Chapter 11 - THE PLACE WHERE THE TRAINS STOPPEDThe property was an abandoned rail distribution depot on the southern edge of Redwater.
For decades, freight trains had carried steel, coal, and industrial machinery through its loading yards.
Now weeds grew between the tracks.
Most of the buildings were empty.
According to county records, the property had been purchased by Harbor Civic Solutions shortly before Prescott Meridian began the Redwater redevelopment.
The purchase price was suspiciously high.
The property had never been developed.
Chadworth stared at the satellite image in Ruiz's temporary command center.
“Why would a shell company buy an abandoned freight yard?”
Cora answered.
“Possibly to move money. Possibly because someone needed a property beyond ordinary corporate oversight.”
“Or somewhere to hide my daughter.”
Ruiz studied the surrounding roads.
“We have officers working on the location. But we need to know whether Lorelai is still there.”
Chadworth looked toward the window.
Morning sunlight spread across the lawn.
It felt obscene that the world could look so peaceful while his daughter was missing.
He hadn't slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, he imagined Lorelai alone in that room.
He remembered her first day of kindergarten.
She had worn a yellow backpack almost bigger than her body.
When the teacher took her hand, she'd looked back and asked whether he would come to pick her up.
He had promised.
Then a business emergency kept him away.
Evelyn had collected her instead.
At the time, it seemed insignificant.
Now he remembered every broken promise with unbearable clarity.
Cora touched his arm.
“You need to eat something.”
“I can't.”
“You won't help Lorelai by collapsing.”
Chadworth looked at the untouched sandwich beside him.
“You sound like Evelyn.”
Cora smiled sadly.
“She was very good at reminding people they're human.”
Later that morning, the investigators received another message from the kidnappers.
It contained a photograph of Lorelai holding a handwritten note.
I AM OKAY. PLEASE DO WHAT THEY SAY.
Ruiz examined the image.
“The message may have been written under pressure. But at least we have more recent evidence that she was alive when the photograph was taken.”
Chadworth studied every detail.
Lorelai's hair was tangled.
Her school sweater was wrinkled.
A faint smear of dust marked her cheek.
But her eyes were open.
He forced himself to breathe.
“Can you determine where it was taken?”
“We're examining the background.”
Near the edge of the image, a narrow window reflected a distant brick structure.
Several investigators compared the image with photographs of the rail depot.
A possible match emerged.
One of the loading buildings had distinctive brick arches.
Ruiz began coordinating a search.
Chadworth insisted on going.
She refused.
“You can remain nearby in a designated location, but you cannot participate in the entry.”
“She's my daughter.”
“And I intend to bring her back to you.”
He stared at her.
Then nodded.
At four that afternoon, police vehicles moved into position around the abandoned rail yard.
Chadworth waited at a nearby command post with Cora.
The minutes stretched unbearably.
His phone lay on the table.
The blue ledger, now secured as evidence, had been photographed and examined. Investigators had prepared a controlled response to the kidnappers' demand.
Chadworth would not be allowed to surrender the original without coordination.
He understood why.
But understanding did nothing to quiet his fear.
An officer approached.
“Detective Ruiz's team has entered the first building.”
Chadworth stood.
“What did they find?”
“Still searching.”
Over the radio, voices exchanged brief instructions.
Then silence.
Another minute passed.
Chadworth imagined every possible outcome.
At last, Ruiz's voice came through.
“First floor clear. Moving upstairs.”
He held his breath.
A few seconds later:
“Room located.”
Chadworth stepped forward.
“Lorelai?”
Nobody answered.
Ruiz's next words were quiet.
“Room is empty.”
Chadworth felt his knees weaken.
There was a bed.
A lamp.
Food wrappers.
A piece of rope tied to a broken door handle.
Someone had been held there recently.
But the kidnappers had moved her.
The room contained no sign of Lorelai.
Investigators began processing the scene.
Chadworth waited until Ruiz returned.
“We missed them,” he said.
“Possibly by a few hours.”
“Then they know we're looking.”
“Maybe. But we have more evidence now.”
She showed him photographs from the room.
One image captured the underside of the narrow bed.
Something had been scratched into the painted metal frame.
Three words.
COUNT THE STARS.
Chadworth stared.
“Lorelai wrote that.”
“You recognize it?”
“She loves astronomy. Her mother taught her the constellations.”
Ruiz watched him.
“Do those words mean something specific?”
Chadworth struggled to think.
He remembered Lorelai's science project.
A poster covered with planets.
A small wooden telescope Evelyn had purchased for her.
And a book about the night sky.
“There's a place,” he said slowly.
“What place?”
“The old Hillcrest Observatory. Evelyn used to take her there before it closed.”
Ruiz glanced at the map.
“Where is it?”
“North of Redwater. Near the old reservoir.”
An investigator checked the property records.
The observatory building had been closed for renovations for nearly three years.
Its surrounding facilities were leased to a maintenance company.
Then the investigator stopped typing.
“Detective?”
“Yes?”
“The maintenance company is Northline Environmental Services.”
Cora looked up.
“Another name from Evelyn's ledger.”
Ruiz immediately requested additional units.
But before she could issue further instructions, Chadworth's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered under Ruiz's direction.
Sabina's voice filled the speaker.
“Chadworth, darling.”
He went cold.
“Where's Lorelai?”
“Still alive.”
“If you hurt her—”
“Don't threaten me. You're in no position to make threats.”
He struggled to steady his voice.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“The ledger?”
“And your cooperation.”
“Let me speak to my daughter.”
Sabina sighed.
“You've always been so demanding.”
A rustling sound followed.
Then Lorelai's voice.
“Daddy?”
Chadworth gripped the edge of the table.
“I'm here, sweetheart.”
“I'm scared.”
“I know. You're doing everything right. We're working to bring you home.”
Sabina interrupted.
“Enough.”
Chadworth's voice hardened.
“Don't you dare—”
The call ended.
Ruiz was already communicating with the technical team.
They had obtained a useful location estimate during the call.
The signal originated near the Hillcrest reservoir.
Chadworth looked at the detective.
“She's there.”
“We have a possible location.”
“Then go.”
Ruiz moved toward her vehicle.
But before leaving, she showed Chadworth a final image recovered from the rail depot's damaged surveillance equipment.
A dark sedan had arrived shortly before Lorelai was transferred.
The driver's face was obscured.
The passenger was not.
Chadworth recognized Elliott Crane immediately.
His longtime attorney had stepped from the vehicle and entered the loading building.
Ruiz studied the photograph.
Then she noticed something Chadworth had missed.
A thin red mark crossed Elliott's right cheek.
It resembled a fresh scratch.
May you like
Ruiz enlarged the image.
The same mark appeared in a newly recovered photograph of a man standing beside Evelyn's wrecked car on the night she died.
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