Chapter 11 - Echoes in the Diner
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The line went dead.
"We traced the transmission," Detective Ruiz said immediately. "The signal bounced off a cell tower three blocks from Decatur Street. He’s already inside the old building."
"I'm going alone," I said, turning toward the exit.
"Like hell you are," Ruiz blocked my path. "This man tried to murder your wife. He's unstable, armed, and desperate."
"He has an insider in the hospital!" I yelled back, stepping up to her face. "Did you hear him?! He said the second dose goes into Claire’s IV! He has someone standing near her room right now! If your officers move in, Claire dies!"
Ruiz bit her lip, debating the tactical risk. "Fine. You go in first. But I am placing SWAT units on the surrounding rooftops. We do this my way, or nobody goes."
Thirty minutes later, I stood outside the crumbling, abandoned commercial building on Decatur Street. The night air was freezing, rain mixing with sleet as it stung my face.
I carried Box 417 under my left arm. Cluttered around the perimeter were construction barricades bearing my company's logo: Sloane Infrastructure - Future Site of Decatur Transit Hub.
I pushed open the rusted iron entrance door. The building smelled of mold, old concrete, and decay. Step by step, I climbed the dark, creaking stairwell up to the third floor.
At the end of the long hallway sat a door with faded gold lettering peeling off the glass: Suite 417 - Sloane & Price Infrastructure.
I pushed the door open.
Inside, sitting on a broken wooden chair in the middle of the empty, dust-filled room, was Daniel Price. He held a small silver detonator in his right hand, and a heavy snub-nosed revolver in his left.
Standing in the shadow behind him, her face partially obscured by a dark rain hoodie, was the woman from the hospital footage—the nurse who had served Claire the poisoned tea.
"You brought the box," Daniel said, a twisted smile spreading across his scarred face.
May you like
"I brought the box," I agreed, setting the heavy wooden crate onto the floor ten feet away from him. "Now tell me who she is, Daniel. And why you poisoned my wife."
Daniel chuckled, pointing his gun at the woman beside him. "Mason, allow me to introduce you to Dr. Sarah Mercer. Walter Mercer’s daughter."
