Chapter 32 - The Signal Station
Early the next morning, the investigation moved north.
Historical records showed the railway signal station had officially been demolished twenty-eight years earlier.
Yet satellite imagery revealed something unusual.
The foundation remained.
Dense vegetation concealed most of the structure, making it nearly invisible from above.
As the convoy approached, Harold grew increasingly quiet.
Samuel noticed.
"You're remembering."
"I never wanted to."
The station stood abandoned at the end of an overgrown track.
Broken windows.
Collapsed roof sections.
Rusted machinery.
Nothing suggested recent activity.
Until one officer pointed toward the entrance.
"The weeds."
Everyone looked.
A narrow path had been cleared through them only days earlier.
Someone had entered.
Inside, dust covered everything except the central control room.
There, a lantern still contained warm wax.
Not burning.
Recently extinguished.
Detective Morris searched the room carefully.
"Someone expected visitors."
Michael approached the old signal controls.
His fingers brushed across faded brass levers.
Then he stopped.
"Listen."
The room became silent.
Far below the floor...
...came the faint sound of running water.
Harold looked down.
"There shouldn't be water here."
One engineer struck the concrete gently with a hammer.
The echo sounded hollow.
"There is another level."
The team began searching for an entrance.
Near the eastern wall, Samuel discovered a steel ring hidden beneath loose boards.
Together, four officers pulled.
The heavy hatch slowly lifted.
A cold current of air escaped from the darkness below.
Someone had recently installed modern electrical wiring along the staircase.
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Which meant the underground chamber hadn't been abandoned at all.
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