Chapter 3 - The TunnelThe tunnel had been abandoned for eighteen years.
That was what the county records said.
Alex didn't care.
He ran after Jet.
Lena followed with her flashlight.
Daniel stayed behind.
“Wait!”
Alex didn't stop.
The black Lab disappeared into the darkness.
The tunnel entrance was half-covered in vines and rusted warning signs.
No trains passed through anymore.
But something had disturbed the gravel recently.
Fresh footprints.
Adult.
And smaller ones.
Alex crouched.
“Someone's been here.”
Lena looked at the wall.
A line had been scratched into the concrete.
17 MINUTES.
“That's strange.”
Alex stood.
“Everything about this is strange.”
Jet barked deeper inside.
Alex entered.
The air became colder.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
His flashlight beam bounced across old electrical boxes.
Then Jet stopped.
He lowered his nose.
And started whining.
Alex moved closer.
Something was lying on the ground.
A child's shoe.
Small.
Pink.
Alex picked it up.
Lena's voice cracked.
“Eva?”
Alex looked at the sole.
Written with black marker were two letters.
E.C.
Daniel appeared at the entrance.
He had ignored Alex's order and followed them.
He saw the shoe.
His knees almost gave out.
“That was hers.”
Alex turned.
“You said she disappeared two years ago.”
“She did.”
“How?”
Daniel stared at the darkness.
“She vanished from our house.”
“Who took her?”
“I don't know.”
“You're her father.”
“I KNOW!”
His voice echoed through the tunnel.
Jet barked sharply.
Everyone went silent.
Daniel covered his mouth.
“I searched for her.”
Alex watched him.
“Then why hide her name?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Because every time I told the police what I knew, another clue appeared.”
“What clue?”
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Alex opened it.
A single sentence was written by hand.
STOP LOOKING OR THE NEXT CHILD WILL BE YOUR OWN.
Lena stared at Daniel.
“You got this?”
“Three weeks after Eva disappeared.”
“And you never reported it?”
“I was afraid.”
Alex looked at the paper.
“What made you come here today?”
“I didn't.”
“Then why was Jet here?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He escaped from me.”
Alex shook his head.
“That isn't enough.”
Jet suddenly began digging beside the tunnel wall.
Alex rushed over.
A loose concrete slab had shifted.
Behind it was a narrow cavity.
Inside sat a black metal box.
Alex pulled it out.
Locked.
Remembering the brass key marked 17, he inserted it.
The lock clicked.
The lid opened.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens.
Some were children.
Some were adults.
And some were surveillance images taken through windows.
Alex flipped through them.
Then froze.
Megan.
There she was.
Standing outside a grocery store six months earlier.
Another photograph.
Megan entering a motel.
Another.
Megan pushing a stroller.
But that photograph had been taken three days before.
The date stamp was visible.
Alex stared.
“You've been watched.”
Megan wasn't there to hear it.
That meant whoever took these photographs was still nearby.
Lena pulled out a folder.
Inside was a map.
Several railroad crossings were circled.
Every circle had a date.
Alex looked at the final one.
Today's date.
Miller Crossing.
His heart pounded.
“That wasn't an accident.”
The stroller hadn't simply ended up beside the tracks.
Someone had placed it there.
Then Jet had appeared.
A shadow moved at the far end of the tunnel.
Alex raised his weapon.
“State police! Stop!”
The shadow ran.
Alex chased.
They reached a side exit.
The suspect vanished into the trees.
Jet jumped after him.
Then stopped.
Something was hanging from a branch.
A silver chain.
Alex took it down.
There was a small pendant attached.
An engraved initial.
M.
Megan.
When Alex returned to the road, Megan was gone.
So was the stroller.
Only her phone remained beside the cruiser.
Alex's blood ran cold.
He called her.
The phone in his hand began ringing.
From somewhere inside the tunnel.
He slowly turned toward the darkness.
And heard Megan whisper from deep within it:
May you like
“Alex…”
Then the call ended.
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