Someone who’d seen things. Who’d known things.
Like Anna Reed.
Daniel indicated the padlock hanging from the steel door. “Give it a shot.”
I removed the key from my pocket and inserted it in the lock.
The padlock popped open.
“There you go,” he said.
I drew in a breath, the magnitude of the discovery hitting me full force now that I knew the key fit.
My parents had left behind more than a tape recorder and a key.
And they’d taken extraordinary measures to hide it.
I removed the padlock and started to open the roll-up door.
“Wait,” Daniel said.
I froze. “What’s wrong?”
“This was my part: keeping this stuff for Catherine and Braden, making sure it was still here if the right people came looking for it — and hiding it if the wrong people came looking for it.” He hesitated. “There were lots of us out there, doing our part. But this is where I exit stage left.”
“You don’t want to know.” Hawk sounded angry.
I shot him a warning glance. Daniel Feldman had helped us.
Had helped my parents.
We didn’t have a right to be mad if he didn’t want to take it further than he already had.
“It’s okay,” I told Daniel. “I get it.”
My parents had died because of their investigation into Imperium Fratrum.
I’d almost died because I’d gotten too close. The Hawks too.
I couldn’t blame anyone for wanting to keep their distance.
“I have a family.” There was an unspoken apology in Daniel Feldman’s words.
“I understand,” I said. “Thank you… for helping them back then and for helping me now.”
“I’ve been watching. All these years… the missing girls. I thought it would have stopped by now.”
“Some things don’t stop until someone stops them,” Jagger said.
Daniel nodded, then turned his gaze on me. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
We waited for him to round the corner, then Vigo reached for the handle on the pull-up door.
We stared into a dim space, boxes and plastic bins lurking like crouched animals in the shadows.
Hawk felt around the frame of the steel door for a light switch and a moment later the storage space was illuminated with thin fluorescent lighting.
