"Are you refusing to cooperate with a federal investigation?"
Hayes stepped between them.
"He's following my orders."
Daniel finally turned toward the sheriff.
"And that is becoming part of the problem."
The atmosphere grew tense.
Patricia Lewis returned carrying a tablet.
"Agent Carter, I found something."
Daniel immediately approached her.
"What is it?"
She showed him the hospital's access records.
At 2:17 p.m., someone had entered the patient's room using an authorized security code.
The person's name was listed as Officer Michael Turner.
Daniel frowned.
"Do you know this officer?"
Hayes glanced at the screen.
"He's one of my men."
Daniel looked at him.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Find him."
Hayes turned toward his deputies.
"Locate Turner."
One officer immediately left.
Daniel continued examining the records.
There was another entry.
At 2:19 p.m., the security system had been manually disabled.
The authorization came from an administrative terminal inside the sheriff's department.
Daniel slowly looked up.
"Interesting."
Hayes frowned.
"What?"
"Someone used your department's system to disable the hospital security cameras."
The sheriff's expression hardened.
"That doesn't prove anything."
"I didn't say it did."
Daniel handed the tablet back to Patricia.
"But it gives me somewhere to look."
He then turned toward Deputy Miller.
"I need to speak with you privately."
Hayes immediately objected.
"Absolutely not."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because he's my deputy."
"And he's also a potential witness."
Hayes stepped closer.
"You're not taking him anywhere."
Daniel remained calm.
"Then don't give me a reason to believe you're obstructing this investigation."
The sheriff looked at Miller.
"Stay here."
Miller nodded.
But as Hayes walked away to answer a phone call, the deputy quietly slipped a small folded piece of paper into Daniel's hand.
Daniel looked down.
It contained an address.
And beneath it, three words:
OLD DETENTION FACILITY.
Daniel looked back at Miller.
The deputy did not meet his eyes.
A few minutes later, Daniel left the hospital.
He drove toward the abandoned facility on the eastern edge of Blackwood County.
The building had been closed for nearly ten years. Its windows were broken, its entrance covered with rusted metal sheets, and weeds had grown through the surrounding concrete.
Daniel parked several hundred feet away.
He approached cautiously.
The front door was slightly open.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and damp concrete.
He switched on his flashlight.
Rows of empty rooms stretched along the corridor.
Then he heard something.
A faint metallic sound.
Daniel moved toward the source.
At the end of the hallway was a locked storage room.
Someone had recently used it.
Fresh footprints were visible on the floor.
He examined the lock and found that it had been forced open.
Inside were several filing cabinets.
Daniel opened the first one.
It contained old arrest records.
The second held photographs of missing individuals.
The third contained documents relating to Thomas Reed.
Daniel froze.
He pulled out a thick folder.
Inside was a photograph of Reed standing beside Sheriff Hayes.
The date was clearly printed in the corner.
Three days before Reed's death.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten note.
REED DISCOVERED THE BLACKWOOD ACCOUNT. HE MUST BE SILENCED BEFORE HE TALKS.
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
He photographed the document and placed it inside an evidence envelope.
Then he noticed a small digital recorder hidden beneath the bottom drawer.
He pressed the play button.
A man's voice emerged.
It was Thomas Reed.
"If anyone finds this recording, I want you to understand something. Sheriff Hayes is not acting alone. He's receiving instructions from someone in the federal government."
A second voice answered.
Daniel immediately recognized it.
It was FBI Director Margaret Collins.
"Thomas, you've already been warned. Stop asking questions."
Reed responded.
"I have the financial records. I know where the money went."
There was a pause.
Then Collins spoke again.
"You don't understand the people involved."
Reed laughed bitterly.
"No. I think I understand them perfectly."
The recording ended with a loud noise.
Then silence.
Daniel replayed the final seconds.
A faint voice could be heard in the background.
"Get rid of him."
Daniel removed the recorder.
His hands were steady, but his mind was racing.
His own supervisor was involved.
He immediately reached for his phone.
Before he could make a call, a vehicle engine started outside.
Daniel turned off his flashlight.
Headlights swept across the broken windows.
Someone had followed him.
He moved toward the rear corridor and listened.
Footsteps approached the entrance.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the building.
"Agent Carter."
It was Sheriff Hayes.
"I know you're in there."
Daniel remained silent.
Hayes continued.
"Let's stop pretending we don't understand each other. You have something that belongs to me."
Daniel slowly checked the recorder.
The sheriff knew.
He knew exactly what Daniel had discovered.
"Come out," Hayes ordered. "We can settle this like reasonable men."
Daniel stepped into the corridor.
"Is that what you told Thomas Reed?"
The sheriff stopped.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Hayes gave a cold smile.
"Thomas Reed was a good deputy. But he forgot something very important."
"What?"
"Some people are not meant to know everything."
Daniel stared at him.
"And who decides that? You?"
Hayes shook his head.
"No, Agent. People with real power."
He raised his hand.
Two armed men appeared behind him.
Daniel looked at the sheriff.
"You're making another mistake."
Hayes smiled.
"Maybe. But this time, you're not walking away."
Daniel slowly raised his hands.
Then, from somewhere outside, a siren began to sound.
Hayes turned toward the entrance.
A second later, the lights inside the facility suddenly went out.
In the darkness, Daniel heard someone shout.
Then came the sound of running footsteps.
And a single gunshot.
When the emergency lights flickered back on, Sheriff Hayes was gone.
So was Thomas Reed's original file.
But Daniel still had the recording.
And he now knew the identity of the person who had been protecting the sheriff all along.
FBI Director Margaret Collins.