Chapter 10 - THE VOICE BEHIND THE DOOR
The recovery house contained medical files but no patients.
Emily Mason's chart was there.
Five years of therapy.
Memory loss after blast trauma.
Night terrors.
Partial hearing damage.
No family contact permitted by guardian.
Grant listened as Daniel read each line.
He wanted to tear the building apart.
Instead, he found one note that mattered.
Patient becomes distressed when hearing recordings of train whistles. Repeats phrase: Daddy says count the cars.
Grant had taught Emma to count freight cars from his office window.
He sat on the edge of the abandoned bed.
"It's her."
Police found Pike's fingerprints everywhere.
Then a hidden camera captured a vehicle leaving thirty minutes before the raid.
Malcolm's sedan.
Grant called his uncle.
This time Malcolm answered.
"Grant."
"Where is my daughter?"
Silence.
"Who told you?"
Grant nearly smiled.
A confession disguised as a question.
"You did. Just now."
Malcolm exhaled.
"You don't understand what happened."
"Then explain it."
"Caroline was taking Emma away. She had federal files. She was going to destroy the company."
"You caused the explosion?"
"No."
For the first time, Malcolm sounded afraid.
"I was trying to stop her from leaving. Somebody else planted the device."
"Who?"
Malcolm did not answer.
A muffled sound came through the phone.
A child crying.
Grant's entire body tightened.
"Emma?"
The crying stopped.
Then a little voice said, "Don't call me that."
Grant closed his eyes.
Malcolm whispered, "She doesn't remember you the way you want. Don't make this worse."
Grant's voice dropped.
"Put her on."
"No."
"Malcolm."
"You want your daughter? Bring me Caroline's tablet and Owen Reed's drives. Alone."
The call ended.
Daniel swore.
Then Voss's phone rang.
She answered.
Her face changed.
"That was the lab."
Grant turned.
"What?"
"Hale's compound wasn't the only drug found in your old surgical bloodwork."
May you like
She swallowed.
"Someone sedated you before the explosion."
