Chapter 3 - THE EMPTY PANTRY
At midnight, Damon entered Hope House through a side entrance with Luis and a local social worker, Denise Moore. Daisy remained at a hospital pediatric unit for a routine check, with Denise overseeing her temporary care until a relative could be found. Damon had no intention of turning a frightened five-year-old into his private evidence collector.
Ruth Barlow, the shelter's director, met them wearing a cardigan with a broken button.
“Daisy's safe?” she asked before anything else.
“She is. Where is Carmen Reyes?”
“Her mother?” Ruth swallowed. “I don't know. She left after she found the receipts.”
Ruth led Damon into the kitchen. Six shelves stood empty. A pot of watery rice cooled on the stove.
“We transferred eight hundred thousand dollars last quarter,” Damon said. “I signed the authorization.”
“Then somebody got eight hundred thousand dollars. We didn't.”
She handed him an inventory printout. It claimed deliveries of eggs, milk, vegetables, medicine, and nearly twelve thousand prepared meals. The most recent invoice was dated yesterday. The kitchen's refrigerator had contained three cartons of milk yesterday.
Damon stopped at the loading dock. A crooked white stencil marked the wall: HART LOGISTICS. Beside it was a bird-shaped company logo.
“The truck,” he murmured.
Ruth nodded. “Their drivers used to bring real food. Two months ago they started asking me to sign for pallets that never came. I refused. Then the board said they might replace me.”
“Who told you that?”
“Elisa's father. Victor Rochefort.”
Damon felt his stomach tighten. Victor had been his mentor in philanthropy, the man who introduced him to donors and convinced him he could do good with his money.
Ruth unlocked the freezer. Its shelves were nearly bare. Under a tray of ice packs lay a blue plastic case with a missing latch.
“Carmen hid that,” Ruth said. “She told me someone would come for it.”
Inside sat a single brass key and a card labeled UNIT C-17.
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Then Ruth's phone lit up with a security alert: SOMEONE HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING.
