Chapter 6 - The Empty Drawer
The room was searched immediately.
Nurses checked beneath the bed, inside cabinets, behind medical equipment, and even under Richard’s blanket.
The envelope had disappeared.
Harold struggled to sit up.
“It was right there.”
Emily placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t move too quickly.”
“Someone took it.”
His voice was stronger now.
Sharper.
“Who entered the room?”
“No one,” Olivia replied.
“I was gone less than five minutes.”
Harold looked toward the door.
“Samuel.”
“You know him?”
“I knew of him.”
Olivia pulled the brass tag from her pocket and placed it on the bedside table.
The moment Harold saw the name, his expression collapsed.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Samuel Vale.”
Harold closed his eyes.
“So he really is alive.”
“You thought he was dead?”
“I hoped he was safe.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Harold turned away.
Richard climbed onto the bed again, but this time the dog did not lie down. He watched Harold closely, sensing the tension in his body.
Emily moved nearer.
“Mr. Bennett, people are entering this hospital. Security footage is being interrupted. Your private belongings are disappearing.”
Harold remained silent.
“If someone is in danger,” she continued, “you need to tell us.”
The old man finally looked at her.
“The letter contains three names.”
“What names?”
“Mine. Richard Vale’s. And someone who still has enough power to erase records.”
Olivia frowned.
“Hospital records?”
“Military records. Property records. Birth records.”
Harold’s breathing became uneven.
“After we rescued Richard, we discovered the village had been used for something it was never supposed to hold.”
“What?”
“A laboratory.”
Emily stared.
“In 1951?”
Harold nodded.
“Unofficial. Hidden beneath the bridge site.”
He explained that several soldiers had been ordered to seal the tunnels and never speak of them again. Richard Vale had seen something inside before he was rescued.
“What did he see?” Olivia asked.
“I never knew everything.”
Harold looked toward the empty drawer where the envelope had been.
“But he wrote it down.”
A sudden alarm sounded from the corridor.
All three women turned.
A nurse shouted near the elevators.
“Security! Someone collapsed!”
Olivia rushed outside.
Samuel Vale lay on the floor beside the chapel corridor.
His cane had rolled several feet away.
Blood darkened the sleeve of his coat.
Richard ran toward him, barking for the first time since entering the hospital.
Samuel’s eyes opened briefly.
He grabbed Olivia’s wrist with surprising force.
“The letter isn’t missing,” he whispered.
“Where is it?”
He looked toward Richard.
“The dog has it.”
Then his hand fell limp.
Across the hallway, Richard stood with something hidden beneath his collar.
A small key.
Not the envelope.
May you like
A key stamped with the number 1951.
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