Chapter 5 - THE NORTH RIDGE BOXThe tunnel emerged behind a frozen shed nearly half a mile from the house.
Snow whipped across the open field.
Shawn and Brenda ran without speaking.
They reached the old highway.
A car waited near the trees.
Brenda opened the driver's door.
“Get in.”
Shawn hesitated.
“You're driving?”
“Yes.”
“How do I know you're not taking me to Kane?”
She stared at him.
“You don't.”
Then she started the engine.
Shawn got in.
They drove toward North Ridge.
For twenty minutes neither spoke.
Finally Shawn said:
“Evelyn.”
Brenda kept her eyes on the road.
“What about her?”
“What do you know?”
“She was kind.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“She hated Kane.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew he killed people.”
“Did she have proof?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to it?”
Brenda looked at him.
“That's what your father wanted you to find.”
They arrived at the abandoned train station just before midnight.
The building was surrounded by snow.
Windows were broken.
The station sign hung crookedly from one chain.
North Ridge.
Inside, everything smelled like dust and rust.
Shawn followed the brass key.
A row of old lockers lined the wall.
Numbers.
The key fit locker 16.
He opened it.
Inside was a black metal box.
There was a photograph taped to the lid.
A woman with dark hair.
Young.
Smiling.
Evelyn.
Shawn turned the photograph over.
One sentence was written on the back.
He will come for the boy.
Shawn looked at Brenda.
“What boy?”
Her face had gone pale.
“I don't know.”
“That makes no sense.”
She whispered:
“Open it.”
Shawn unlocked the box.
Inside were documents.
A cassette tape.
A key.
And a letter.
The letter was addressed to him.
Dear Shawn,
If you are reading this, your father failed to protect you.
He stopped.
Brenda read over his shoulder.
The letter continued.
Kane will tell you that your family betrayed him. That's a lie. Your grandfather stole something from him. Not money. Not property. Something much more dangerous.
Shawn's hands tightened around the paper.
A list of names.
The next line made him stop.
People inside law enforcement, government, banks, and private corporations who work for Kane.
Shawn looked at Brenda.
“The list.”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The letter continued.
I hid the list before Kane found me. Only your father knows where.
Shawn's heart raced.
Then the final paragraph.
There is one more thing you must understand. Kane doesn't want the list. He wants you.
The paper ended.
No explanation.
No signature.
Shawn looked inside the box again.
The cassette tape had a handwritten label.
FOR SHAWN. PLAY ALONE.
He found an old tape recorder in the station office.
The cassette clicked into place.
Static.
Then a woman's voice.
“Shawn.”
He froze.
Evelyn.
“If you're hearing this, I survived.”
Brenda covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“Your father believed I died. I let him believe it.”
A pause.
“I had a daughter.”
Shawn stared.
“What?”
The recording continued.
“Kane has spent twenty years trying to find her.”
Shawn looked at Brenda.
“Who is her daughter?”
The tape crackled.
Then the voice returned.
“She is closer to you than you think.”
A loud sound came from outside.
Car doors.
Shawn turned toward the station entrance.
Three black SUVs stopped in the snow.
Brenda whispered:
“Kane.”
The station lights suddenly turned on.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Shawn.”
Kane.
“You should have stayed home.”
The doors locked automatically.
Brenda rushed to them.
“No!”
Metal shutters slammed over the windows.
They were trapped.
Kane's voice continued.
“And now that you've found Evelyn's box…”
A red light appeared above the doorway.
“…you can finally meet her daughter.”
A woman's voice came from behind Shawn.
“Please don't.”
He turned.
A young woman stood in the darkness.
May you like
She was holding a gun.
And she had the exact same eyes as his mother.
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