Chapter 30 - The Road North
Arthur Collins' abandoned sedan remained exactly where patrol officers had discovered it, parked neatly along an isolated service road surrounded by dense pine trees. There were no skid marks, no broken glass, and no evidence of panic. Whoever had left the vehicle had done so deliberately.
Detective Elena Morris circled the car while the forensic team documented every detail.
"The doors were locked from the outside," one technician reported.
"No fingerprints?"
"Nothing usable."
Elena opened the driver's door. The silver emblem rested precisely in the center of the seat, polished so carefully that it reflected the flashing lights from the police vehicles.
Harold arrived several minutes later.
The moment he saw the emblem, he frowned.
"This isn't Arthur's."
Everyone turned toward him.
"How can you tell?"
Harold picked it up with gloved hands.
"Each emblem was handcrafted."
He rotated it beneath the flashlight.
"Look here."
Tiny scratches formed a pattern along the lower edge.
Samuel leaned closer.
"I've never noticed those."
"They aren't scratches."
"What are they?"
"Identification marks."
Michael nodded slowly.
"We all engraved ours differently."
"So whose is this?" Elena asked.
Harold remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he answered.
"I don't know."
Samuel looked surprised.
"You knew every member."
"I knew every original member."
The distinction caught everyone's attention.
"Original?" Elena repeated.
Harold slipped the emblem into an evidence pouch.
"If this belongs to someone else..."
"...then our history is incomplete."
A search of the surrounding woods continued until sunset.
No footprints.
No discarded clothing.
No signs of violence.
Only one unusual discovery appeared nearly two hundred yards from the road.
A weathered wooden post stood among the trees.
Carved into it were two simple words.
North Trail.
Harold stared at the carving.
"I've seen this before."
"Where?"
He looked deeper into the forest.
May you like
"On a map that no longer exists."
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