Chapter 6 - The Witness Who Vanished
Owen Mercer drove through the night with his daughter asleep beneath a blanket in the back seat.
He avoided highways, security cameras, and petrol stations. At three in the morning, he reached a hunting cabin once owned by his brother, deep in the northern woods.
Lily awakened when he carried her inside.
“Dad?”
“It’s okay.”
“Why are we here?”
“We’re taking a trip.”
“In the middle of the night?”
Owen set her down beside the stone fireplace.
She was ten years old and old enough to recognize fear.
“Are bad people looking for us?”
Owen looked at her.
He had always promised not to lie.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw something they didn’t want me to see.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I called someone else.”
Lily wrapped her arms around herself.
“Are we going to die?”
Owen knelt in front of her.
“No.”
He hoped the word sounded stronger than he felt.
He started a fire and checked the windows. The cabin had no telephone signal, but his brother had installed an old radio transmitter for emergencies.
Owen used it to contact Daniel Cross on a private frequency included in the instructions Daniel had texted before destroying his number.
Daniel answered after several attempts.
“Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I won’t say over the radio.”
“Are you safe?”
“For now.”
“What evidence do you have?”
“The bracelet. Photos of the child moving. A copy of the casket order.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“You photographed Chloe alive?”
“Her hand was moving. Her face is visible.”
“That may be enough for a warrant.”
“Not if Victoria owns the judge.”
“Send everything.”
“I can’t from here.”
“Then bring it to Whitmore House.”
Owen looked at Lily.
“I can’t expose my daughter.”
“We can protect her.”
“That’s what everyone says before something happens.”
Daniel fell silent.
Then another voice came through the radio.
Eleanor.
“Mr. Mercer, Chloe may have only hours.”
Owen closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You tried to help her once.”
“I failed.”
“You are still trying.”
“They threatened Lily.”
“And if Victoria succeeds, she will learn that threatening children works.”
Owen looked through the window at the dark forest.
“What do you need?”
“The casket design.”
“There’s a breathing system beneath the mattress platform. It can support someone for three hours if the air line remains open.”
“What happens after three hours?”
“Carbon dioxide builds up. The person becomes confused, then unconscious.”
“The service begins at ten. Burial is scheduled for eleven thirty.”
“She may not survive that long if they keep sedating her.”
Eleanor’s voice became quieter.
“Can the lid be opened without a key?”
“Yes, but there is an internal magnetic latch. You need to press beneath the right handle while lifting.”
“Thank you.”
“Mrs. Whitmore.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something else inside the hidden compartment.”
“What?”
“A sealed metal box. Victoria brought it herself.”
Daniel spoke again.
“What size?”
“About twelve inches long.”
“Could it contain medical equipment?”
“Maybe. But she told the casket builder it must survive fire and water.”
Eleanor and Daniel exchanged words Owen could not hear.
Then Eleanor returned.
“Will you testify?”
Owen looked at Lily.
“Yes.”
“Come to Whitmore House through the east service road at eight tomorrow morning. Arthur will meet you.”
The radio signal cracked.
A second voice entered the frequency.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Owen froze.
Victoria.
Lily stared at him.
Victoria continued.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
Owen switched frequencies.
Her voice followed.
“I know about the cabin.”
He looked toward the windows.
Headlights appeared between the trees.
Owen grabbed Lily’s coat.
They ran through the rear door as two black vehicles entered the clearing.
Men shouted.
A bullet struck the cabin wall.
Owen pulled Lily into the forest.
Snow and frozen branches tore at their clothes. Behind them, flashlight beams moved through the trees.
“Keep running,” Owen whispered.
Lily stumbled.
He lifted her and carried her toward a narrow ravine.
The searchers spread out.
Victoria’s voice echoed from the cabin’s outdoor speaker system. She had accessed the radio transmitter.
“You cannot protect her forever, Owen.”
He reached the ravine and slid down the icy slope with Lily clinging to him.
At the bottom, a frozen stream led north.
They followed it in darkness.
An hour later, Owen found an abandoned ranger station.
He forced the door open and hid Lily inside.
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
“To lead them away.”
“No.”
He removed the casket documents and Chloe’s bracelet from his coat.
“Keep these.”
“I don’t want them.”
“Listen to me. Tomorrow morning, follow the stream until you reach the highway. Find a police officer and ask for Daniel Cross.”
Lily began to cry.
“You said we weren’t going to die.”
“We aren’t.”
“You’re lying.”
Owen hugged her.
“Only this once.”
He left through the rear window and ran west, breaking branches and leaving obvious tracks.
The searchers followed.
At sunrise, Victoria’s men found Owen beside the river.
He fought until they struck him unconscious.
But when they searched his coat, the evidence was gone.
At eight fifteen, a truck driver found Lily walking beside the highway.
At nine, Daniel brought her safely into Whitmore House.
Eleanor knelt before the frightened child.
“Where is your father?”
Lily opened her hand.
May you like
Inside lay Chloe’s hospital bracelet.
“They took him,” she whispered. “But he told me to save this.”
