The boat crossed Lake Arlen before police reached the launch.<\/p>\n
Its destination was impossible to determine from the dock camera.<\/p>\n
There were dozens of private properties along the opposite shore.<\/p>\n
Cabins.<\/p>\n
Marinas.<\/p>\n
Seasonal homes.<\/p>\n
Wooded roads.<\/p>\n
The man Rachel identified as Lucas looked about forty.<\/p>\n
His hair was dark.<\/p>\n
A scar crossed his chin.<\/p>\n
Rachel remembered that scar.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fell from a swing when he was six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz asked the technician to freeze the frame.<\/p>\n
Rachel touched the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI held the towel against his face while our mother drove us to the emergency room.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no doubt left in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police ran facial recognition cautiously against state records.<\/p>\n
One possible identity emerged.<\/p>\n
Luke Avery.<\/p>\n
Forty-one.<\/p>\n
Electrician.<\/p>\n
Divorced.<\/p>\n
No criminal record.<\/p>\n
Address near Lake Arlen.<\/p>\n
Officers reached the house.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
Inside they found photographs.<\/p>\n
Angela.<\/p>\n
Nathan.<\/p>\n
Brianna.<\/p>\n
Lucas.<\/p>\n
Not snapshots of criminals meeting secretly.<\/p>\n
Family photographs.<\/p>\n
Christmas dinners.<\/p>\n
Birthdays.<\/p>\n
Brianna appeared in dozens.<\/p>\n
She had been living partly with Lucas for years.<\/p>\n
On the refrigerator hung a drawing.<\/p>\n
BRI + UNCLE LUKE.<\/p>\n
Rachel stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew who he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz agreed.<\/p>\n
A locked cabinet contained documents.<\/p>\n
Lucas Mercer\u2019s original birth certificate.<\/p>\n
His false death certificate.<\/p>\n
Placement papers under three identities.<\/p>\n
Letters.<\/p>\n
Many were addressed to Rachel.<\/p>\n
None had been mailed.<\/p>\n
The earliest had been written when Lucas was eleven.<\/p>\n
RACHEL, THEY SAID YOU WERE BETTER WITHOUT ME.<\/p>\n
Another at sixteen.<\/p>\n
I FOUND WHERE YOU LIVE BUT VOSS SAID THEY WOULD MOVE YOU IF I CAME.<\/p>\n
At twenty-three:<\/p>\n
I SAW YOUR WEDDING NOTICE. I WANTED TO COME.<\/p>\n
Then one written eight years earlier.<\/p>\n
YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER.<\/p>\n
Rachel covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Lucas had known about Kaylee.<\/p>\n
The next letter was worse.<\/p>\n
THEY TOOK HER THE WAY THEY TOOK US.<\/p>\n
Rachel sank into a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee stood beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first time Kaylee had defended anyone in Rachel\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Police searched Lucas\u2019s phone records.<\/p>\n
His number had contacted Angela repeatedly.<\/p>\n
But it had also contacted an unregistered prepaid number used by someone at the north house.<\/p>\n
Two years earlier, Lucas began transferring money to an account under Brianna Vale\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Not taking money.<\/p>\n
Giving it.<\/p>\n
Ortiz reconsidered the dock footage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he wasn't helping Angela?\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if he was helping Brianna?\u201d<\/p>\n
The possibility changed the search.<\/p>\n
Police examined Brianna\u2019s history under the false identity.<\/p>\n
She had attended school.<\/p>\n
She had friends.<\/p>\n
Teachers described her as intelligent and guarded.<\/p>\n
One counselor documented that Brianna feared an older woman named \u201cT.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brianna had said Uncle Luke kept her safe when \u201cthey got angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas may have been embedded in the network.<\/p>\n
But perhaps not willingly.<\/p>\n
Then a message arrived from the prepaid phone.<\/p>\n
It went directly to Rachel.<\/p>\n
UNKNOWN NUMBER:<\/p>\n
YOU SHOULDN\u2019T HAVE COME BACK.<\/p>\n
Rachel showed Ortiz.<\/p>\n
Another message.<\/p>\n
VOSS WILL LIE.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
TASHA WILL LIE BETTER.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
ASK KAYLEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BOY IN THE GREEN SHIRT.<\/p>\n
Kaylee saw the message.<\/p>\n
She recoiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana immediately moved beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to answer now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee shook her head harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody pushed.<\/p>\n
The phone sent another message.<\/p>\n
I'M SORRY.<\/p>\n
Rachel typed.<\/p>\n
LUCAS?<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
WHERE ARE YOU?<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
IS BRIANNA SAFE?<\/p>\n
Three dots appeared.<\/p>\n
YES.<\/p>\n
KATHERINE?<\/p>\n
YES.<\/p>\n
HER PARENTS?<\/p>\n
YES.<\/p>\n
ANGELA?<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
FOR NOW.<\/p>\n
Ortiz took over.<\/p>\n
ARE YOU HOLDING THEM AGAINST THEIR WILL?<\/p>\n
NO.<\/p>\n
WHY DID THEY LEAVE?<\/p>\n
BECAUSE SOMEONE WAS COMING.<\/p>\n
WHO?<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
WHO WAS COMING, LUCAS?<\/p>\n
The response arrived.<\/p>\n
THE SAME PERSON WHO ORDERED THE NORTH HOUSE BURNED.<\/p>\n
Angela had received the message.<\/p>\n
BURN NORTH HOUSE.<\/p>\n
We had assumed she was being told to destroy it.<\/p>\n
What if it had been a warning?<\/p>\n
Ortiz asked.<\/p>\n
DID ANGELA BURN THE HOUSE?<\/p>\n
NO.<\/p>\n
WHO DID?<\/p>\n
I DON'T KNOW.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
ANGELA STOLE THE CARD BECAUSE IT CONTAINS MORE THAN TASHA\u2019S VIDEOS.<\/p>\n
The recovered memory card was reexamined.<\/p>\n
Forty-three visible files.<\/p>\n
But the storage capacity did not match.<\/p>\n
A technician found an encrypted partition.<\/p>\n
It required a password.<\/p>\n
Kaylee watched him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPink.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tried it.<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cShoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cButterfly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
Mia suddenly said, \u201cWhat did you call the fort?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night Kaylee stayed over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safe side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician entered SAFESIDE.<\/p>\n
The partition opened.<\/p>\n
Kaylee began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot I made that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made the password?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cTasha made me copy files because she said kids don't understand computers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hidden partition contained hundreds of documents.<\/p>\n
Payments.<\/p>\n
Placement records.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Audio recordings.<\/p>\n
One spreadsheet cataloged money received from families.<\/p>\n
Some paid thousands.<\/p>\n
Others tens of thousands.<\/p>\n
A second list recorded children judged unsuitable.<\/p>\n
Returned.<\/p>\n
Transferred.<\/p>\n
Corrected.<\/p>\n
The language was clinical.<\/p>\n
The reality beneath it was not.<\/p>\n
Then the technician found a folder labeled GREEN.<\/p>\n
Kaylee stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana asked everyone except me, Rachel, and the detective to step out.<\/p>\n
Mia refused until I promised I would remain with Kaylee.<\/p>\n
Once the door closed, Kaylee stared at the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody said you did,\u201d Dana replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cTasha said I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wore green?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA green shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe north house.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
That contradicted what she had said earlier.<\/p>\n
Kaylee immediately understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dana did not scold her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause blue children disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the boy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTasha put him in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe blue room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreg came.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n
Greg.<\/p>\n
Not merely Tasha.<\/p>\n
Not Voss.<\/p>\n
Greg.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Greg do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe carried him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaylee squeezed her eyes shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician opened the GREEN folder.<\/p>\n
There was video.<\/p>\n
The date was four years earlier.<\/p>\n
A boy in a green shirt entered the blue hallway.<\/p>\n
Tasha followed.<\/p>\n
Then Greg.<\/p>\n
Angela appeared later.<\/p>\n
Finally Voss.<\/p>\n
The recording had no sound.<\/p>\n
The boy resisted.<\/p>\n
Tasha restrained him.<\/p>\n
Greg helped.<\/p>\n
Then something happened beyond the camera\u2019s angle.<\/p>\n
Angela rushed forward.<\/p>\n
Voss ordered everyone back.<\/p>\n
Minutes later Greg carried the child out.<\/p>\n
His body hung limp.<\/p>\n
Kaylee began sobbing.<\/p>\n
Rachel pulled her close.<\/p>\n
This time Kaylee did not resist.<\/p>\n
The technician advanced the recording.<\/p>\n
A fifth adult appeared.<\/p>\n
Only partially visible.<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
She stood beyond the doorway, watching.<\/p>\n
Ortiz froze the image.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we enhance it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician tried.<\/p>\n
The woman turned slightly.<\/p>\n
I recognized her.<\/p>\n
Not from the agency photograph.<\/p>\n
From somewhere far more recent.<\/p>\n
She had been at the school that morning.<\/p>\n
She had comforted Mia after the fire alarm.<\/p>\n
She had brought Kaylee water.<\/p>\n
She had stood beside police while they searched for Angela.<\/p>\n
Dana whispered her name.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrincipal Warren.\u201d<\/p>\n
The school principal.<\/p>\n
The woman entrusted with hundreds of children every day.<\/p>\n
Ortiz reached for her radio.<\/p>\n
Before she could speak, the school lights went out.<\/p>\n
Emergency illumination flickered red.<\/p>\n
A second later came the unmistakable metallic click of doors locking automatically.<\/p>\n
Then Mia screamed from the hallway.<\/p>\n
I ran.<\/p>\n
The corridor was empty.<\/p>\n
Her stuffed llama lay on the floor.<\/p>\n
Beside it was Principal Warren\u2019s identification badge.<\/p>\n
On the back, written in fresh black ink, were six words:<\/p>\n
BRING KAYLEE TO THE GYM. ALONE.<\/p>\n
The boat crossed Lake Arlen before police reached the launch. Its destination was impossible to determine from the dock camera. There were dozens of private properties along the opposite shore. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14973,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14945\/revisions\/14973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}