropped.
The soldiers near the entrance stepped away from the road.
Ruby grabbed Harris's sleeve.
“Is that them?””
Harris looked at the approaching vehicle.
“I don't know.””
The sedan stopped several yards from the barrier.
No one got out.
Then its passenger window lowered.
A hand appeared.
It held a photograph.
Harris couldn't see the image clearly.
But Ruby could.
Her face went white.
“That's my mom.””
Harris stared at the photograph.
Then at the stranger behind the wheel.
The driver's voice carried across the bright concrete.
“Colonel Harris?””
Harris stepped forward.
“Who are you?””
The stranger raised the photograph higher.
“You've been looking for Amelia Harris for eight years.””
Ruby's fingers tightened around Harris's sleeve.
Harris's face hardened.
“I haven't been looking for anyone.””
The stranger smiled faintly.
“Then you still don't remember what happened.””
Harris took one step closer.
“What happened to Amelia?””
The stranger looked directly at Ruby.
“Ask her.””
Ruby shook her head.
“I don't know anything.””
The stranger lowered the photograph.
“You will.””
Then the car window began to rise.
Harris suddenly noticed the photograph in the stranger's hand.
It was the same picture Ruby had brought.
Except this copy wasn't damaged.
And the soldier's face was still there.
Harris's breath caught.
“Stop!””
The sedan accelerated.
Lewis shouted for the barrier team.
May you like
But before the vehicle disappeared down the road, the stranger leaned toward the window and called out one final sentence.
“Colonel, your daughter has been hiding the wrong secret.””
