Daniel looked at the photograph.
"Did you identify the driver?"
"No."
"Then what does this have to do with me?"
Hayes leaned forward.
"Did Arthur give you anything?"
Daniel remained silent.
"Documents? Money? A storage key?"
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
The silver key.
Arthur had shown it to him, but he had not given it to him.
"No."
Hayes watched him carefully.
"Think before you answer."
Daniel stood.
"Am I free to go?"
Miller moved toward the door.
Hayes raised his hand.
"Let him leave."
Daniel walked out.
But as he passed the captain's office, he noticed something on a nearby desk.
An old photograph.
It showed four officers standing beside a police vehicle.
Daniel stopped.
The young man in the photograph looked familiar.
It was Michael Bennett.
He was standing beside Captain Hayes.
And beside him was Detective Walker.
Daniel's mind raced.
Why would a missing civilian be photographed with the officers who investigated his disappearance?
He quickly took out his phone and photographed the picture.
Then he continued walking.
Later that afternoon, Sarah called him.
"Where are you?"
"Near the station."
"Meet me at the public library. I found something."
When Daniel arrived, Sarah was waiting with an old newspaper.
She showed him a photograph.
A young woman stood beside Michael Bennett.
Daniel recognized the woman.
"Who is she?"
"Elena Brooks."
"What happened to her?"
"She disappeared six months after Michael."
Sarah opened another document.
"She worked in the same accounting department. She was one of the last people to speak to Michael before he vanished."
Daniel examined the photograph.
There was something written on the back.
A date.
And a location.
"Where did you find this?"
"In my father's personal belongings."
Sarah looked uncomfortable.
"He kept a copy of this photograph hidden inside an old book."
Daniel frowned.
"Did your father know Elena?"
Sarah nodded.
"He was investigating her disappearance before he died."
Daniel stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know whether I could trust you."
He looked hurt.
Sarah continued.
"My father believed that Michael and Elena had discovered a network of illegal payments involving senior police officials."
"Do you think they were working together?"
"Yes."
She placed another photograph on the table.
It showed a warehouse.
The same warehouse Arthur had photographed nine years earlier.
Daniel looked at the address.
"Have you been there?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Not yet."
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
"Then we go tonight."
That evening, Arthur sat alone inside his abandoned building.
He had placed the silver key on the table.
Beside it was a photograph of his son.
He picked up an old voice recorder.
For several seconds, he hesitated.
Then he pressed play.
A young man's voice filled the room.
"Dad, if you're listening to this, something has gone wrong."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Don't believe what they tell you. I didn't run away."
The recording continued.
"They have documents. Names. Payments. Everything. But they don't know I made copies."
Arthur's hands began trembling.
"There's a storage unit. Number 317. The key is with you."
A pause.
"Please, Dad. Don't trust the police."
Then the recording ended.
Arthur stared at the device.
He had listened to it hundreds of times.
But this time, something was different.
There was another sound at the end of the recording.
A faint voice.
A woman.
Arthur rewound the final seconds.
He listened again.
Then he recognized it.
Elena Brooks.
She was not dead.
And she had been standing beside his son when he made the recording.
Arthur slowly reached for his phone.
He dialed the number Sarah had given him.
A woman answered.
"Hello?"
Arthur's voice trembled.
"Elena?"
Silence.
Then a whisper.
"Arthur... you need to stop looking for Michael."
Arthur froze.
"Why?"
The woman began crying.
"Because he's not the only one they're keeping alive
The warehouse stood at the edge of an industrial district, surrounded by abandoned factories and empty parking lots.
Daniel and Sarah arrived shortly after midnight.
Neither wore a uniform.
Sarah carried a flashlight and a small camera.
Daniel carried his service weapon.
They approached the building carefully.
The metal entrance was locked.
Sarah examined the door.
"Someone has been here recently."
Daniel noticed fresh tire marks in the dirt.
"You're right."
He pointed toward a broken window.
They climbed inside.
The warehouse smelled of dust, oil, and damp concrete.
Rows of empty shelves stretched into the darkness.
Sarah switched on her flashlight.
"According to my father's notes, this was where Michael was last seen."
Daniel moved toward an old office.
A desk stood against the wall.
Its drawers had been removed.
Paper fragments covered the floor.
Sarah knelt and picked up a small photograph.
It showed a group of men standing beside a black van.
One of them was Detective Miller.
Another was Captain Hayes.
The third man's face had been scratched out.
Daniel examined the photograph.
"Who is the man in the middle?"
Sarah shook her head.
"I don't know."
A noise came from the other side of the warehouse.
Both turned.
Someone was moving.
Daniel raised his weapon.
"Police! Come out!"
A shadow appeared near the loading entrance.
Then a man ran.
Daniel chased him.
He crossed the warehouse, pushed through a side door, and entered the parking lot.
The suspect was fast.
Daniel caught up with him near a chain-link fence.
He grabbed the man's jacket.
"Stop!"
The man turned and struck Daniel in the face.
Daniel fell backward.
The suspect climbed over the fence and disappeared.
Sarah reached him seconds later.
"Are you okay?"
Daniel touched his cheek.
"Fine."
She looked toward the fence.
"Did you see his face?"
"Not clearly."
Daniel stood.
Then he noticed something on the ground.
A small plastic identification card.
He picked it up.
The name printed on it was:
ELENA BROOKS.
The following afternoon, Sarah managed to locate Elena's last known address.
It was a small apartment building in a quiet neighborhood.
They knocked on the door.
Nobody answered.
Daniel tried the handle.
It was unlocked.
Inside, the apartment was almost completely empty.
A chair lay overturned.
A broken glass covered the kitchen floor.
Sarah examined the room.
"Someone took her."
Daniel looked at the window.
The curtains were torn.
There were marks on the floor near the entrance.
He knelt.
A small piece of paper was stuck beneath the table.
He pulled it out.
Three words had been written in blue ink.
Michael is alive.
Daniel stared at it.
Sarah took the paper from him.
"Where did this come from?"
"I don't know."
She looked toward the bedroom.
There was a photograph on the wall.
It showed Elena standing beside a young man.
Michael Bennett.
But there was something strange about the photograph.
Michael was older.
His hair was longer.
And the picture appeared to have been taken recently.
Sarah checked the back.
A date had been written there.
Only six months earlier.
Daniel felt his heartbeat accelerate.