Chapter 2 - The Man Between the Walls
The fire department controlled the blaze before it reached the basement.
By noon, Calder Street was crowded with emergency vehicles, investigators and curious residents. The mother dog and her puppies had been taken to Lakeview Veterinary Hospital with Mallory accompanying them.
Daniel remained outside the house with Owen Bell.
Owen sat in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic examined the bruise on his face. He refused transportation to the hospital.
Daniel stood nearby, holding the flash drive inside an evidence bag.
“You entered an active scene without identifying yourself,” Daniel said. “You possessed a recording device hidden inside private property. You knew a fire was about to start.”
“I knew it might start,” Owen replied.
“That distinction will not help you.”
Owen looked exhausted. His hands shook whenever the wind became stronger.
Daniel continued.
“Why did the dog recognize you?”
“Her name is Daisy.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I worked at the place she came from.”
“What place?”
Owen glanced at the officers around them.
“Not here.”
Daniel did not move.
“You’re in no position to set conditions.”
“If the people in that vehicle see me speaking to you, I’ll be gone before sunset.”
“The vehicle already saw us escape together.”
Owen gave a humorless laugh.
“Then maybe I will be gone before lunch.”
Daniel studied him.
Owen was frightened, but his fear did not appear rehearsed. He constantly checked rooftops, windows and parked cars. He behaved like someone who had spent months expecting to be watched.
“Tell me about Daisy,” Daniel said.
Owen looked toward the ambulance floor.
“She lived at a private breeding facility outside the city. At least, that was what the paperwork called it. The public side of the business sold dogs to carefully screened families. The hidden side moved animals through shelters, private laboratories and wealthy buyers who did not ask questions.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“What was your job?”
“Maintenance. Cameras. Locks. Vehicles.”
“So you helped them.”
“For eleven months.”
“Why stop?”
Owen rubbed the bruise on his face.
“I discovered a room full of records. Every animal had two files. One for the public and one for the real transaction. Some were reported adopted. Others were listed as transferred. A few were marked as dead even though I had seen them alive that morning.”
Daniel thought of the flash drive.
“You copied the files.”
“Most of them.”
“Who attacked you?”
“I never saw his face.”
“The person who started the fire?”
“Probably.”
“Probably is not enough.”
Owen leaned forward.
“The person you saw in the hallway was not trying to kill the dogs. He was trying to destroy the drive and the camera. The dogs were only evidence to him.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Why were the puppies inside the freezer?”
“They were placed there as bait.”
“For Daisy?”
“For me.”
Daniel said nothing.
Owen explained that Daisy had given birth at the facility several days earlier. Soon afterward, the puppies were moved. Owen received an anonymous message telling him where they would be taken.
He believed someone inside the operation wanted him to retrieve them.
Instead, it had been a test.
“They knew I was leaking information,” Owen said. “They wanted to see whether I would come.”
“You came anyway.”
“I arrived before dawn. The puppies were already in the unplugged freezer, wrapped in that sweatshirt. The lid was open. I checked them and restored the old camera so I could record whoever returned.”
“What happened?”
“A van pulled up. I hid in the service passage. Two people entered. They chained the freezer and left.”
“You allowed them to lock the dogs inside?”
“I was twenty feet away, and one of them was carrying a gun.”
Daniel’s voice became cold.
“You still allowed it.”
“I planned to open the freezer as soon as they left.”
“But Daisy arrived.”
Owen nodded.
“She escaped from the facility and followed the vehicle’s scent across nearly six miles. When she entered the room, the two people were still upstairs. I could not reach her without exposing myself.”
Daniel replayed the security footage in his memory. Owen standing beside the freezer. Daisy entering later. The image had not shown what happened next because the recording skipped forward.
“You edited the file.”
“The camera lost power.”
“Or you removed part of the recording.”
Owen looked directly at him.
“I heard the van returning. I left through the passage to draw them away. By the time I came back, the freezer was chained and police were outside.”
Daniel held up the evidence bag.
“If this drive contains what you claim, we will protect you.”
Owen shook his head.
“You cannot protect me from someone inside your own department.”
For the first time, Daniel hesitated.
Owen noticed.
“There were police identification numbers in the records,” he said. “Officers were paid to ignore transport vehicles, alter incident reports and notify the group before inspections.”
“Names?”
“Codes. I never found the key.”
Daniel’s radio sounded.
Mallory was calling from the veterinary hospital.
“Daniel, you need to come here.”
“What happened?”
“The puppies are stable. Daisy will recover.”
Relief passed across his face.
Then Mallory continued.
“But someone tried to collect them ten minutes ago.”
“Who?”
“A man wearing an animal-control uniform. The hospital called the city office to verify the transfer order.”
“And?”
“The badge number belongs to an employee who died three years ago.”
Daniel looked at Owen.
Across the street, Ruth Bennett stood behind the police tape.
A black sedan was parked several houses beyond her.
Its windows were tinted.
Daniel asked Mallory to secure the hospital room and allow no transfer without direct authorization.
When he ended the call, the black sedan pulled away.
Owen watched it disappear.
“They already know where the dogs are,” he said.
May you like
Daniel tightened his grip on the evidence bag.
“Then we stop waiting for them to make the next move.”
