Chapter 15 - THE MAN IN THE SAFE HOUSE
I ran into Emily’s room.
She was still asleep.
The window was locked.
The closet was empty.
A federal agent stood outside the door.
No one had entered.
I showed him the photograph.
Within minutes, the house was searched from roof to foundation.
No intruder was found.
Ortiz arrived and examined the image.
Then she enlarged the clock beside Emily’s bed.
The time displayed 1:41.
The photograph had been taken twenty-six minutes before it reached me.
A tiny red light blinked inside the smoke detector.
Agents removed a wireless camera.
Jason had not entered the safe house after we arrived.
Someone had installed the device before we came.
Only officials involved in protection planning had access to the property.
Another person inside law enforcement was working for him.
Ortiz checked the visitor logs.
A federal transport coordinator named Eric Lane had inspected the house that afternoon.
Lane disappeared before agents reached his apartment.
His bank records showed payments from a company connected to Paul.
Paul insisted he had never met him.
The betrayal fractured the investigation.
Every location became suspect.
Every officer had to be verified.
Emily heard the adults arguing downstairs.
She appeared on the staircase holding her blanket.
“Jason said police are just people with uniforms.”
Ortiz looked at her.
“He told you that?”
“He said uniforms make lies easier.”
Emily walked into the living room.
“There was another camera.”
“Where?” I asked.
“In the butterfly.”
My stomach dropped.
The paper butterfly from the hospital had traveled with us.
Ortiz cut through the folded center.
A second camera rested inside.
Jason had watched Emily color it through the hospital system.
He replaced the original before sending the library book package.
He had been listening to our conversations for days.
Every plan.
Every argument.
Every location discussed near the butterfly.
Ortiz placed it inside a metal evidence box.
Emily stared at the floor.
“I brought him here.”
“No,” I said.
“He used something you loved.”
“That is what he does.”
A message arrived on Ortiz’s phone.
The pool property’s motion sensors had activated.
Someone had entered the underground chamber.
Police units moved toward Sarah’s house.
Ortiz ordered me to remain behind.
Then Emily grabbed her sleeve.
“He knows you’re coming.”
“How?”
“He always said the blue bird has two nests.”
Ortiz paused.
“What does that mean?”
Emily pointed toward the camera hidden inside the butterfly.
“He wanted you to find this one.”
A live audio transmitter was discovered beneath the battery.
Jason had heard the motion alert.
The pool was another trap.
May you like
Before Ortiz could warn the officers, the radio erupted with shouting.
An explosion shook Sarah’s backyard.
