Chapter 11 - Maya’s Last Clue
The revelation changed the meaning of everything.
Maya had not randomly befriended Ethan.
At least not entirely.
She had been searching for Rebecca Carter.
At the library, she had discovered Rebecca was dead.
Then she found an article about the Carter family foundation.
A photograph showed Daniel and Ethan.
Maya recognized Ethan’s school uniform when she later saw him in the library.
She approached him indirectly.
She never admitted why.
Perhaps she was afraid.
Perhaps she wanted to know whether he could be trusted before bringing him into something Rebecca had once tried to protect his family from.
Ethan struggled with that.
“So she used me?”
Daniel watched his son carefully.
“She may have found you because of your last name.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“No.”
Daniel would not lie.
“She may have approached you intentionally.”
Ethan looked hurt.
Then Daniel added.
“But she didn’t need to keep meeting you.”
Ethan looked up.
“She didn’t need to tell you about Caleb.”
“She didn’t need to trust you with the storage address.”
“She didn’t need to hide those ledger pages in your hoodie.”
Daniel sat beside him.
“People can have more than one reason for finding us.”
“That doesn’t make what comes afterward fake.”
Ethan absorbed that.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Daniel saw the screen.
Both froze.
Ethan answered on speaker.
“Maya?”
Silence.
Then her voice.
“Don’t say my name.”
Ethan stood.
Daniel motioned for him to continue.
“Okay.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Is Grant there?”
Silence.
Daniel texted Ruiz from his own phone.
Trace underway.
Maya whispered.
“He thinks the pages were in the hoodie.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“He doesn’t know?”
“No.”
“He thinks I lost them.”
“Good.”
“No.”
Maya’s breathing shook.
“He said if he doesn’t get them by midnight, he’s going back for Caleb.”
Daniel felt his body harden.
“He can’t reach Caleb.”
Maya heard his voice.
“Mr. Carter?”
“Yes.”
“He has someone inside the hospital.”
Ruiz was immediately notified.
Police increased protection around Caleb.
Maya continued.
“There’s another page.”
Daniel frowned.
“Where?”
“The ledger had four important pages.”
“I only took three.”
“Why?”
“Because he came too fast.”
“What’s on the fourth?”
“I don’t know.”
“But Mom marked it.”
“How?”
“A blue star.”
Rebecca’s favorite notation.
Daniel remembered blue stars on grocery lists.
School calendars.
Birthday reminders.
Rebecca used them for things she considered essential.
“Where is the ledger now?”
“Grant has it.”
“Can you see where you are?”
“No windows.”
“Any sounds?”
Maya went silent.
“A fan.”
“Water dripping.”
“Planes.”
Daniel looked at Ruiz’s incoming message.
TRACE INCOMPLETE.
KEEP HER TALKING.
“Planes close?”
“Yes.”
“How often?”
“Two since I got here.”
“Commercial jets?”
“I don’t know.”
“Big?”
“Loud.”
Maya suddenly whispered.
“He’s coming.”
“Maya.”
“Yes?”
“Listen to me.”
“You are not responsible for Caleb.”
“You are not responsible for the ledger.”
“You do whatever keeps you safe.”
Maya began crying quietly.
“My mom said almost the same thing.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“What did she say?”
“She said my job was being a kid.”
“Her job was fixing the rest.”
Daniel heard footsteps through the phone.
Then Grant’s voice.
“Who are you talking to?”
The line went dead.
The trace narrowed the call to an industrial zone near the regional airport.
More than eighty warehouses.
Daniel’s company owned three.
One was vacant.
He stared at the map.
“No.”
Ruiz looked at him.
“What?”
“Building 47.”
“What about it?”
“It’s scheduled for demolition.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
“It has no active tenant.”
“Does it have power?”
“Minimal.”
“Water?”
“Yes.”
“Ventilation fans?”
“Yes.”
Ruiz dispatched units.
Daniel accessed the building’s remote security system.
The cameras had been disabled.
But one sensor remained active.
A service door had opened at 7:43 p.m.
Then again at 8:10.
Someone was inside.
Police surrounded the warehouse.
This time Grant anticipated them.
When officers entered, the building was empty.
A chair stood in the center.
Beside it was Maya’s floral backpack.
Inside were her school books.
A half sandwich.
Rebecca’s old photograph.
And a phone.
It rang while Ruiz stood beside it.
She answered.
Grant’s voice came through.
“You’re always one room behind.”
Ruiz said nothing.
Grant laughed.
Then he spoke directly to Daniel, knowing he was listening.
“Midnight.”
“Bring the pages.”
“Or I stop running.”
Daniel looked at the clock.
May you like
10:17 p.m.
Less than two hours.
