Chapter 13 - A Door Beneath the Water
The room erupted before Calder could raise his gun. Marisol fired into the ceiling, shattering a light. Eli dropped from the walkway onto one of the guards. June slammed the emergency alarm, and a siren wailed through the station.
I grabbed a heavy wrench from the railing and hurled it at Calder. It struck his shoulder. His pistol skidded beneath a control panel.
"Get Wren!" I shouted.
I half slid, half climbed down the steps. By the time I reached her, Marisol had one guard handcuffed and another cornered behind the generator. Calder fled through a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Wren's wrists were raw. I cut the plastic ties with June's pocketknife, and she threw her arms around me.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I thought if I found it myself—"
"No apologies. You're coming home."
"Grandma, look."
She pointed beneath the table. In the concrete floor, nearly covered by an old rubber mat, was a small hatch with a keyhole. Robert's brass key from her locket fit perfectly.
Below was a narrow ladder leading into a drainage chamber. When Eli opened the hatch, a chemical odor rose from the darkness, sweet and sharp enough to sting my nose.
"Don't go down without a respirator," Marisol warned.
Eli fetched the safety masks from his truck. I waited with Wren while he descended. His flashlight revealed a pipe extending into a shallow pool. Beside it stood a waterproof equipment case secured with a chain.
Robert had used that kind of case for surveying gear. On its side he'd painted a small white E.
"That's his," I whispered.
Eli cut the chain and hauled the case up. Inside were sealed water samples, dated photographs, a notebook, and a thumb drive taped beneath the lid. Robert had collected evidence from different months, with locations and times written in meticulous rows.
Marisol photographed the unopened sample seals for documentation. "This is enough to justify an emergency inspection. Maybe enough for criminal charges."
A deep metallic clang sounded somewhere inside the walls.
Water began pouring from the far pipe.
"That's impossible," Eli said. "The gate hasn't operated in years."
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A loudspeaker crackled overhead, and Stacey's voice drifted down through the chamber.
"Dad says you should have stayed dead, Evelyn."
