Chapter 7 - The Man Who Built the Locks

Eli Ward opened his garage door six inches and peered into the rain.

"I said no cameras."

"We don't have any," Naomi told him.

His beard was gray; his hands stained by grease. A child's purple bicycle leaned against the wall behind him.

"My mother was Elena Reyes."

The garage door rose. "Come in."

Eli led Naomi, Tess, and June to a workbench crowded with wires and half-repaired radios. On the wall hung a drawing of a little girl and a note that read DAD, PLEASE SLEEP.

"Lark was supposed to make apartment buildings safer," he said. "One badge could open every emergency exit. In a fire, power failure, anything, those doors were supposed to unlock."

"But they didn't," Naomi said.

"Sterling wanted a remote lockdown feature for their high-end properties. Keep trespassers out. Keep tenants from reaching private floors. We warned them it could override the emergency release if it was wired wrong."

"Who approved it?"

Eli looked at June. "You promised not to print my name."

"I promised to protect your daughter," June said. "I meant it."

He opened his laptop. A diagram appeared, showing two levels of authorization. One belonged to the Sterling Properties executive account. The other belonged to the Sterling Foundation's security administrator.

"Both had to approve a long-term remote hold," Eli explained. "If either one canceled it, the doors released. On the night of the fire, neither did."

Naomi pictured her mother on the other side of steel, hammering until her hands gave out.

"So somebody could've opened them."

"Yes."

"And somebody chose not to."

Eli said nothing. That silence was worse than an answer.

He clicked on a folder labeled BRIAR TEST. An error message filled the screen. ACCESS REVOKED.

"My company wiped our copy after the lawsuit," he said. "But Lark sent a diagnostic report to an independent archive. I saved the archive number."

Tess leaned forward. "Where is it?"

A hard knock came from the front door. Then another.

"Chicago Police," a voice called. "Mr. Ward, we need you outside."

May you like

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

The Bride Threw His 80-Year-Old Mother’s Jacket on the Floor at Their We...

She threw his 80-year-old mother’s jacket on the floor… and smiled like she had just won.In front of two hundred wedding guests, t...

Eli looked through the window at a dark SUV with no markings. His face drained.

"That's not the police," he whispered. "My daughter is in the back seat."