Chapter 27 - Safety Deposit Room 214
Rain poured across Riverside Avenue as three unmarked police vehicles quietly stopped outside an aging brick building hidden behind rows of abandoned warehouses.
The faded sign above the entrance barely remained attached.
Evergreen Records Storage.
The building looked deserted.
Boarded windows.
Rusted security gates.
No visible lights.
Yet Kevin's utility report had been correct.
Electricity still flowed into the structure.
Officer Hale signaled for silence.
"No sirens."
"No marked units."
"If someone has maintained this place for twenty years, I don't want them knowing we're here."
A locksmith carefully opened the front entrance.
The heavy metal door creaked inward.
Inside, rows of narrow corridors stretched into darkness.
Old storage rooms lined both sides.
Every door carried a brass number.
201.
202.
203.
Marcus tightened his grip around the flashlight.
Finally they reached the far end.
Room 214.
He removed his father's brass key from an evidence pouch.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
The key slid perfectly into the lock.
Click.
The door slowly opened.
Dust floated through the beam of Marcus's flashlight.
The room was remarkably clean.
Metal filing cabinets covered every wall.
Dozens of archival boxes stood neatly arranged by year.
A large wooden desk occupied the center.
On top rested a leather-bound journal.
No dust covered it.
Someone had been there recently.
Detective Ortega carefully opened the journal.
The first page contained only one sentence.
Thomas... if you're reading this, we failed.
Marcus's breathing stopped.
The handwriting wasn't his father's.
Rachel quietly looked around the room.
Every cabinet carried a different family name.
Some were crossed out.
Others had red circles beside them.
One cabinet stood slightly open.
Its label read...
CARTER, RACHEL.
Before anyone could reach it, a loud metallic slam echoed through the building.
The entrance door had just been locked from the outside.
Every light inside Evergreen Records Storage went out at once.
Only Marcus's flashlight remained.
May you like
Then, somewhere deep in the darkness beyond Room 214...
Footsteps began slowly approaching.
