Chapter 4 - Pier 19

Grace took a cab to the waterfront at two in the morning and spent the ride wondering whether fear could become a kind of exhaustion. She didn't tell Vincent. She did send Nora a message: If I'm not back by sunrise, give this address to Marco.

Rain turned Pier 19 into a smear of silver and black. An old ferry rocked against the pilings. A figure stood beneath the broken canopy wearing a gray suit and the winged pin.

“You knew my father,” Grace called.

“I knew what he was protecting.” The man kept his hands visible. “My name's Eli Ward. I'm not the enemy.”

“Then stop acting like one.”

Eli gave a tired smile. “Daniel kept records. Payments. Names. Shipments disguised as circus equipment. Your father found out children were being transported through those routes and tried to expose it.”

Grace felt sick. “You expect me to believe the circus was trafficking kids?”

“Not all of it. A small operation hidden inside it. Daniel and Salvatore tried to shut it down. Somebody sold them out.”

“Salvatore Moretti was helping?”

“At first.” Eli looked toward the road. “He later became part of the cover-up.”

A vehicle engine growled in the darkness. Eli's expression changed. “We have to move.”

Headlights flared. A black SUV drove straight toward the canopy. Eli shoved Grace behind a stack of lobster traps as bullets smashed the railing. She crawled beneath the ferry's gangway, hearing Eli shout for her to run.

Instead, she pulled a release lever. The heavy gangway swung down and slammed against the SUV's hood. The driver panicked, reversed, and struck a bollard. Grace grabbed Eli by the coat and dragged him behind a concrete barrier.

He was bleeding from his shoulder. “You always this stubborn?”

“Only when people shoot at me.”

Eli pushed a waterproof envelope into her palm. “Find the blue ledger. Your father hid the key where he taught you to fly.”

The SUV door opened. A gunman stepped into the rain. Grace recognized his profile from a photograph taped inside Vincent's security office: Detective Owen Pike, a senior NYPD investigator.

Pike raised his gun. “Hand over the envelope, Grace.”

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Before he could fire, a second car struck the pier gate. Vincent climbed out, furious and soaked. His men spread out behind him.

Pike smiled and lifted his badge. “Mr. Moretti. Perfect timing. You're under arrest for kidnapping Grace Bennett.”