Chapter 12 - The Window Above the Press
We ran until Nora ordered us behind a stone wall. Officers moved toward the packing house from both sides. An old apple press rusted beside the loading dock; the windows above it were boarded except for one square of dirty glass.
"No more running ahead," Nora told us. "If you want to help him, listen."
Through a loudspeaker, an officer called for whoever was inside to come out. Nobody answered. A team entered through the side door, clearing the building room by room.
We watched from cover as the top window suddenly swung open. A jacket fell out, then a recording device attached to a length of twine. It continued playing a boy's voice yelling, "Help me!" even after it hit the ground.
Celia collapsed against the wall. "He never had Jamie here."
"He wanted us focused on the windows," Nora said.
Behind us came the crunch of tires on gravel. Mercer drove a pickup through the orchard gate and stopped in front of the unmarked police car. His window lowered. He fired two shots into the air, then sped away toward the east trail, drawing several officers after him.
"He's dividing the team," I said.
Nora radioed for units to stay on their assigned positions. She refused to chase a distraction without knowing where the hostage was.
Lucía sat beside me, shaking. I gave her my jacket. "You could have died getting here."
"I know. I thought if he saw me, he'd stop hurting Jamie."
"And I thought if I made enough choices for you, nothing bad could happen. Neither one of us was right."
She leaned into me for a second. An officer brought over the recording device. Its battery cover bore a sticker from Northline's equipment room. Celia recognized the stamped number underneath.
"That belongs to the cold-storage cellar," she said. "Daniel used it to test the basement speakers after he bought the old packing house."
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Nora turned toward the orchard hill. "Where is the cellar entrance?"
Celia went white. "Under the place where we buried Marisol's wedding ring."
