Move the witness before the review.
Somebody knew Elena was still a threat to them.
That meant she might still be alive.
It also meant we were running out of time.
When we reached the state operations center, Dana was already on the phone with the prosecutor. The digital team had recovered additional information from one of the abandoned vehicles, including a partial list of storage locations associated with Mesa Ridge Support.
Several had been closed.
One was still active.
The address belonged to a warehouse on the outskirts of town.
Before investigators could finish preparing the search, a security officer informed Dana that a man was waiting in the reception area.
He had asked to speak with her privately.
He had also insisted that he would not leave until he had spoken with someone who could guarantee his safety.
Dana looked at me.
"Do you know him?"
"No."
"Then we'll proceed carefully."
She asked two officers to accompany her and invited me to observe from the adjoining room, provided I remained out of the interview.
The man was brought into a small conference room.
He appeared to be in his early forties, with thinning brown hair, a narrow face, and a pale line where a wedding ring might once have been. His clothes were dusty, and his hands shook as he sat down.
Dana introduced herself.
"I'm Investigator Whitcomb. You asked to speak with me."
The man nodded.
"My name is Simon Avery."
"Why are you here, Mr. Avery?"
He looked at the officers standing near the door.
"Because I know where Elena Calloway is."
Dana didn't move.
"How do you know that?"
"I used to drive for Mesa Ridge Support. Before that, I worked for a transport company that handled contracts for Desert Haven."
"Did you work with Dale Rusk?"
"Yes."
"Did you know he was involved in the transfer of children?"
Simon closed his eyes.
"Not at first."
"Tell me what happened."
He rubbed his palms against his jeans.
"I drove vehicles. Sometimes they were ordinary supply runs—food, furniture, medical equipment. Other times I was given documents that didn't make sense. I would be told to collect someone from one location and take them somewhere else, but the paperwork would list a different destination."
"What kind of people were you transporting?"
"Mostly adults. Occasionally families. Sometimes children."
Dana remained very still.
"Did you ever transport a child without the required authorization?"
Simon swallowed.
"Yes."
The admission hung in the room.
"How many times?"
"Four that I remember. There may have been another one, but I don't know."
"Why didn't you report it?"
"Because I was told the placements had been approved. I was told the paperwork was delayed, that the county was behind, that everything would be entered later. I believed them."
"And when did you realize something was wrong?"
Simon looked down at his hands.
"When one of the children asked me where her mother was."
Dana waited.
"I was driving her to a place outside town. She asked me if she was going to be returned to her family. I told her yes because that's what I had been told."
He swallowed hard.
"Then she asked me why they had taken her shoes."
I felt my chest tighten.
Simon continued.
"She was wearing hospital slippers. She'd been moved from a temporary placement, and nobody had packed her belongings. I asked the supervisor about it later. He told me the child was a problem and that I should stop asking questions."
"Who was the supervisor?"
"Martin Vale."
Dana glanced at the officers.
"Continue."
"I started keeping copies of the transport sheets. I thought maybe the company was cheating on mileage or stealing public funds. I didn't understand how much worse it was until Elena Calloway contacted me."
Dana leaned forward.
"When did you speak with Elena?"
"About three weeks ago. She'd found records showing that children were being moved under false authorizations. She wanted to know whether the vehicle logs matched the files."
"Did they?"
"No. Some of the trips had never happened. Other trips had happened, but the destinations were different from the official records."
"What did you do?"
"I gave her what I had."
Simon looked at the table.
"Then they found out."
"Who?"
"Rusk. Vale. I don't know who else. They came to my apartment and told me I'd stolen company property. They said they could have me arrested. They said if I went to the police, they'd make sure my family lost everything."
His voice broke.
"I was afraid. I destroyed some of the copies. I left town for a while. I told myself I wasn't involved anymore."
Dana studied him.
"Why come forward now?"
Simon looked up.
"Because I saw the news."
"What news?"
"The report about the attempted break-in at the community center. They didn't name June, but they mentioned a child and an investigation involving Desert Haven. I knew they'd tried to get her back."
He took a shaky breath.
"I helped move those children. I told myself I was just a driver, but I knew enough to ask questions, and I didn't. When I realized what was happening, I ran."
Dana's expression remained firm.
"Coming forward doesn't erase your involvement."
"I know."
"You may face criminal charges."
"I know that, too."
"Then why now?"
Simon looked at her with an expression I would remember long after the investigation ended.
"Because I heard a little girl escaped, and I realized I was still doing what I'd always done—waiting for someone else to be brave first."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Dana asked the officers to record his statement in full. She explained that he would have access to legal counsel and that any agreement concerning his cooperation would need to be handled through the prosecutor's office.
Simon nodded.
Then he leaned forward.
"Elena is at the water-treatment property. At least, she was there yesterday morning. They were going to move her."
Dana's eyes sharpened.
"How do you know?"
"I drove the vehicle that took her there."
The room seemed to grow smaller.
I forgot to breathe.
Dana asked him to describe the route, the buildings, the number of people present, and the vehicle he had driven. Simon answered as carefully as he could, distinguishing what he knew from what he merely suspected.
He said Elena had been held in an old administrative building near the treatment facility. The property had been closed for years, but Mesa Ridge still maintained a service contract for the grounds.
He had delivered food and supplies there twice.