Chapter 9 - The Last Train

The state police traced Noah's message to a cellular tower near the freight yards, but the location covered several miles of industrial properties. Every minute seemed to widen the distance between what we knew and what might happen next.

Ruiz spread a map across Naomi's office desk. Rachel Bennett sat opposite me, twisting a tissue into a rope.

“He's afraid of the dark,” Rachel said. “When he was little, he needed the hallway light on.”

“Emily's afraid of closed doors now,” I told her.

We looked at one another, two parents who had spent too long believing adults who spoke with confidence.

Then I remembered Emily's drawing: square window, red door, train sounds.

“There's a maintenance building behind the repair shop,” I said. “I drove past it once. Red loading door. High windows.”

Ruiz checked the map. “Privately leased warehouse. Different company.”

“Owned by whom?”

She searched. “A holding company registered to Nicole Vale.”

State police moved quickly. I wasn't allowed anywhere near the operation, and I understood why, but knowing why didn't make waiting easier.

I returned to the hospital and told Emily that people were looking for Noah. She pushed her dinner tray away.

“If they find him, will he know I tried?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jason made me bring Noah food. I slipped him my night-light. But then Jason saw it and took it away.”

I knelt beside her bed. “You helped him when you could. That's what matters.”

She studied me. “Are you mad at Mom?”

“No.”

“She didn't know about the cage at first. When she found it, she yelled at Jason. He said if she told anyone, he'd say she was a bad mother and make me live with him forever.”

I swallowed hard. “I wish she'd called me sooner.”

“She tried,” Emily whispered. “That's why he took her phone.”

At 11:36 p.m., Ruiz called again.

“We entered the warehouse. We found blankets, food, and a locked interior room.”

“Was Noah there?”

“We found his shoes.”

She hesitated.

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“Ben, there was also a message scratched into the wall: SARAH IS HERE.”

THE THINGS BENEATH THE WATER • 20 CHAPTERS