Chapter 8 - The Hidden WitnessThe person in the darkness knew everything
Dad slowly lowered his gun.
I couldn't see the person behind me.
The voice came again.
“Turn around.”
Dad's eyes met mine.
He gave the smallest shake of his head.
Don't.
I obeyed.
The figure stepped into view.
Thomas Reed.
The man supposedly tied to the chair.
He wasn't injured.
He wasn't a prisoner.
He was holding the weapon.
Dad stared at him.
“You.”
Thomas smiled.
“You always were too trusting of uniforms.”
I felt sick.
Dad's former colleague had betrayed him.
Voss applauded slowly.
“Beautiful, isn't it?”
Dad didn't respond.
Thomas pointed toward the old investigator.
“You should have quit when they gave you retirement papers.”
Dad's expression remained calm.
“Tell me something.”
“What?”
“How long?”
Thomas smiled.
“Twenty-three years.”
I stared at him.
Twenty-three years.
He had been inside the government.
Inside investigations.
Inside Dad's circle.
Feeding information to Voss.
Dad looked at the warehouse.
“All those missing witnesses.”
Thomas nodded.
“Some disappeared because we wanted them gone.”
“And the others?”
Thomas shrugged.
“Sold.”
I felt nauseated.
Dad's hands curled.
“You destroyed lives.”
Thomas laughed.
“You have no idea how much money fear creates.”
Then Voss walked toward Robert.
“You made one mistake.”
Robert swallowed.
“What?”
“You started believing you belonged.”
Robert looked confused.
Voss continued.
“You were supposed to marry Elena, monitor Frank, and report.”
He pointed toward Diane.
“She was supposed to keep the house quiet.”
Diane stared at him.
“I protected her.”
Voss laughed.
“No. You watched her.”
Diane's voice cracked.
“I tried to stop him.”
“Three years too late.”
I looked at Diane.
She began to cry.
Robert stepped toward her.
“You knew?”
“I knew what they wanted from you.”
Robert looked broken.
“What did they want?”
Diane stared at him.
“For you to become Frank Sullivan's weakness.”
Robert laughed bitterly.
“So that's all I was?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Voss.
“And Elena?”
“Leverage.”
Robert suddenly lunged.
Thomas fired.
The shot struck the floor.
Everyone ducked.
Dad moved faster than I had ever seen him move.
He tackled Thomas.
The weapon skidded away.
I ran toward Diane.
Robert grabbed me.
“Move!”
We stumbled behind a crate.
Voss disappeared into the shadows.
Dad fought Thomas on the concrete.
Then the lights went out.
Again.
Only this time, I heard footsteps.
Someone whispered my name.
“Elena.”
I turned.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Thin.
Terrified.
I recognized her from one of the photographs in Dad's old case.
One of the five missing women.
“You're real,” I whispered.
She nodded.
“I've been alive all this time.”
“How?”
She pointed toward Voss's office.
“He keeps us alive because we know where the bodies are.”
My blood went cold.
“Bodies?”
She looked at me.
“Your father never found them.”
Dad heard her.
He turned.
“What bodies?”
She stared directly at him.
“The five women.”
Dad's face changed.
“There are five?”
The woman shook her head.
“No.”
She whispered:
“There are forty-three.”
A sound came from the far end of the warehouse.
An alarm.
Then flames appeared beneath the office door.
May you like
Voss had started a fire.
And the women inside the warehouse were trapped.
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