Chapter 13 - Dane Auto Storage
The police moved fast once Mara showed them the financial records and Ryan gave a statement.
By sunrise, two unmarked cars were parked across from Dane Auto Storage.
Ethan stayed in Mara’s car because everyone had made it painfully clear he was not law enforcement.
Ryan’s brass key sat in an evidence bag.
At 6:18 a.m., officers entered the building.
At 6:23, two men came out in handcuffs.
Victor Dane was not one of them.
At 6:31, Mara received a call from the lead detective.
“They found the office,” she said. “Mostly empty.”
Ethan slammed his palm against the dashboard.
“Mostly?”
“One locked cabinet. Ryan’s key fits.”
They were allowed inside after the scene was secured.
The upstairs office smelled like stale coffee and printer toner. File cabinets stood open. Shelves were bare. A paper shredder overflowed in the corner.
The locked cabinet was built into the wall.
An officer turned the key.
Inside were three recorders, six contract folders, and a portable hard drive.
Mara smiled for the first time all night.
“That’s not nothing.”
Then Ethan saw a photograph clipped to one folder.
Claire.
Noah.
Him.
Taken through the living room window.
His blood went cold.
The detective examined it and immediately called for another unit at Ethan’s house.
Mara opened one folder carefully.
A typed heading read PARKER FAMILY — LEVERAGE.
Ethan felt sick.
Below it were notes about his mortgage, Claire’s workplace, Noah’s daycare, their vehicles.
“This is intimidation documentation,” Mara said.
The detective nodded. “And potentially a lot more.”
A phone began ringing in a desk drawer.
Everyone stopped.
The detective opened it.
Inside was a cheap prepaid phone.
Caller ID: VICTOR.
The detective answered on speaker without speaking.
Victor’s voice came through.
“If Ethan is standing there, tell him I have something he wants more than paperwork.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
May you like
Victor continued.
“Tell him to call his wife.”\n\nThe office walls were decorated with framed photographs of cars, charity dinners, and men shaking hands. Nothing about the room looked dangerous. That bothered Ethan. He had expected evil to announce itself somehow. Instead it looked organized, solvent, respectable, and professionally lit.
