Chapter 7 - The Blueprint of Betrayal
Sheriff Reeves didn't call back for three hours. When he finally did, his voice sounded strained, rushed, and dangerously close to panic.
“Claire, listen to me very carefully,” Reeves said without a greeting. “Don’t open the store tomorrow morning. Pack a bag. Go to my sister’s place in Columbus.”
“What are you talking about, Daniel?” I gripped the phone tighter, staring out my kitchen window at the dark street. “A man in a charcoal coat came into my store today. He threatened me. He said the network is still active.”
“I know,” Reeves sighed heavily on the other end of the line. “We just got word from the state police bureau. Two hours ago, the federal holding facility where Arthur Pendelton was being transferred... his transport van was intercepted on the interstate.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Intercepted?”
“Clean hit. No survivors among the guards. Arthur is gone. His associates broke him out before he could talk to the grand jury.”
The room seemed to spin around me. The mayor—the monster who had kept children in a basement for years—was back out on the streets. And his network knew exactly where I lived, where I worked, and what I knew.
“Daniel, we have to do something,” I pleaded. “We can’t just run away. If Arthur gets away with this, those kids will never be safe, and neither will anyone else in this town.”
“That’s why I’m not running, Claire,” Reeves said, his tone turning grim and resolute. “Arthur didn't flee the state. He’s going back to where it all started. He’s going back to Briar Lane.”
“Briar Lane? Why?”
“Because of the safe room,” Reeves explained rapidly. “State police missed a secondary compartment beneath the cellar floor during the initial sweep. Arthur kept his primary financial backups, offshore flash drives, and client lists down there in a titanium vault. If he recovers those files, he disappears forever, and nobody can touch him.”
“When?”
“Tonight. We caught chatter on a tapped burner phone line an hour ago. He’s meeting someone at the property at midnight.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said instantly.
“Claire, no—it’s too dangerous. This isn't a neighborhood watch meeting. These men are professionals. They’re killers.”
“They threatened me in my own store, Daniel,” I snapped, my voice dropping into an unyielding register. “They took those kids from their families. I found them. And I’m going to see this finished. I’ll meet you at the rusted gate at 11:45 p.m. Bring your backup.”
May you like
“I can’t bring backup, Claire,” Reeves confessed, his voice heavy with defeat. “Half the deputies in the county are compromised. I’m coming alone. Just you and me.”
The line went dead with a sharp click.
