Chapter 9: The Bloodstained Shirt
We reached the training facility twenty minutes before the deadline.
The building stood behind a high concrete wall, with security cameras mounted above the gates and armed guards stationed near the entrance.
A blue metal door marked the side of the main structure.
Above it, someone had painted a white bird with its wings spread.
Collins stared at the emblem.
“Rebecca brought me here once,” she said.
“She said the company used this building for confidential interviews.””
“Did she ever mention Ethan?””
“No. But she was afraid of someone. She wouldn't tell me who.””
David Shaw remained in the command vehicle two blocks away with the original ledger secured in a locked case. A team of federal marshals monitored the facility from a separate location, ready to move if we received confirmation that Noah was in immediate danger.
I carried the decoy ledger inside a plain black bag.
Collins walked beside me, her weapon concealed beneath her jacket.
We approached the gate.
A guard stepped forward.
“Identification.””
I showed my badge.
“Officer Bennett. We're here to meet Ethan Ward.””
The guard examined the badge, then looked toward the camera above us.
A red light blinked.
The gate opened.
Inside, the courtyard was silent except for the distant hum of generators. The guard escorted us toward the blue door, then stepped aside.
“Go in.””
I pushed the door open.
The room beyond was brightly lit and almost completely empty. A metal table stood in the center. Two chairs faced each other.
Noah sat in one of them.
His face brightened when he saw me.
“Officer Bennett!””
I moved toward him, but a man stepped out from behind a partition.
Ethan Ward.
He held a pistol at his side.
“Stop there.””
I froze.
Collins lifted her hands.
“Ethan, we're here for the boy. Let him go.””
Ethan glanced at her.
“Patricia Collins. You look older.””
“You look alive.””
He gave a tired smile.
“People say that when they've spent six years believing a man is dead.””
I placed the bag on the table.
“The ledger.””
Ethan didn't look at it.
“Open it.””
I unzipped the bag and turned the book toward him.
He flipped through several pages, examining the names and numbers.
Then he closed it.
“It's a copy.””
I said nothing.
He raised the pistol slightly.
“You think I'm stupid?””
“No,” I replied.
“I think you're desperate.””
His expression hardened.
“Desperate people don't get to make mistakes.””
He turned toward Noah.
“Tell them what your mother kept.””
Noah looked at me.
I crouched slightly, keeping my hands visible.
“It's okay, buddy. You don't have to answer anything you're not comfortable with.””
Ethan struck the table with his palm.
“He has to answer!””
Noah flinched.
Collins stepped forward.
“Don't you dare threaten him.””
Ethan swung the gun toward her.
“Sit down.””
She stopped.
He turned back to Noah.
“What happened the night your father disappeared?””
The boy's face crumpled.
“Daddy told me to hide.””
“Where?””
“In the laundry room.””
“And what did you see?””
Noah swallowed.
“Blood.””
“Whose blood?””
“I don't know.””
Ethan leaned closer.
“Your mother kept a shirt. A shirt covered in blood. Where is it?””
Noah began shaking his head.
“I don't know.””
“You do.””
“I don't!””
Ethan slammed the pistol onto the table.
The sound echoed through the room.
Noah covered his ears and began crying.
I took one slow step forward.
“Ethan, you're frightening him. Whatever you need, you can ask us.””
Ethan stared at me.
“You have no idea what this boy means to the people who run this operation.””
“Then tell us.””
For the first time, the anger in his face seemed to crack.
“I had a son,” he said.
“He was seven years old when they told me he died in a fire. They showed me a photograph of the apartment. They gave me a death certificate. They made me bury an empty coffin.””
He looked at Noah.
“Then, years later, I found a record showing that my son had been placed under another identity.””
Collins went pale.
“You think Noah is your son.””
“I know he is.””
Noah stared at him.
“Are you my daddy?””
Ethan's expression broke.
For a moment, he looked like a man who had spent years trying to reach a child who no longer existed.
Then he shook his head.
“No. I'm not your father.””
He turned toward me.
“But James Carter was never his father either.””
My heart pounded.
“What are you saying?””
“James was assigned to protect him. Emily was assigned to raise him. The original witness file was altered so nobody could connect the boy to me.””
Noah looked at the floor.
“Then why did Mommy tell me James was my dad?””
“Because it was the only way to keep you alive.””
I thought of Emily's fear, her insistence that James was hiding, and the way she had refused to discuss the bloodstained shirt.
“Where is Emily?”” I demanded.
Ethan lowered the pistol slightly.
“Alive.””
“Where?””
“Somewhere safe.””
“You kidnapped her.””
“I moved her before Bell's men could reach her.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No. I expect you to understand that I could have killed you both before you entered this room.””
He was right.
But that didn't make him trustworthy.
I glanced at Noah.
“Did your mother ever show you the shirt?””
He shook his head.
“She put it in a box. She said it belonged to Daddy.””
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Of course she did.””
“What happened that night?”” Collins asked.
Ethan looked at her.
“Thomas Vale came to the house. He wanted the ledger. James refused to give it to him.””
“And the blood?””
Ethan's voice dropped.
“James was shot.””
I felt the room tilt.
“Then James is dead?””
“I don't know.””
“You were there?””
“No. I arrived after the shooting. Emily had already hidden the boy. She told me James had been taken away by men working for Bell.””
“Then why did you tell Noah to find the police?””
“Because I needed someone outside the network to find the ledger.””
He glanced at the bag.
“And because I knew Bell would eventually come for the boy.””
A door opened behind us.
A woman entered, her wrists bound with plastic restraints.
Emily.
Noah rushed toward her.
“Mommy!””
She wrapped both arms around him.
Ethan lowered his gun.
For a brief moment, I believed he might actually let us leave.
Then the room's loudspeaker crackled.
A man's voice filled the space.
“Thank you for gathering everyone in one place.””
Ethan's face went white.
The voice continued.
“Mr. Ward, you have the ledger. Officer Bennett has the child. Sergeant Collins has the evidence.””
A pause.
“Now we can finish what Rebecca started.””
A steel door slammed shut behind us.
Red lights flashed along the ceiling.
Collins drew her weapon.
I pulled Noah and Emily behind the table.
Ethan raised his pistol toward the speaker.
Then the voice spoke again.
“Daniel Mercer will now explain why he ordered James Carter's death.””
A side door opened.
A man stepped into the room wearing a charcoal suit and polished black shoes.
Daniel Mercer.
He looked directly at Noah.
Then he smiled.
“Hello, son.””
Noah screamed.
And Emily whispered the words I had been dreading since the moment she ran into our station.
“That's not Daniel Mercer.””
May you like
She gripped my arm.
“That's James Carter.””
