Chapter 5 - The Shadow of the Bureau
Forty-two minutes later, the back door of the truck stop breakroom clicked softly.
I jumped up, clutching the heavy iron candlestick I had brought with me from the house.
“Claire, it’s Sarah,” a voice whispered through the wood. “I’m opening the door.”
The door swung inward.
Detective Sarah Vance stepped inside. She was thirty-eight, with sharp blue eyes, short-cropped blonde hair, and a dark leather jacket over her badge and service weapon. Two heavily armed plainclothes SBI agents stood behind her in the hallway, scanning the building.
Sarah looked at me—at my bruised face, my torn clothes, my blood-stained feet—and then down at Lily sitting on the couch.
“Dear God,” Sarah murmured, closing the door behind her and stepping forward. She dropped to one knee in front of Lily, keeping her hands visible and low. “Hi, Lily. I’m Sarah. I’m your daddy’s cousin, but I’m one of the good guys. I promise.”
Lily looked at Sarah’s silver badge pinned to her belt, then looked at me. I gave her a small, reassuring nod.
Lily reached out and touched the star of the badge with one finger. “Are you going to arrest the man with the belt?”
Sarah’s face hardened into a mask of pure steel. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m going to put him in a cage where he will never hurt anyone ever again.”
Sarah stood up and turned to me. “Give me the rundown, Claire. Fast.”
I handed her the black leather notebook.
Sarah opened it, her eyes scanning the pages. As she read through the entries, the color drained completely from her face until she looked as pale as the diner walls.
“Jesus Christ,” Sarah breathed, her fingers trembling slightly against the leather cover. “This isn't just local foster fraud. This is an international routing key. They’re using private maritime charters out of Wilmington.”
“He knows we escaped,” I said, my voice cracking with exhaustion. “He has a man named Marcus. They saw us run into the woods.”
“Marcus Reed is a former mercenary,” Sarah said, closing the notebook and tucking it into her inner coat pocket. “If Daniel realizes you have this ledger, he won't just try to cover his tracks—he will attempt to burn the entire network down and flee the country. We have a three-hour window before his legal team realizes he’s under active federal surveillance.”
“What about our house?” I asked. “There’s a basement, Sarah. A hidden room.”
“My team is executing an emergency search warrant on your home right now,” Sarah said, checking her watch. “Unit Two just arrived at Elmhurst Lane as well. But Claire... Daniel isn't at your house.”
My heart stopped. “Where is he?”
“His cell phone pinged a tower near the private airfield in Concord twenty minutes ago,” Sarah replied grimly. “He’s prepping his private twin-engine Piper. He’s liquidating.”
Lily tugged gently on my sweater hem.
“Mama,” she whispered, her voice carrying a terrifying certainty. “The other children are at the red barn near the water.”
Sarah snapped her head toward Lily. “What red barn, Lily?”
“The barn with the big silver star on the roof,” Lily said softly. “Where the ships come. He takes them there before the long sleep.”
Sarah looked at me, her eyes burning with a dark, urgent flame.
May you like
“Wilmington,” Sarah whispered. “The old naval storage facility on the Cape Fear River.”
She turned to her two agents in the hall. “Code Red. Alert Federal Marshals and the Coast Guard Strike Team. We are moving on Pier 9 in Wilmington immediately!”
