Chapter 5 - The Warehouse Was Empty
Police found the warehouse.
They found Daniel’s laptop.
They did not find Daniel.
The machine sat inside a maintenance office connected to power.
Daniel’s account remained logged in.
The browser history showed he had accessed the messaging service.
He had also attempted to open a map.
Then stopped.
Blood—later confirmed to be Daniel’s—marked the edge of the desk.
Not much.
Enough to prove he had been there.
A rear door stood partially open.
Security cameras had been disabled two days earlier.
Ryan had administrator access.
The warehouse contained several interior storage rooms and a maintenance tunnel connecting it to a neighboring facility.
Police searched both.
No Daniel.
A K-9 tracked a scent toward a service alley.
Then lost it near the road.
Someone had either taken Daniel again or he had left under his own power.
The only thing he left intentionally was a handwritten note beneath the laptop.
Not for police.
For me.
SARAH — RYAN KNOWS ABOUT MARTIN. MOM IS HELPING HIM. DAD DOESN’T KNOW. DON’T LET EMMA GO WITH ANY OF THEM.
I read a photograph of the note at the police station.
Mom is helping him.
May you like
Dad doesn’t know.
For the first time, I understood why Margaret had tried so desperately to stop the coffin from opening.
