Chapter 9 - The Road Out of Savannah
"Back door," Elise ordered.
Mara took Leon by the elbow, guiding him past the compressors and oil drums. They emerged into a fenced yard as a man outside announced himself as county law enforcement.
"We haven't requested local assistance," Elise said into her phone. "Verify that vehicle."
The shop's overhead door crashed upward. Two figures entered with flashlights, calling Leon's name. Their badges hung too low; their boots were clean for officers supposedly working the highway all night.
Traffic flashed past the motel blinds all night. Mara watched the red lights trace the ceiling while Leon tried to sleep in the next room. The man had carried a secret for months, and the fear in his voice was not cowardice. It was evidence of how long the threat had lasted.
Elise directed Mara and Leon through a gap in the rear fence and toward her government vehicle. A flashlight beam caught Mara's sleeve.
"Stop!"
"Federal investigators!" Elise called. "Identify yourselves!"
Nobody answered. They kept coming.
Mara turned, keeping her hands visible, and shouted, "We are leaving peacefully. Do not approach."
Elise drove while Mara called dispatch. The SUV followed for three miles before marked county patrol cars intercepted it near the interstate. By then one passenger had thrown a bag into a drainage ditch.
Inside the recovered bag investigators found contractor badges, a duplicate key to the depot, and printed directions to Leon's shop. Nothing resembling a legitimate warrant.
At a secure motel, Leon finally told the rest of the story.
"Thomas called me from the road," he said. "He said General Vale wanted the blue book. He was angry. I heard another person in the car."
Mara sat forward. "Who?"
"A woman. She kept saying, 'Give it back and we can all go home.'"
"Did he say her name?"
Leon nodded reluctantly. "Celia."
Mara felt the room tilt. Celia had been the one trusted with the blue book. Had she betrayed Thomas, or had she been trapped in the same car?
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Elise opened the flash drive on an isolated laptop. Most files were corrupted, but one audio memo survived.
Thomas's voice whispered, "If Mara finds this, tell her I wasn't alone when I left the bridge."
