“He called me the night before he disappeared. He said someone had created a duplicate authorization and that I needed to move the files before they were destroyed.”
“Did you move them?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Carter looked at the floor.
“I don't know anymore.”
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
“You don't know?”
“I was given a location. I delivered the boxes. I never saw them again.”
“Who gave you the location?”
Carter looked at Grant.
“He did.”
Grant laughed softly.
“Now we're getting somewhere.”
Carter's jaw tightened.
“You told me the archive was being protected.”
“And it was.”
“You told me Reed was safe.”
“He was.”
“You told me the operation had been compromised by a corrupt officer.”
“It had.”
Carter stepped closer.
“You let me believe he was dead.”
Grant looked at him.
“I never told you he was dead.”
“You told me he couldn't be found.”
“Those are different statements.”
Carter's face twisted with anger.
Evelyn raised her hand.
“Daniel. Stop.”
He stepped back.
She looked at Grant.
“Where is Thomas Reed?”
Grant smiled.
“That's the question you've been asking for eleven years.”
“Answer it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know where he is now.”
Evelyn studied him.
“Now?”
Grant's smile disappeared.
He realized what he had said.
Evelyn leaned forward.
“You just confirmed that he may have been alive after the warehouse fire.”
Grant said nothing.
Agent Mitchell tightened her grip.
“Deputy Commissioner, we are moving.”
Grant turned toward Evelyn.
“You're going to regret this.”
She looked at him.
“I've regretted not finding him every day for eleven years.”
Then she stepped aside.
The agents escorted Grant out.
Carter remained in the room.
Evelyn watched the door close.
Then she turned toward him.
“Daniel, I need the complete truth.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
“Not the version you gave the internal review.”
“I understand.”
“Not the version you gave the federal office.”
“I understand.”
“Every detail.”
Carter took a long breath.
Then he said something that changed the entire investigation.
“Thomas Reed didn't disappear alone.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Carter looked at the table.
“He was with another agent.”
“Who?”
Carter lifted his eyes.
“You.”
Chapter 10 — The Night She Forgot
Evelyn did not respond.
For a moment, the room seemed to lose all sound.
Carter looked uncomfortable.
“Agent Brooks—”
“Explain.”
“Eleven years ago, you were assigned to the same operation.”
“I know.”
“No. You were assigned to the final stage.”
“I know the assignment.”
Carter shook his head.
“You were at the warehouse.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“I was never at the warehouse.”
“That's what the report says.”
“Because I wasn't there.”
Carter reached into his jacket and removed a small folded document.
He placed it on the table.
Evelyn opened it.
It was a copy of an old operational log.
The date was eleven years earlier.
The location was listed as a warehouse outside the city.
Two names appeared under the field personnel section.
THOMAS REED.
EVELYN BROOKS.
Her eyes moved down the page.
There was a signature beside her name.
It looked genuine.
But she knew she had never signed it.
“This is fabricated.”
“Probably.”
“Who gave it to you?”
“Thomas.”
“When?”
“The night before he disappeared.”
Evelyn looked at Carter.
“Why didn't you show me this?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three days after the fire.”
“I don't remember.”
Carter nodded slowly.
“I know.”
Evelyn looked down again.
A second page was attached.
It contained a handwritten note.
The writing was Thomas Reed's.
She recognized it immediately.
The note contained only one sentence:
IF EVELYN REMEMBERS THE WAREHOUSE, THE OPERATION IS ALREADY LOST.
Evelyn felt her stomach tighten.
“What does that mean?”
Carter shook his head.
“I don't know.”
She looked at him.
“Daniel, what happened to me?”
He hesitated.