Chapter 16 - The House Across the Tracks
The address belonged to a vacant farmhouse across the old railroad tracks. Alvarez coordinated a careful search with county investigators, social workers, and child-protection specialists. She told Nora she could not come.
"I know you want answers," Alvarez said. "But the safest way to get them is to let the team work."
Nora sat with Eli at Cho's office and counted the minutes by the muted clock.
At the farmhouse, investigators found two children and an elderly caretaker who believed she was running a legitimate temporary home. The children were hungry, frightened, and alive. A third child pictured in the packet had left with a driver that morning.
The caretaker supplied a license plate and a receipt for groceries signed with a false name. A statewide alert followed.
Nora learned the news through Alvarez, who chose every word carefully. "Two children are safe. We are still looking for the third."
"Their parents?"
"We're working to confirm identities before we contact families."
That caution hurt, but Nora understood it. A wrong phone call could cause a second disaster.
Ben received a voicemail from Ruth. "The lab called. Simon's preliminary match is strong. They still need the final verification."
He listened twice, unable to decide whether he was frightened or happy.
In the afternoon, a car approached the farmhouse on a roadblock camera. The driver saw the patrol vehicles, reversed, and fled. The license plate matched the caretaker's description.
State police tracked the car to a rest stop. The driver escaped into a wooded area, leaving the third child buckled safely in the back seat. The boy gave the officers his real name and asked for his grandmother.
Alvarez called Nora again. "All three children in those photos are accounted for."
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Then the state investigator came on the line.
"We have issued a warrant for Director Harlan," he said. "But she's vanished.
