The Caterpillars in Her Bedroom

At 11:34 p.m., Daniel drove toward the East River parking structure with a duplicate Larva Key inside his coat pocket.

Lena followed two blocks behind in an unmarked vehicle. Three officers from her unit were positioned near the surrounding exits, but none knew the full details of the Black Harbor case.

Until they identified who inside law enforcement had helped Marcus access Daniel’s office, trust had to remain limited.

Amber sat beside Daniel.

She had refused to stay behind.

“He contacted me,” she said. “He framed me. He entered our house. If Evan is there, Marcus may only release him if he sees me.”

“He may not release him at all.”

“Then I need to be close enough to help.”

Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“You should have told me six months ago.”

“I know.”

“You should have trusted me.”

“I know.”

“You lied about the train.”

“I know.”

He glanced at her.

She was not defending herself.

That made his anger harder to hold.

“Were you ever alone with Marcus in our bedroom?”

“Yes.”

The answer hurt even though he had expected it.

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Did anything happen between you?”

“No.”

Daniel stared at the road.

Amber continued.

“He wanted me frightened. He stood beside our bed because he knew what it represented. He wanted me to understand that there was nowhere in my life he couldn’t enter.”

Daniel believed her.

But belief did not repair what fear and secrecy had already damaged.

They entered the parking structure and climbed the circular ramp.

Level six was nearly empty. Rain blew through the open concrete sides, creating thin silver lines beneath the fluorescent lights.

Evan’s car stood near the far wall.

The driver’s door was open.

Daniel parked thirty feet away.

“Stay inside,” he told Amber.

She ignored him and stepped out.

They approached Evan’s car together.

Blood was absent. There were no signs of a struggle. His phone lay on the passenger seat beside his wallet.

A portable speaker rested on the dashboard.

It switched on.

“Place the card and the device beneath the red light.”

Marcus’s altered voice echoed through the garage.

A red indicator blinked above a maintenance door.

Daniel surveyed the shadows.

“Where is Evan?”

“Alive.”

“Let me hear him.”

The speaker crackled.

Evan’s voice came through.

“Daniel?”

He sounded weak but conscious.

“I’m here.”

“Don’t give them anything.”

A sharp sound interrupted him. The speaker went silent.

Amber moved toward the maintenance door.

Daniel caught her arm.

“Wait.”

The metal card inside her coat had twenty-one minutes remaining.

She removed it and placed it beside the duplicate Larva Key beneath the red light.

A camera above the door rotated toward them.

“Step back,” the speaker ordered.

They moved away.

The maintenance door opened automatically.

A man wearing a black cap and rain jacket emerged. His face was partly covered. He carried a compact scanning device.

He knelt beside the card.

Daniel watched him compare the changing code with a number on the scanner.

The duplicate card passed.

The man then inspected the yellow device.

A red light appeared on his scanner.

He looked up.

“This isn’t the original.”

Daniel moved before the man could reach beneath his jacket.

He struck the man’s arm, knocking a small pistol across the concrete. Amber kicked it beneath Evan’s car.

The man grabbed Daniel’s coat and drove him against a support column.

Before he could attack again, Lena stepped from behind the stairwell door with her weapon raised.

“Police! On the ground!”

The man froze.

Two officers rushed from the ramp and restrained him.

Daniel pulled off the man’s cap.

He recognized him.

Nathan Price worked in the information security unit of Daniel’s own department.

Lena stared at Nathan.

“You used Daniel’s credentials to enter the evidence room.”

Nathan said nothing.

“Where is Evan?” Daniel demanded.

Nathan smiled faintly.

“You came to the wrong exchange.”

Amber looked at the countdown card.

Fourteen minutes remained.

The speaker activated again.

Marcus’s unaltered voice filled the garage.

“Good evening, Daniel.”

Daniel turned toward the camera.

“Where is my brother?”

“Safe for the moment.”

“You sent Nathan to kill us?”

“No. Nathan’s usefulness depended on remaining invisible. You have made that impossible.”

Nathan’s smile vanished.

Marcus continued.

“The exchange was never meant to occur here. This level was simply a test.”

“A test for what?”

“To identify which officers you trusted.”

Lena looked toward her unit members.

Marcus now knew who was helping them.

Amber stepped toward the camera.

“You wanted the card. I brought it.”

“You brought a copy.”

“How can you tell?”

“Because the real card is currently moving west on Harbor Avenue.”

Everyone looked at Amber’s coat.

She pulled out the evidence pouch.

The metal card inside was still there.

Lena understood first.

“The card contains a tracker.”

Amber shook her head.

“I wrapped it in signal-blocking material.”

“The signal may not come from the card,” Lena said.

Daniel looked at the Larva Key in the second evidence pouch.

Marcus had stolen one device during the blackout. The second had been captured from the vent. Lena’s technicians had built the duplicate from photographs and external scans.

The real Larva Key should have been locked in Lena’s vehicle.

She ran toward the ramp.

Her unmarked car was gone.

One of her officers checked the tracking application.

“The car is moving west on Harbor Avenue.”

A third officer had been waiting inside it.

His radio no longer responded.

Marcus had used the false exchange to separate Lena from the vehicle containing the real device.

“Who took it?” Daniel asked.

Marcus laughed quietly through the speaker.

“You keep asking the wrong question.”

“Then tell me the right one.”