"You know what bothered me most about that trial?"
Arthur said nothing.
"You sat there in your expensive suit, explaining bank transfers like you were some kind of hero."
"I was explaining evidence."
"You destroyed him."
"The jury convicted him."
Shaw stopped pacing.
"You're still the same arrogant bastard."
Arthur looked at him.
"And you're still blaming the wrong person."
Shaw suddenly grabbed the folder and swept the photographs back inside.
"You should've stayed out of Pine Hollow."
Arthur frowned.
"I've lived here for thirty-two years."
Shaw froze.
Something in Arthur's answer seemed to unsettle him.
Then he recovered.
"Not anymore."
Arthur felt the threat beneath those words.
"What are you saying?"
Shaw leaned over the table.
"I'm saying accidents happen to old men."
Arthur held his gaze.
"Are you threatening me?"
Shaw smiled.
"Prove it."
Arthur's hand moved slightly toward his jacket pocket.
The recorder was still there.
Still running.
Still capturing every word.
But Shaw suddenly noticed the movement.
His eyes narrowed.
"What's in your pocket?"
Arthur didn't answer.
Shaw stepped closer.
"I asked you a question."
He reached toward Arthur's jacket.
At that exact moment, someone knocked loudly on the door.
"Detective Shaw!"
Shaw turned angrily.
"What?"
A woman's voice answered from outside.
"Chief wants you upstairs. Now."
Shaw cursed under his breath.
He looked back at Arthur.
"This isn't over."
Then he unlocked the door and left.
Arthur waited until the footsteps faded.
Only then did he allow himself to exhale.
He reached beneath his hand and unfolded Ethan's note.
There were only six words written on it.
CHECK THE OLD WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
Below the message was a date.
Three months earlier.
The same week Leonard Bishop had disappeared.
Arthur read the note twice.
Then he carefully folded it and slipped it into his sock.
He looked toward the locked door.
For the first time that afternoon, he understood something terrifying.
Derek Shaw wasn't simply a corrupt officer stealing money.
He was protecting a secret.
And whatever that secret was, Leonard Bishop might have died because he discovered it.
At 6:42 that evening, Michael Hayes arrived in Pine Hollow.
He was accompanied by Rachel Kim and a federal investigator named Thomas Reed.
Their first stop was not the police station.
It was the old water treatment plant on the eastern edge of town.
Michael had received a message from Arthur through a brief call made from the station's front desk after Arthur was finally allowed to leave the interview room.
The message had been simple.
"Check the old water treatment plant."
Michael knew Arthur well enough to understand that he would not send them there without a reason.
The facility had been abandoned for almost fifteen years.
Its rusted gates hung crookedly from concrete posts. Tall weeds had swallowed much of the parking lot, and broken windows stared out from the main building like empty eyes.
Thomas parked their vehicle near the entrance.
Rachel studied the property.
"This place looks like it's been empty forever."
Michael stepped out.
"That's what makes it useful."
"For what?"
"For hiding something nobody's supposed to find."
Thomas looked toward the dark building.
"We don't have a warrant."
Michael nodded.
"Then we don't enter. We observe from public access areas, document what we can, and get the proper authorization if there's evidence supporting it."
Rachel raised her camera.
From outside the fence, she photographed tire tracks leading toward a service gate.
Thomas examined the chain.
"New lock."
Michael looked closer.
The steel chain was bright and clean, unlike the rusted gate.
Someone was maintaining access to the supposedly abandoned property.
Rachel checked county records on her laptop.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"The plant was sold seven years ago."
"To whom?"
"Black Creek Holdings."
Michael frowned.
"Never heard of them."
Rachel continued typing.
"Registered address is a mailbox in Westbridge. No employees listed. No operating website."
"Owners?"
"Hidden behind another company."
Michael gave a grim smile.
"That sounds familiar."
Rachel searched further.
Then her expression changed.
"Michael, look at this."
She turned the screen toward him.
Black Creek Holdings had received payments from several local contractors.
One of those contractors had been connected to Hollow Ridge Development eleven years earlier.
Michael stared at the screen.
"Arthur was right."
Thomas looked toward the building.
"About what?"
"This isn't just a local corruption case."
Rachel scrolled down.
"And there's more."
She opened a property tax record.
"The authorized representative for Black Creek Holdings is listed as Harold Vance."
Michael looked up.
"Detective Vance?"
"Same name."
Thomas slowly turned toward the building.
"So the detective investigating Leonard Bishop's disappearance controls the property Bishop may have been investigating?"
Michael nodded.
"That's what the records suggest."
A vehicle engine suddenly sounded behind them.
All three turned.
A black SUV was approaching along the gravel road.
It slowed near their car.
For several seconds, its dark windows reflected the evening sunlight.
Then it accelerated past them and disappeared around the bend.
Rachel lowered her camera.
"Did you get the license plate?"
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
Michael looked at the distant road.
"Somebody knows we're here."
Meanwhile, Caroline Morgan was standing in her kitchen, staring at the clock.
It was nearly seven.
Her father was supposed to have arrived hours earlier.
The roofing crew had finished their work shortly after lunch, but Arthur hadn't shown up with the payment.
Caroline had called him six times.
No answer.
She tried again.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a voice answered.
"Hello?"
Caroline nearly dropped the phone.
"Dad! Where have you been?"
Arthur's voice sounded tired.
"I'm all right, sweetheart."
"Where are you?"
"At the police station."
Caroline froze.
"What?"
"There was a misunderstanding."
"What kind of misunderstanding?"
Arthur glanced toward the officer standing near the front desk.
"I'll explain when I get home."
"Dad, are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did somebody arrest you?"
"No, Caroline."
"Then why are you at the police station?"
Arthur paused.
"Because someone made a very foolish decision."
Caroline heard something in his voice she hadn't heard in years.
The controlled seriousness he used to have when discussing his investigations.
It frightened her.
"Dad, please tell me what's happening."
Arthur lowered his voice.
"Listen carefully. Take Lily and go to your sister's house in Westbridge."
Caroline's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Just for tonight."
"Dad—"
"Please."
The urgency in his voice silenced her.
Arthur continued.
"Don't tell anyone where you're going. And don't open the door for anyone you don't know."
Caroline gripped the counter.
"Are we in danger?"
Arthur looked toward the station entrance.
Through the glass doors, he could see Derek Shaw standing beside a patrol car.
Watching him.
"I don't know yet."
Caroline's voice trembled.
"Dad, you're scaring me."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
He swallowed.
"I love you. Tell Lily I love her too."
"Dad, wait—"
Arthur ended the call.
He stood motionless for a moment.
Then he walked toward the exit.
Margaret Ellis, the receptionist, looked up from her desk.
"Mr. Morgan?"
Arthur stopped.
She glanced toward the hallway, then lowered her voice.
"I heard what happened."
Arthur studied her.
"Did you?"
She nodded.
"My husband was a police officer for twenty-six years. He retired before Shaw joined the department."
Arthur waited.
Margaret leaned closer.
"Be careful."
Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?"
She hesitated.
Then she reached beneath the counter and handed him a small white envelope.
"Someone asked me to give you this."
"Who?"
"I can't say."
Arthur looked down.