Chapter 12 - Daniel Was Supposed to Be NextOld Bennett Quarry had been abandoned for fourteen years.
Daniel remembered visiting it once with his father when he was eleven.
Robert had been consulting on drainage repairs.
At least that was what Daniel had always believed.
Now he wondered whether the trip had been about something else.
“What did he show you?” Ortiz asked.
“A tunnel.”
The quarry had a maintenance passage cut into limestone beneath the eastern ridge.
Robert had made Daniel solve a numerical combination to open a heavy service gate.
A game.
Exactly as Linda described.
“I haven't thought about it in twenty years.”
“Do you remember the code?”
“No.”
“Could you reconstruct it?”
“Maybe.”
That was enough for Wade.
The operation changed after Melissa's car was found.
Police believed both Wade and Melissa might be inside the quarry.
Linda remained at the station.
Sarah remained with Emma.
Daniel wore a concealed transmitter.
He hated leaving.
At 10:35, he stood beside Emma's bed.
“You come back.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I will.”
“Promise?”
Daniel hesitated.
Promises had become dangerous in this family.
Then he said, “I promise I'll do everything I can.”
Emma seemed to accept that.
Sarah walked him into the corridor.
“Do not chase him.”
“I won't.”
“Do not decide you're smarter than the officers.”
“I won't.”
“Do not sacrifice yourself because you feel guilty.”
Daniel looked at her.
That one landed.
“I'll come home.”
“You better.”
He kissed her.
Then left with Ortiz.
Sarah returned to Emma.
For twenty minutes, everything was quiet.
Then Linda called.
Sarah almost ignored it.
Something made her answer.
“What?”
Linda's voice shook.
“They're taking Daniel to the quarry.”
“Yes.”
“He can't go through the main entrance.”
“Police know what they're doing.”
“No. Listen to me.”
Sarah nearly hung up.
Linda continued.
“Wade will expect police.”
“Then why send the invitation?”
“Because he doesn't need Daniel to arrive willingly.”
Sarah frowned.
“What?”
“The quarry has two entrances.”
“Ortiz knows.”
“She knows about the maintenance road.”
“Apparently.”
“Not the drainage tunnel.”
Sarah stood.
“What drainage tunnel?”
“Behind the old Bennett farmhouse. It connects beneath the quarry.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because Wade used it years ago.”
Sarah's pulse increased.
“For what?”
“To move equipment without inspectors seeing.”
“Tell Ortiz.”
“I tried. They're not answering.”
Sarah called Daniel.
No answer.
Ortiz.
No answer.
Signal coverage near the quarry was poor.
Linda continued.
“Sarah, Wade doesn't need Daniel to open the gate.”
“What?”
“Melissa does.”
Sarah went still.
“You said Daniel knows the combination.”
“I lied.”
Of course she had.
Sarah almost laughed from rage.
“Why?”
“Because I needed police to take Wade's threat seriously.”
“They already did.”
“You don't understand.”
“No, Linda, I'm tired of understanding your lies.”
“The combination isn't numbers.”
Sarah said nothing.
“Robert built a mechanism into the old gate. It opens with a physical key.”
“Where is it?”
Linda whispered, “Daniel has been carrying it for years.”
Sarah frowned.
“He doesn't have a quarry key.”
“His father's watch.”
Robert's old mechanical wristwatch.
Daniel wore it almost every day.
Sarah's stomach dropped.
Linda continued.
“The winding crown unscrews. Inside is a narrow key.”
“Why?”
“Robert hid evidence behind that gate. He wanted Daniel to have access without knowing he had it.”
Sarah ran into the hallway.
A uniformed officer outside Emma's room stopped her.
“I need Detective Ortiz now.”
He radioed.
Static.
Sarah called again.
Nothing.
Then Daniel's number rang her.
She answered.
“Daniel?”
No response.
She heard movement.
A door closing.
Then Melissa Grant's voice.
“Hello, Sarah.”
Every hair on Sarah's arms lifted.
“Where is my husband?”
“He's fine.”
“Put him on.”
“I don't think so.”
“You touch him—”
Melissa laughed softly.
“You've had a difficult couple of days. Threats aren't your strength right now.”
Sarah clenched the phone.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing from you.”
“Then why call?”
“Because Daniel keeps insisting you'll figure it out.”
“Figure out what?”
“Where we're going.”
Sarah thought of the quarry.
“You're already there.”
“No.”
A car engine hummed beneath Melissa's voice.
They were moving.
Sarah's heart accelerated.
The quarry was a decoy.
“Where are you taking him?”
Melissa ignored the question.
“Wade made a terrible mess with your daughter.”
“You were there.”
Silence.
“You put dirt on Emma.”
Melissa's voice cooled.
“Children remember things badly.”
“My daughter remembers your shoes.”
A pause.
For the first time, Sarah had reached her.
Then Melissa said, “You should tell Emma I'm sorry.”
The call ended.
Sarah stared at her red phone.
Daniel wasn't at the quarry.
Wade and Melissa had used the location to pull police away.
Sarah called Linda again.
“Where else would they take him?”
“I don't know.”
“Think.”
“If they have Robert's watch…”
Linda stopped.
Sarah heard her inhale.
“What?”
“Not the quarry.”
“Where?”
“Robert's old construction office.”
“That building was demolished.”
“The office was.”
Linda's voice dropped.
“The basement wasn't.”
“Where?”
“Under the Bennett River development.”
Sarah knew the name.
A half-finished luxury development beside the Harpeth River.
Daniel's company had restarted construction there six months earlier.
Wade Bennett was the principal investor.
Sarah suddenly understood why Wade had chosen Daniel's company in the first place.
He hadn't merely been stealing from Daniel.
He had returned to the place where Robert had hidden evidence against him decades ago.
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And Daniel had unknowingly built an entire new development on top of it.
Linda whispered, “Sarah, if they open that room, Wade won't need Daniel anymore.”
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