Chapter 13 - The Hidden Storage Unit
The keys recovered from Eric Whitmore's pocket were processed before noon.
One matched a storage facility on the eastern side of the city.
Another belonged to a small mailbox rental company.
The third key remained unidentified.
Detective Ortega obtained an emergency search warrant while Officer Hale led a team to the storage facility.
Unit 417.
The manager unlocked the heavy steel door.
A stale smell drifted into the hallway.
At first glance, the unit appeared ordinary.
Old furniture.
Cardboard boxes.
Plastic bins.
Then Hale noticed something unusual.
Every box had been carefully labeled.
"Family Case A."
"Family Case B."
"Closed Files."
"Media."
Rachel, who had remained at headquarters, watched through a secure video feed with permission from investigators.
"This can't be real..."
Evidence technicians began opening the containers one by one.
Each held neatly organized files.
Photographs.
Financial statements.
Copies of custody petitions.
Private medical records.
School attendance reports.
Even handwritten notes describing family routines.
Detective Ortega stared at one folder.
"They've been collecting personal information for years."
Another technician opened a plastic container labeled MEDIA.
Inside were dozens of memory cards.
Small hidden cameras.
Voice recorders.
Disposable phones.
Officer Hale carefully lifted one memory card.
"Get Forensics ready."
A second technician called from the back of the storage unit.
"I found a safe."
The heavy steel safe sat beneath a tarp.
Unlike everything else inside the unit, it looked brand new.
"What opens it?" Hale asked.
The technician tried every recovered key.
None fit.
"Then we'll bring the whole thing back."
As officers prepared to transport the safe, the storage facility manager approached nervously.
"Detective..."
"Yes?"
"I almost forgot."
He handed Hale a visitor logbook.
"The man who rented this unit wasn't Eric Whitmore."
Hale looked down at the signature.
The name written on the contract was...
Steven Marshall.
The same Assistant Court Administrator identified earlier by Hannah Pierce.
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The conspiracy had just connected the courthouse directly to the warehouse.
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