Chapter 5: Locker 214
Vanessa looked smaller without her champagne dress and carefully arranged hair.
She sat in a plain interview room wearing a borrowed gray cardigan over her evening clothes. Her hands were folded on the table, but her fingers kept moving against each other as if she were counting something only she could see.
When Maya entered, Vanessa stood.
“Maya.””
“Sit down,” Detective Walker said.
Vanessa obeyed.
Maya remained near the door.
“You wanted to tell me something.””
Vanessa nodded.
“I did.””
“Then tell me.””
The older woman looked at Detective Walker.
“I need to explain what happened the night Daniel disappeared.””
“You've already given a preliminary statement,” the detective replied.
“If you have additional information, you can provide it now.””
Vanessa took a deep breath.
“Daniel didn't simply disappear. Someone helped him leave.””
Maya's pulse quickened.
“Who?””
Vanessa looked at her.
“Me.””
The room seemed to grow silent.
“You said you didn't know what happened.””
“I said I didn't see him again after that night. That's true. But before he disappeared, I helped him get out of the building.””
Maya's eyes burned.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because I thought I was saving him.””
Vanessa leaned forward, her voice shaking.
“Daniel told me that Marcus had been keeping copies of the placement records. He believed those copies were being used to blackmail families who had received children through the network. He said that if he exposed the records, some innocent families would lose their children while the people responsible escaped.””
“So he ran?””
“He wanted to find Danielle first. He believed she had a copy of the original birth records. He asked me to help him leave without Marcus knowing.””
“Did you?””
Vanessa nodded.
“I used the service entrance and gave him a car key. He left with the folder.””
Maya swallowed.
“Then why did you tell Dad he was gone?””
“Because Marcus threatened me. He said if I helped Daniel, he'd make sure I lost my job, my home, and everything I'd worked for. He told me Daniel had stolen confidential records and would be arrested as soon as he crossed the state line.””
“Was that true?””
“I don't know.””
Maya looked away.
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“I should have told the police. I should have told Danielle. Instead, I convinced myself that staying quiet would keep everyone safe.””
“You kept yourself safe.””
Vanessa flinched.
“Yes.””
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
Maya pulled the chair opposite her aunt away from the table but didn't sit.
“Did you know Dad was trying to find Daniel tonight?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know Daniel was alive until I received the message.””
“Who sent it?””
“I don't know.””
“Then how do you know he was alive?””
Vanessa looked at the detective.
“Because the message contained a phrase Daniel used to say to me. Something nobody else should know.””
“What phrase?”” Detective Walker asked.
Vanessa hesitated.
“'The clock never forgets.''”
Maya frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa reached into her pocket, then stopped when Detective Walker raised a hand.
“Slowly,” the detective said.
Vanessa withdrew a folded piece of paper and placed it on the table.
It was an old photograph of a courthouse clock.
On the back, in faded handwriting, were the words:
*WHEN THE CLOCK STOPS, LOOK BENEATH THE NUMBER.*
Detective Walker examined it.
“Where did you get this?””
“Daniel gave it to me before he left. He said it would help me find the original file if something happened to him.””
Maya's fingers tightened.
“Is that why Dad told me about the courthouse?””
Vanessa looked at her sharply.
“He told you about the courthouse?””
Maya realized she had said too much.
Detective Walker noticed.
“Maya?””
Maya took a breath.
“He said there was a storage locker with Daniel's file.””
Vanessa's face drained of color.
“Which locker?””
Maya didn't answer.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Locker 214.””
Maya stared at her.
“How do you know?””
“Because that's where Daniel said he was keeping the original documents.””
The silver key seemed to burn against Maya's skin.
Detective Walker immediately reached for her radio.
“I need a unit dispatched to the old courthouse. We may have a storage locker containing evidence connected to a missing person and suspected identity fraud.””
She gave the address to the dispatcher, then turned back to Vanessa.
“Do you know whether the locker is still accessible?””
“I don't know. The courthouse closed its public records annex years ago, but the storage area remained under private management.””
“Who manages it now?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Marcus's company.””
The detective stared at her.
“Of course it does.””
Maya finally sat down.
“Can we go there?””
“No,” Detective Walker said.
“You are staying here.””
“But my mother might be there.””
“We don't know that.””
“Then how will we find her?””
“We'll search the building.””
“What if Dad gets there first?””
Detective Walker's expression hardened.
“Then we'll make sure he doesn't leave with anything.””
Maya thought of the black SUV, the unknown messages, and the photograph of Daniel holding a newborn.
She didn't trust the adults to move quickly enough.
But she also knew that charging into a locked building alone would be exactly what Marcus expected.
She needed another plan.
As Detective Walker stepped outside to coordinate with the officers, Maya pulled her phone from her pocket.
The unknown number had sent another message.
*THE COURTHOUSE CLOCK STOPPED AT 9:17.*
Maya stared at the screen.
A second message followed.
*LOOK UNDER THE NUMBER. NOT THE LOCKER.*
She looked at Vanessa.
“Do you know what this means?””
Vanessa leaned forward.
“Let me see.””
Maya showed her the messages.
Vanessa went completely still.
“Daniel used to work on the courthouse clock,” she whispered.
“He repaired it before the records annex closed.””
“What number?””
“Seventeen.””
Maya frowned.
“The clock stopped at 9:17. The message says to look under the number.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“The number seventeen isn't on the clock face anymore. They replaced the clock when the annex closed.””
“Then where is it?””
Vanessa looked at the old photograph.
“Under the clock mechanism. There's a maintenance panel behind the public gallery.””
Maya stood.
“We need to tell the detective.””
Before Vanessa could answer, the door opened.
Detective Walker returned with two officers.
“We're leaving for the courthouse. Maya, you'll stay with Officer Harris and Mrs. Collins.””
Maya shook her head.
“I know something about the clock.””
“Tell me.””
She showed the detective the messages and explained Vanessa's account.
Detective Walker studied the photograph.
“That's useful information. Thank you.””
“Then let me come.””
“No.””
“But—”
“Maya, I understand why you want to find your mother yourself. But the people we're dealing with may be dangerous, and I will not put you in the middle of an active investigation.””
Maya looked down.
She knew the detective was right.
That didn't make waiting any easier.
Detective Walker took the photograph and headed toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned back.
“If you receive another message, show it to Officer Harris immediately. Do not reply, and do not go anywhere alone.””
Maya nodded.
The officers departed.
For a few minutes, the interview room was quiet.
Then Vanessa leaned toward Maya.
“There's one more thing.””
Maya stared at her.
“What now?””
“Daniel didn't leave the courthouse with the original file.””
Maya's heart skipped.
“Then where is it?””
Vanessa looked toward the door to make sure nobody was listening.
“He hid it somewhere else. The locker was only a decoy.””
Maya pulled the silver key from her pocket and placed it on the table.
“Then what does this open?””
Vanessa stared at the key.
A strange expression crossed her face.
“That's not the courthouse key.””
Maya's blood turned cold.
“What?””
Vanessa picked it up carefully.
“The courthouse keys were brass. This one is silver.””
“Dad gave it to me.””
Vanessa turned it over.
The number 214 was engraved on one side. On the other was a tiny symbol: a circle divided by a vertical line.
The same symbol Maya had seen on the phone alert in Room B-12.
Vanessa whispered, “This is a key to the archive.””
Maya looked at her.
“Which archive?””
Vanessa's voice barely carried across the table.
“The original placement archive. The one Marcus told everyone had been destroyed.””
Maya's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
*YOUR FATHER IS AT THE COURTHOUSE.*
Then another.
*YOUR MOTHER IS NOT.*
Maya stood so quickly that her chair scraped backward.
“Where is she?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Maya looked at the silver key.
Then at the door.
She could stay where she was and hope the police found the right records.
May you like
Or she could use the one thing Marcus had given her without realizing what it was.
She chose the key.
