DANIEL β DO NOT TRUST RILEY.
Beneath that was a series of numbers.
17 β 04 β 29 β 11.
Daniel stared.
His face became completely still.
He read the note again.
Then he looked at Noah.
"Did your mother tell you what these numbers meant?"
Noah nodded.
"She said you would know."
Daniel folded the paper carefully.
"Did she say anything else?"
Noah looked toward the officers.
Then he leaned closer.
"She said if the police didn't help, I should find you."
Daniel crouched.
"Did she tell you why?"
Noah's lips trembled.
"She said you were the only person who knew what happened to my dad."
Daniel's expression changed.
For a moment, he seemed unable to speak.
"What did you say?"
Noah looked confused.
"My dad."
Daniel slowly looked at the boy.
"Your father?"
Noah nodded.
"Mom said you knew him."
Daniel stared at him.
"What's your father's name?"
Noah swallowed.
"Michael Bennett."
Daniel's eyes widened.
He knew that name.
He had not heard it in seven years.
Michael Bennett had been a county investigator.
He had been honest, stubborn, and relentlessly determined to expose a network of stolen evidence and missing case files.
Seven years earlier, Michael had disappeared.
The department claimed he had abandoned his family.
His wife had never believed it.
Daniel had been the last federal investigator to speak with him.
And now Michael's son was standing in a police station, asking for help.
Daniel rose slowly.
He looked at Riley.
Then at the missing-person notice.
Then at the boy.
"Where did your mother get these numbers?"
Noah shook his head.
"She said you would understand."
Daniel looked down at the paper.
17.
04.
29.
11.
He knew what they were.
Four numbers from an old evidence locker.
Locker 17.
Cabinet 4.
Drawer 29.
File 11.
A file that had officially been destroyed.
A file connected to Michael Bennett's disappearance.
Daniel folded the paper and placed it inside his jacket.
Then he turned toward Riley.
"We're leaving."
Riley stepped into his path.
"Nobody is leaving with that boy."
Daniel stopped.
"Move."
"He's a minor. He's a witness in an active investigation."
"Then you should have treated him like one."
Riley looked toward Miller.
"Take the boy."
Miller hesitated.
"Riley..."
"Now!"
Miller stepped forward.
Noah backed away.
Daniel immediately moved between them.
"Don't touch him."
Riley reached for Daniel's arm.
"You're done here."
Daniel turned sharply.
Riley grabbed his jacket.
The briefcase fell from the counter.
Papers scattered across the floor.
"Get your hands off me," Daniel said.
Riley shoved him backward.
Daniel stumbled into the glass partition.
The missing-person notices shook.
A woman screamed.
Miller rushed forward.
"Everybody calm down!"
Riley grabbed Daniel again.
Daniel twisted free.
The two men collided against the reception counter.
A chair fell over.
The boy screamed.
"MR. MORGAN!"
Riley swung his arm.
Daniel blocked it.
They crashed into the glass wall directly beneath Sarah Bennett's missing-person notice.
A second officer rushed over.
"Get down!"
Daniel pushed Riley away.
"Call an ambulance! The woman is trapped!"
Riley lunged again.
Daniel caught his arm and forced him backward.
Miller grabbed Daniel from behind.
Another officer reached for his shoulder.
Within seconds, three uniformed officers were struggling with the man in the suit.
The lobby erupted.
"GET ON THE FLOOR!"
"STOP RESISTING!"
"LET HIM GO!"
Noah stood frozen beside the reception desk.
His hands were pressed against his mouth.
He watched the man who had promised to help his mother being forced toward the floor.
Then Riley turned toward him.
"Take the boy into the interview room!"
Noah shook his head.
"NO!"
He ran toward Daniel.
But Miller blocked him.
Daniel looked up.
"Noah! Stay back!"
The boy struggled.
"PLEASE! DON'T LET THEM TAKE HIM!"
Daniel was pushed against the wall.
His cheek struck the glass.
The missing-person photograph above him shifted.
Sarah Bennett's face stared down at the chaos.
Daniel turned his head toward Riley.
"You have no idea what you've just started."
Riley pressed him harder against the glass.
"You're under arrest."
Daniel looked directly at him.
"On what charge?"
"Assaulting a police officer."
Daniel gave a short, bitter laugh.
"Of course."
Riley reached for his wrists.
Daniel did not resist.
Instead, he looked at Noah.
"Remember what your mother told you."
Noah was crying.
"What?"
Daniel spoke slowly.
"Never let them take the blue envelope."
Noah stared.
The boy's expression changed.
He remembered.
His mother had hidden something inside the lining of his backpack.
Something she had told him never to show anyone.
Not even the police.
Daniel continued:
"Do you understand?"
Noah nodded.
Riley forced Daniel's hands behind his back.
"That's enough."
The handcuffs clicked.
But as Miller pulled Daniel away, the boy suddenly shouted:
"THEY HAVE IT!"
Everyone turned.
Noah pointed toward the reception desk.
"THEY HAVE MY MOM'S BAG!"
Riley froze.
Daniel stopped moving.
The clerk looked toward the counter.
A small brown handbag sat beneath it.
Nobody had noticed it before.
Noah ran toward it.
"THAT'S MY MOM'S!"
Miller grabbed him.
"Stay where you are!"
Noah struggled.
"LET ME GO!"
Daniel looked at the bag.
Then at Riley.
His expression became deadly serious.
"Don't open it."
Riley ignored him.
He reached down.
He unzipped the bag.
Inside was a phone, a wallet, a set of keys, and a small blue envelope.
Riley's hand stopped.
Daniel looked at Noah.
The boy's face had gone pale.
"Mr. Morgan..."
Daniel slowly closed his eyes.
Because now he understood.
Sarah Bennett had not sent her son to the police station merely to ask for help.
She had sent him to deliver evidence.
And the person standing closest to that evidence was the very officer she had warned him not to trust.
PART 2 β THE BLUE ENVELOPE
Riley removed the blue envelope.
It was sealed with a strip of black tape.
A handwritten message appeared across the front.
ONLY OPEN THIS IN FRONT OF DANIEL MORGAN.
Riley stared at the writing.
Then he looked at Daniel.
"What's this?"