Chapter 6: The Seven Names
I didn't sleep that night.
Not that I had expected to.
At 9:30 p.m., Maggie locked the diner doors and turned off the front lights.
Lily sat in the kitchen, wrapped in an oversized blanket, holding a mug of warm milk.
She hadn't touched the food Maggie had prepared.
I sat across from her.
"Can I ask you something?""
She nodded.
"Do you know the names of the other children?""
She looked at the table.
"Some.""
"That's okay. Tell me what you remember.""
She counted on her fingers.
"Emma. Sophie. Ben. Tyler.""
She stopped.
"There's a little boy named Noah. He cries at night.""
My chest tightened.
"How old is Noah?""
"Four.""
She looked toward the kitchen door.
"And there's a girl named Grace. She's ten.""
"That's six, including you.""
Lily nodded.
"There's one more.""
"Do you know her name?""
She shook her head.
"She doesn't talk.""
I leaned back.
Seven children.
Seven families.
And someone had organized all of it.
My phone rang.
Claire.
I answered immediately.
"Claire, are you safe?""
"I'm in the hospital room. Two officers are outside.""
"Do you trust them?""
"I don't know anymore.""
I lowered my voice.
"Tell me about the seven children.""
She went quiet.
Then she spoke slowly.
"Daniel has been using his company to move children between private facilities. He calls them behavioral assessment centers.""
"What does that mean?""
"It means parents sign paperwork they don't understand. Some are desperate. Some are wealthy. Some have custody disputes.""
"Why would they give up their children?""
"Daniel promises treatment, education, protection. He tells them their children will be safe.""
I looked at Lily.
She was listening.
Claire continued.
"But once the children are inside, their parents can't contact them. Daniel controls the records. The doctors. The transportation.""
"Why hasn't anyone stopped him?""
"Because he owns the facilities.""
"That's not enough to keep seven children hidden.""
Claire's voice cracked.
"His business partner is a senior official in the county. And Daniel has been paying people to make reports disappear.""
I thought of Harris.
"Who?""
"I don't know his name.""
"Claire, listen. We have a photograph of the farmhouse.""
She inhaled sharply.
"Then you've found the transfer location.""
"What happens at midnight?""
"Daniel moves the children to another state.""
"Which state?""
"I don't know.""
Then she whispered:
"Cole, there's something else. Daniel doesn't know I have copies of his records.""
"Where are they?""
"Inside a storage unit.""
"Which one?""
"Unit 214. At Red River Storage.""
"Do you have the key?""
"Yes.""
"Can you get it to me?""
"I'll send someone.""
I frowned.
"Who?""
"My sister.""
I remembered Lily saying Emma was her cousin.
"Is Sofia alive?""
"Yes. But she's been hiding since Emma disappeared.""
"Tell her not to come here.""
Claire paused.
"Why?""
"Because somebody is watching the diner.""
Before she could respond, I heard a loud crash outside.
Maggie screamed.
I dropped the phone and ran toward the kitchen entrance.
A brick had smashed through the front window.
Wrapped around it was a piece of paper.
I picked it up.
*LEAVE THE GIRL. LAST WARNING.*
Lily began crying.
Maggie locked the kitchen door.
Then headlights swept across the windows.
A police cruiser pulled into the parking lot.
I recognized the vehicle.
Harris.
He stepped out alone.
I opened the back door but kept myself between him and Lily.
"What happened?""
Harris looked exhausted.
"I found something.""
He held up a photograph.
It showed seven children standing outside a white farmhouse.
Lily was among them.
Emma stood beside her.
A man in a baseball cap stood behind the group.
Harris pointed to him.
"Recognize this guy?""
I studied the photograph.
Then I looked again.
The man behind the children wasn't Daniel.
It was Frank.
The trucker from the diner.
I looked at Harris.
"How did you get this?""
"Found it in Daniel's SUV.""
"Where is Daniel?""
"In custody.""
"And Frank?""
"Disappeared.""
I stared at the photograph.
Something didn't make sense.
Frank had been inside the diner.
He'd pointed a gun at me.
He'd been injured.
Yet the photograph showed him standing outside the farmhouse that very evening.
"Where was this taken?""
"Three weeks ago.""
I looked at the children's faces.
Some were smiling.
Others looked terrified.
Then I noticed something strange.
Every child wore a small silver bracelet.
Except Lily.
I turned toward her.
"Sweetheart, did you have one of these?""
She shook her head.
"Emma gave hers to me.""
"Why?""
"She said it was important.""
Lily reached inside the pocket of her pink hoodie.
She pulled out a tiny silver bracelet.
There was a number engraved on it.
*214.*
My breath caught.
Unit 214.
The storage unit Claire had mentioned.
I looked at Harris.
"Does this mean anything to you?""
His face drained of color.
He stared at the bracelet.
Then he slowly reached into his jacket and removed an identical one.
The same silver band.
The same number.
I stepped back.
"Where did you get that?""
Harris swallowed.
"My daughter.""
The room became silent.
He looked at Lily.
Then at the photograph.
His eyes filled with tears.
"My daughter disappeared eleven months ago.""
I didn't know what to say.
Harris sat down heavily.
"I thought she was dead.""
Lily approached him cautiously.
She raised her hands and signed something.
Harris stared at her.
"What did she say?""
I translated.
*YOUR DAUGHTER IS ALIVE.*
Harris covered his mouth.
Then Lily signed again.
*SHE'S WITH THE OTHER CHILDREN.*
The detective began shaking.
I crouched beside him.
"What's your daughter's name?""
He looked at me.
And whispered:
"Grace.""
The ten-year-old girl Lily had mentioned.
The girl who liked to draw pictures of butterflies.
The girl whose mother had spent eleven months putting missing-person posters on telephone poles.
Harris stood abruptly.
"We have to go.""
"Where?""
"Red River Storage.""
"Why?""
He looked at the silver bracelet in his palm.
"Because if Claire's records are still there, they'll tell us where the children are being held.""
He reached for his police radio.
Then it crackled.
A voice came through.
"Unit Twelve, respond immediately. Suspect transport vehicle spotted near Red River Storage.""
Harris froze.
I looked at him.
"That's where we're going.""
He shook his head.
"No, Cole.""
His voice dropped.
"That's where they're expecting us.""
Then the radio crackled again.
A second voice spoke.
"Detective Harris, we have your wife.""
Harris went completely still.
The message continued.
"Come alone. Bring the little girl.""
Lily grabbed my hand.
And for the first time that night, I understood the real purpose of the operation.
They weren't just moving seven children.
May you like
They were making sure nobody left alive knew where they had gone.
*And now they wanted all three of us.*
