Chapter 6: The Accident That Wasn't
Chapter 6: The Accident That Wasn't
Rebecca immediately began taking notes.
Detective Hale's voice remained calm.
"I couldn't discuss this while the investigation was active."
"What investigation?" I asked.
"The one that was quietly closed."
My heart pounded.
"The drunk driver..."
"...was intoxicated."
"But that's not what bothered me."
"What did?"
"The surveillance footage."
I exchanged a look with Rebecca.
"It disappeared."
"What?"
"There were traffic cameras covering nearly two miles of Interstate 95."
"Every camera malfunctioned within six minutes of the collision."
"Every single one."
"That's statistically impossible."
I felt sick.
"The driver's phone records also vanished."
"So did his vehicle's GPS history."
Rebecca leaned toward the speaker.
"Detective Hale, why are you telling us this now?"
"Because yesterday someone requested access to Ryan Carter's evidence locker."
"Someone without authorization."
My stomach dropped.
"My father?"
"I don't know."
"But whoever it was used credentials that triggered an internal audit."
He paused.
"Emma..."
"I think someone has realized your husband left evidence behind."
Before I could respond, Rebecca's office lights suddenly flickered.
Then went dark.
The entire building lost power.
Rebecca looked toward the window.
"So did every building across the street."
A citywide outage?
No.
Too convenient.
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was a text.
No number.
Just a message.
The letters were only the beginning. Burn the key before someone else burns you.
A photograph arrived seconds later.
I gasped.
It was taken less than five minutes earlier.
Rebecca and I entering her office.
Someone had been outside.
Watching.
Another message appeared.
You're running out of time.
Rebecca immediately locked her office door.
"Call 911."
Before I could dial, someone knocked.
Three slow knocks.
Not loud.
Not aggressive.
Almost... polite.
Rebecca looked through the peephole.
Her face drained of color.
"Who's there?" I whispered.
She stepped back.
"It's your father."
Another knock.
Then his voice.
"Emma..."
He sounded exhausted.
"I know you found Ryan's vault."
"I know about the journal."
"I know about the video."
Rebecca whispered, "How could he possibly know that?"
I had no answer.
Then Dad said something that froze both of us.
"I'm not here to stop you."
A long silence followed.
Finally he added,
"I'm here because the people who killed your husband..."
"...know exactly where you are."
The office phone rang at that exact moment.
Rebecca answered cautiously.
No one spoke.
Then a distorted electronic voice whispered only six words before disconnecting.
"You're already too late."
A deafening explosion shattered the front windows of the building.
Glass rained across the lobby.
Car alarms screamed outside.
Rebecca pulled me to the floor.
As smoke filled the hallway, my father kicked open the office door—not with anger...
But with a handgun in one hand...
And blood running down the side of his face.
May you like
"They're here," he shouted.
"Run!"
