Chapter 14: The Race Against Time
The image on the monitor froze everyone in place.
The old metal tackle box disappeared into the gloved figure's hands.
Then the screen went black.
Daniel was already moving.
"Let's go."
Hayes caught his arm.
"Not like this."
Daniel spun around.
"That box may contain the only evidence capable of exposing everyone involved."
"And whoever is inside my house already has it."
Hayes nodded.
"I know."
"But if we rush in blind, we'll lose more than a box."
He looked at Officer Grant.
"Notify Tactical."
Grant immediately reached for her radio.
Still nothing.
The underground bunker blocked every signal.
"We need to get outside first."
Three minutes later...
The group emerged from the hidden tunnel into the east wing of Bennett Manor.
Morning sunlight streamed through cracked windows.
The air felt strangely peaceful after hours underground.
Too peaceful.
Officer Romero frowned.
"Where are the patrol cars?"
The front driveway had been filled with police vehicles.
Now...
It was empty.
Only one remained.
An ambulance.
Its rear doors stood open.
Hayes felt every instinct sharpen.
"Something's wrong."
Officer Mills, who had remained above ground after receiving treatment, stumbled out of the foyer.
Blood stained the bandage wrapped around his forehead.
"They're gone."
Hayes rushed forward.
"What happened?"
"About twenty minutes ago..."
Mills struggled to breathe.
"...someone called in an officer-down emergency."
"Every available unit responded."
Hayes cursed under his breath.
"A diversion."
Mills nodded weakly.
"I tried stopping them."
"Who?"
"I never saw their faces."
"They wore police uniforms."
Silence.
Grant whispered,
"They infiltrated the perimeter."
Hayes immediately understood.
Victor hadn't worked alone.
Someone had access to official equipment.
Official vehicles.
Official radio frequencies.
The conspiracy reached much higher than anyone had imagined.
Daniel's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered without hesitation.
"Hello?"
Victor's calm voice filled the line.
"You really should lock your garage."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"What do you want?"
"I already have what I came for."
"The tackle box."
Daniel looked at Hayes.
Victor continued.
"Tell Arthur..."
"...he hid it well."
"But not well enough."
The line disconnected.
Claire watched Noah carefully.
The little boy wasn't frightened.
He looked...
Confused.
She knelt beside him.
"What are you thinking?"
Noah frowned.
"He didn't get it."
Claire blinked.
"What?"
"The key."
"You said it was inside the tackle box."
Noah shook his head.
"No."
"My dad moved it."
"When?"
"The day before the wedding."
Arthur suddenly looked at Noah.
"What did Michael tell you?"
The boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember.
"He said..."
"...if someone steals the box..."
"...let them."
Hayes slowly smiled.
Michael had anticipated this.
Daniel stared at Noah.
"Where did he put the real key?"
Noah looked embarrassed.
"I forgot."
Arthur knelt in front of him.
"You don't have to remember everything."
"Just tell us the game your father played."
"The game?"
"Yes."
Noah's eyes suddenly brightened.
"The Treasure Hunt."
Claire recognized the shift immediately.
Children remembered stories better than instructions.
She smiled gently.
"What happened first?"
Noah answered without hesitation.
"Dad hid five horses."
Arthur nodded encouragingly.
"And then?"
"I had to find them."
"What did each horse tell you?"
"They had riddles."
Hayes pulled out his notebook.
"Tell us."
Noah counted on his fingers.
"The first horse said..."
'Where books sleep, truth stays awake.'
"The second said..."
'The smallest key opens the biggest memory.'
"The third..."
He hesitated.
"...I can't remember."
Arthur smiled sadly.
"You don't need all five."
Claire looked at Hayes.
"The first clue."
Hayes nodded slowly.
"Where books sleep..."
Daniel interrupted.
"The family library."
Bennett Manor's library occupied the west wing.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves held nearly eight thousand books collected over three generations.
Dust floated through shafts of sunlight as they entered.
Arthur walked directly toward the fireplace.
"No."
He shook his head.
"Michael wouldn't hide it somewhere obvious."
Claire slowly turned in a circle.
Books.
Ladders.
Reading chairs.
A globe.
Then she noticed something.
One shelf looked different.
Every book was old leather.
Except one.
A bright red children's picture book.
Completely out of place.
She removed it.
The shelf clicked.
A tiny compartment slid open.
Inside rested...
A carved wooden horse.
No larger than her palm.
Arthur smiled.
"He solved the first riddle."
Hayes carefully examined it.
A brass plate beneath the horse read:
RIDDLE TWO
Claire opened the small compartment inside the carving.
Another folded note.
She read aloud.
'The smallest key opens the biggest memory.'
Hayes frowned.
"The same line Noah remembered."
Arthur nodded.
"Keep reading."
Claire unfolded the second half.
'Look where music remembers what people forget.'
Silence.
Daniel whispered,
"The piano."
The grand piano stood in the ballroom where family gatherings had been held for decades.
Arthur walked toward it without hesitation.
He pressed three keys.
Nothing.
Then he reached beneath the keyboard.
His fingers found a hidden latch.
A small drawer slid open.
Inside rested another wooden horse.
Claire smiled despite herself.
"Michael turned it into a game."
Arthur nodded.
"He knew Noah would never forget a game."
Hayes opened the second horse.
Inside was another clue.
No...
Not a clue.
A photograph.
It showed Michael standing beside Noah in Daniel's garage.
The tackle box sat on the workbench.
Michael was smiling directly at the camera.
On the back he had written only one sentence.
'If you found this, you're still one move behind.'
Hayes looked around slowly.
Michael hadn't hidden the key.
He had hidden the idea of the key.
Every clue so far had been designed to delay whoever was chasing it.
To force them to waste time.
Exactly as Victor had just done.
Arthur suddenly laughed.
The sound surprised everyone.
Claire looked at him.
"What?"
Arthur wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"I finally understand."
Hayes frowned.
"Understand what?"
Arthur looked at the photograph again.
"My grandson wasn't protecting a key."
He looked directly at Daniel.
"He was protecting a person."
The room fell silent.
Daniel stared back.
"What person?"
Arthur's expression became grave.
"The only person who knows where the list really is."
Hayes felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"You mean someone alive."
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
"And if Michael planned this correctly..."
"...Victor has just spent the last twelve hours chasing an object that was never important."
At that exact moment, Claire's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A single text message.
No words.
Only a live location pin.
It wasn't Daniel's house.
It wasn't Bennett Manor.
It pointed to one place.
St. Catherine's Medical Center.
May you like
Below the map was a single sentence:
"They're going to finish Michael before he wakes up."
