Chapter 9: The Man Who Disappeared Twice
The words on the storage locker wall stayed in Travis's mind long after Rebecca ordered the scene secured.
THE DOG SHOULD HAVE DIED.
Someone had known exactly which dog they were talking about.
Someone had known about Daniel Reeves.
And someone was willing to destroy evidence to keep the past buried.
Rebecca stood outside the storage facility, speaking to two state troopers.
"Get me every camera recording from the entrance. I want vehicle descriptions, timestamps, and anyone who accessed this unit in the last seventy-two hours.""
One trooper nodded.
"Yes, ma'am.""
"Also check neighboring businesses. If this person used a vehicle, somebody saw it.""
Travis stood beside Darnell.
"Do you think Daniel is dead?""
Rebecca turned.
"I don't know.""
"He called Darnell less than an hour ago.""
"That means he may still be alive.""
"Or it means somebody was listening.""
Rebecca didn't answer.
She walked toward the storage locker.
Inside, the floor was covered with torn cardboard.
An old metal cabinet lay on its side.
Several empty photograph sleeves were scattered near the entrance.
Michael Grant crouched beside a small piece of paper.
"Agent Lawson.""
She approached.
"What is it?""
"A receipt.""
He held it up.
The receipt was from a gas station on Highway 49.
The purchase time was 8:42 that morning.
Someone had bought gasoline, disposable gloves, and a prepaid phone.
Rebecca studied the receipt.
"Any name?""
"No. Cash transaction.""
Travis looked at the date.
"That's today.""
"Yes.""
Darnell leaned against the doorway.
"Could Daniel have bought it?""
"Possibly," Rebecca replied.
"But if he did, why leave the receipt?""
Michael turned the paper over.
There was writing on the back.
A short sentence.
If I disappear, look beneath the old water tower.
Travis stared.
"Where's that?""
Rebecca checked her phone.
"About four miles from here.""
Darnell immediately moved toward the exit.
Rebecca stopped him.
"Mr. Brooks, wait.""
"Daniel might be there.""
"Which is why we're going with a team.""
She radioed the state police.
Within minutes, two vehicles were ready.
The old water tower stood beyond a deserted equipment yard.
Its paint had peeled away, leaving rust-colored streaks down the metal supports.
Tall grass covered the surrounding ground.
A narrow dirt road led toward a small maintenance building.
Rebecca ordered the vehicles to stop fifty yards away.
"Nobody approaches until we secure the perimeter.""
Travis stepped out.
The air smelled of wet earth and diesel fuel.
Darnell looked around.
"Daniel used to bring search teams through here.""
Rebecca glanced at him.
"How do you know?""
"He coordinated the volunteer units. This was one of the staging areas.""
Travis frowned.
"Why would he hide something here?""
"Because nobody comes here anymore," Darnell answered.
A state trooper approached.
"Agent Lawson, we found fresh tire tracks.""
"Where?""
"Behind the maintenance building.""
Rebecca signaled to the others.
They moved carefully.
The maintenance building's door was unlocked.
Inside, a single chair sat beside a wooden table.
There was a half-empty bottle of water.
A disposable phone.
And a folded newspaper.
Travis stepped closer.
The newspaper carried an old headline.
*TEEN GIRL FOUND ALIVE AFTER OVERNIGHT SEARCH.*
Beneath it was a photograph of Emily.
She was wrapped in a blanket.
Rex stood beside her.
Travis picked up the newspaper.
"Why would Daniel keep this?""
Darnell pointed toward the table.
"Look underneath.""
A small envelope had been taped to the underside.
Rebecca carefully removed it.
Inside was a memory card and a handwritten note.
She read it aloud.
"To whoever finds this: I did not destroy the search records. Wade Mercer ordered them removed. Franklin Pierce helped him. The dead man was Deputy Samuel Harlan.""
Travis stared.
"Who was Samuel Harlan?""
Rebecca looked toward Michael.
"Check the department roster.""
Michael pulled out his phone.
He searched for several seconds.
Then he looked up.
"Samuel Harlan was a deputy sheriff. He disappeared three years ago.""
Travis felt his chest tighten.
"Disappeared?""
"According to the personnel file, he resigned unexpectedly two days after Emily was found.""
Rebecca frowned.
"Why wasn't that included in the investigation?""
Michael continued reading.
"His resignation was accepted. No forwarding address. No contact information.""
Darnell shook his head.
"I remember that name.""
Travis turned.
"How?""
"At the rescue staging area. He was the deputy who helped coordinate the search teams before Wade took over.""
Rebecca inserted the memory card into a secure reader.
A video file appeared.
The recording was dark and grainy.
But the audio was clear.
Daniel Reeves's voice filled the room.
"If you're watching this, I'm probably gone.""
He looked exhausted.
His face was bruised.
"I need to tell the truth about Samuel Harlan.""
He took a breath.
"On the night Emily Cole disappeared, Deputy Harlan found something along the eastern timber road. He contacted me at approximately 2:20 a.m. He said there was a vehicle near the drainage ditch and a man who needed medical assistance.""
Daniel rubbed his face.
"When I arrived, Harlan was arguing with Franklin Pierce. Wade Mercer was standing beside the truck.""
Travis leaned closer.
Daniel continued.
"I saw blood on the passenger door. I saw a man lying on the ground. I asked what had happened. Wade told me the man had been involved in a vehicle accident.""
The recording briefly flickered.
Then Daniel leaned toward the camera.
"But Harlan told me something different.""
Rebecca paused the video.
"What?""
Daniel's voice returned.
"He said the man hadn't been hit by a vehicle. He said the man had been struck with something heavy.""
Travis swallowed.
"Who did it?""
Daniel shook his head on the recording.
"I never found out. But I heard Harlan say one thing before Wade ordered him away.""
The room became silent.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
"He said, 'I know whose truck this is.''"
Travis turned toward Rebecca.
"Did Harlan know Wade was involved?""
Rebecca didn't answer.
The recording continued.
"Wade ordered the search teams to leave the eastern sector. Franklin moved the truck. And by sunrise, the man was gone.""
Daniel wiped his eyes.
"I wanted to report it. But Wade showed me photographs of my daughter leaving school. He told me that if I talked, she might disappear next.""
Travis clenched his fists.
Rebecca's expression hardened.
"Keep playing it.""
Daniel continued.
"I made copies of the original records. I hid them in different places. One set is in the storage locker. Another is somewhere Wade will never think to look.""
He paused.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
"The dog found the man's badge. That's why Wade wanted the dog removed from the area. He was afraid the animal would lead the rescuers back to the body.""
Darnell closed his eyes.
Travis looked toward him.
"Rex found the badge?""
Darnell nodded slowly.
"That's what it sounds like.""
The video continued.
Daniel leaned closer.
"But there's something else. Samuel Harlan wasn't the only person who knew what happened.""
He took a breath.
"Emily saw the man who was in the truck. And that man wasn't Franklin Pierce.""
Travis felt his stomach tighten.
"Who was it?""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"It was someone wearing a sheriff's uniform.""
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Michael spoke.
"Agent Lawson, we need to reopen the missing deputy investigation.""
Rebecca nodded.
"Immediately.""
Travis looked at the screen.
"Who was the man in the truck?""
Rebecca closed the laptop.
"We need Emily to identify him.""
"She already identified Raymond Pierce.""
"Then Daniel may be mistaken, or there may have been another person involved.""
Darnell looked toward the doorway.
"Could the man have been wearing a uniform that wasn't his?""
Rebecca nodded.
"That's possible.""
A trooper entered.
"Agent Lawson, we've got something.""
She stepped outside.
A patrol vehicle was parked near the dirt road.
The trooper pointed toward a fresh set of tire tracks.
"We found a vehicle matching the description of the truck from the old photograph.""
"Where?""
"About two hundred yards behind the water tower.""
Rebecca walked toward it.
The vehicle was an old blue Ford pickup.
Its windows were dusty.
The rear bumper was damaged.
And on the back window was a faded blue eagle sticker.
Travis stopped breathing.
"That's Wade's truck.""
Rebecca approached the driver's side.
The doors were unlocked.
Inside, the seats were covered with dust.
But the passenger seat held something.
A leather sheriff's department jacket.
Travis opened the door.
A nameplate was stitched above the pocket.
*SAMUEL HARLAN.*
Rebecca put on gloves.
She examined the jacket.
Then she noticed a small photograph tucked into the inside pocket.
It showed two men standing beside the blue pickup.
One was Samuel Harlan.
The other was Wade Mercer.
On the back, someone had written a date.
Three years earlier.
And beneath the date were six words:
If anything happens, ask about the basement.
Travis looked toward Rebecca.
"What basement?""
She stared at the photograph.
Then her phone rang.
It was the state police commander.
Rebecca answered.
"Lawson.""
The commander's voice was urgent.
"Agent, we just received a call from the county sheriff's department.""
"What happened?""
"Mercer has declared an emergency at the county evidence facility.""
"Why?""
"He says there's been a security breach.""
Rebecca looked at the jacket.
"What kind of breach?""
The commander paused.
Then he replied:
"Someone broke into the basement archive.""
Travis looked at the note again.
Ask about the basement.
Rebecca ended the call.
She turned toward the troopers.
"Nobody touches that truck. Photograph everything. Secure the area.""
Then she looked at Travis and Darnell.
"We're going to the sheriff's evidence facility.""
Travis climbed into the state vehicle.
But as they pulled onto the highway, his phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Rex lying on the veterinary clinic table.
The dog was awake.
Beside his head sat a folded piece of paper.
The message beneath it read:
*YOU FOUND THE TRUCK. NOW FIND OUT WHAT THE SHERIFF BURIED UNDER THE STATION.*
Travis immediately called the clinic.
Dr. Harris answered.
"Travis?""
"Is Rex safe?""
"Yes. Why?""
"Did anyone come into his room?""
There was a pause.
Then Dr. Harris said something that made his blood run cold.
"Travis, I was just about to call you.""
"What happened?""
"The security camera in Rex's room stopped recording.""
"How long ago?""
"Seven minutes.""
Travis gripped the phone.
"Is anybody there?""
"One of your bikers is outside. But there's something else.""
"What?""
"Someone left a sheriff's department identification card beside Rex.""
Travis looked at Rebecca.
She had heard enough to understand.
"Whose identification card?"" she asked.
Dr. Harris read the name.
And for the second time that day, everyone fell silent.
May you like
It belonged to Deputy Samuel Harlan.
The deputy who had supposedly disappeared three years earlier.
