Then another.
The pattern became obvious.
Children who had been declared missing.
Children whose cases had been closed.
Children whose families had been told they had run away.
Children who had supposedly died.
Children whose identities had been altered.
Some had been placed into foster care.
Others had been moved through private adoption arrangements.
Some records contained medical information that had never appeared in official reports.
Others contained photographs of children standing in unfamiliar houses.
And every file had one thing in common.
A small black symbol.
A circle with a line through it.
The same symbol Avery had drawn.
Ortiz called Warren.
He answered on the first ring.
“Bear.”
“Where are you?”
“Iron Haven.”
“Stay there.”
“Why?”
“Because we found the room.”
Warren sat up.
“What room?”
“The one under the house.”
There was silence.
Then Warren said,
“How bad?”
Ortiz looked at the files spread across the floor.
“You don't want me to answer that.”
By sunrise, Fairview Falls had begun to wake.
Nobody knew what had been discovered.
The town prepared for Founders Weekend.
Flags went up.
Food vendors arrived.
Children practiced for the parade.
The marching band rehearsed.
People laughed.
Cars filled the streets.
And beneath all of it, something dark was beginning to collapse.
Chief Mercer was still missing.
Mayor Vale had not been formally arrested.
But state investigators had placed him under constant surveillance.
At 7:34, a state police officer entered Iron Haven.
“Detective Ortiz wants Warren and Reese.”
They followed him to the state command vehicle.
Ortiz looked exhausted.
“We have a problem.”
“What kind?” Warren asked.
“Someone destroyed part of the evidence.”
“How?”
“We believe there was another person in the house.”
Reese frowned.
“Another person?”
Ortiz nodded.
“Someone knew exactly where the hidden room was.”
“Mercer?”
“Maybe.”
“What was destroyed?”
“Digital records.”
Warren looked at her.
“Everything?”
“No.”
Ortiz hesitated.
“Somebody wanted us to see certain files.”
Reese's expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
Ortiz placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a wall covered with photographs of children.
Every face had been marked with a red circle.
Except one.
Avery.
“She was being watched,” Ortiz said.
Warren's fists tightened.
“Why?”
“We don't know yet.”
Then another investigator entered.
“Detective.”
Ortiz turned.
“We found the vehicle.”
“What vehicle?”
“Laura Cole's.”
Warren stood.
“Where?”
“About four miles from town.”
“Accident?”
The investigator shook his head.
“No.”
“What then?”
“Staged.”
The room became silent.
The investigator continued.
“There are skid marks that don't match the vehicle.”
Ortiz closed her eyes briefly.
“They tried to make it look like Laura lost control.”
Reese whispered,
“But Avery survived.”
“That's the problem.”
Warren looked at her.
“The problem?”
Ortiz nodded.
“Whoever did this believed Avery was in the vehicle when it crashed.”
“But she wasn't.”
“Exactly.”
Warren suddenly remembered something.
“The girl's ankle.”
Everyone looked at him.
“She said she fell.”
Ortiz nodded.
“Where?”
“Not sure.”
Warren stared at the floor.
“She wasn't in the crash.”
“No.”
“She escaped before the crash.”
“Yes.”
“And somebody was looking for her.”
“Yes.”
Warren's face hardened.
“Then whoever staged that accident thinks she's dead.”
Ortiz nodded.
“Which gives us one advantage.”
“What?”
“They haven't come for her yet.”
A loud sound came from outside.
Motorcycles.
Dozens.
The Iron Haven riders had begun arriving.
Word had spread.
Not the truth.
Not yet.
But enough.
Something had happened.
Something involving a child.
Something involving the mayor.
And something involving the police chief.
By noon, nearly forty motorcycles were parked around Iron Haven.
Warren stepped outside.
Tommy stood beside him.
“You think this is going to get ugly?”
Warren looked toward the courthouse.
“Yes.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Stay calm.”
Tommy laughed.
“You've known me twenty years.”
“I know.”
“You know calm isn't exactly my specialty.”
“I know that too.”
Then a black SUV appeared at the end of the road.
Everyone stopped talking.
The vehicle slowed.
Stopped.
The driver's door opened.
Chief Daniel Mercer stepped out.
He looked exhausted.
His shirt was dirty.
There was blood on his sleeve.
He raised both hands.
“I need to talk to Bear.”
Warren walked forward.
Nobody else moved.
Mercer stopped several feet away.
“I know what you're thinking.”
“I doubt it.”
Mercer swallowed.
“I didn't hurt that girl.”
Warren stared at him.
“You ran.”
“Because I knew Vale would kill me.”
That sentence changed everything.
Tommy muttered something under his breath.
Mercer looked at Warren.
“You think I'm the villain.”
“Are you?”
Mercer shook his head.
“No.”
“Then start talking.”
Mercer looked around.
“There are people listening.”
Warren glanced toward the garage.
“Then come inside.”
Mercer hesitated.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because someone inside is working for Vale.”
The entire parking lot went silent.
Warren's eyes narrowed.
“You're sure?”
Mercer nodded.
“I was told to watch the mayor.”
“By whom?”
“Federal investigators.”
Reese stepped outside.
“What?”
Mercer looked at her.
“Three months ago, I started investigating Thomas Vale.”
Warren stared.
“Why?”
“Because children were disappearing.”
The words seemed to drain the air from the parking lot.
Mercer continued.
“I couldn't prove anything. Every time I got close, evidence disappeared. Witnesses changed their stories. Records were altered.”
“Why didn't you go to state police?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“They already knew.”
“Who?”
Mercer shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Warren stepped closer.
“Then what did Laura Cole find?”
Mercer's expression changed.
“She found the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“The one that connects every child.”
Reese felt cold.
“The names?”
Mercer nodded.
“Names, payments, locations, dates, buyers.”
Warren's jaw tightened.
“Buyers?”
Mercer looked toward the ground.
“Children were being sold.”
Nobody spoke.
Mercer continued.
“Not kidnapped randomly. Not taken for ransom.”
His voice became quieter.
“Sold.”
Reese covered her mouth.
Warren stared at him.
“How many?”
Mercer looked toward the sky.
“I don't know.”
“You know.”
Mercer finally whispered.
“Forty-three confirmed.”
Tommy stepped backward.
“Jesus.”
Mercer looked at Warren.
“And Avery is number forty-four.”
The garage seemed to shrink around them.
Warren asked,
“Who was supposed to take her?”
Mercer didn't answer.
“Who?”
Mercer looked directly at him.
“Thomas Vale.”
Warren's fists tightened.
“Why Avery?”
“Because her mother discovered the records.”
“And Avery saw something?”
Mercer nodded.
“She saw the room.”
Warren remembered the child's words.
The room under the big house.
Mercer took a breath.
“But that's not the worst part.”
Warren stared at him.
“What could possibly be worse?”
Mercer looked toward the courthouse.
“The mayor isn't the head of this.”
Silence.
“He's not?”
“No.”
“Then who is?”
Mercer looked at Warren.
“I never found out.”
At that exact moment, a gunshot echoed across Fairview Falls.
Everyone ducked.