Chapter 8 - LOCKER 214
Bellmere Union Station had been closed for passenger service for eleven years.
The building remained because nobody wanted to pay to tear it down.
Its clock no longer worked.
Its windows were boarded.
The old luggage lockers sat in a corridor beneath the east platform.
At one in the morning, Maeve stood outside with Rocco, Nora, and Officer Cole.
No one trusted anyone.
That seemed fair.
Cole held his burned arm against his chest.
Rocco kept watching him.
“If you try anything stupid—”
Cole shook his head.
“Save the tough-guy speech.”
“You were inside the bakery before the fire.”
“I was looking for the same thing you were.”
Maeve held up the brass key.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know about it?”
Cole looked toward Nora.
“Patrick told me.”
Nora stared.
“When?”
“The night he died.”
Maeve stepped closer.
“You spoke to my father?”
Cole nodded.
“He called me after Rocco didn’t answer.”
Rocco’s face tightened.
“What did he tell you?”
“That he had evidence against Dominic.”
“And?”
“That some cops were taking money.”
Rocco looked at him.
“You?”
Cole’s jaw clenched.
“No.”
“Convenient.”
Cole stepped forward.
“I was twenty-six years old and scared out of my mind. Patrick asked me to meet him. I told him I needed an hour.”
Maeve whispered, “And he died.”
“Yes.”
“Did you go?”
“I got there after the crash.”
Maeve stared.
“You’ve known for eight years.”
“I suspected.”
“You told my mother it was an accident.”
“I didn’t have proof.”
Maeve laughed bitterly.
“So everybody was protecting us.”
Nobody answered.
She pushed past them.
“Open the door.”
The station smelled of dust, rust, and wet wood.
Their footsteps echoed.
Locker numbers ran along the basement wall.
Maeve stopped at 214.
Her hand shook as she inserted the key.
Rocco stood beside her.
“You want me to do it?”
“No.”
She turned the key.
The lock clicked.
Maeve opened the small metal door.
Inside sat a plastic evidence bag.
A ledger.
Three USB drives.
And an envelope with NORA written across the front.
Nora began to cry before she even opened it.
Maeve removed the ledger.
Names.
Dates.
Addresses.
Payments.
One line appeared again and again.
D. VALE.
Cole took a breath.
“This is enough.”
Rocco looked at him.
“For what?”
“To reopen everything.”
Maeve grabbed one of the USB drives.
“Let’s see what’s on these.”
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Rocco killed his flashlight.
Another step.
Then another.
Cole drew his gun.
Maeve’s eyes widened.
“You brought a gun?”
“I’m a cop.”
“Right. I forgot because you’ve been so useful.”
Rocco almost smiled.
Then a flashlight beam swept across the stairwell.
A man’s voice called down.
“Officer Cole?”
Cole’s face changed.
“Who is that?” Maeve whispered.
He didn’t answer.
The voice came again.
“Daniel, I know you’re down there.”
Cole raised his gun.
Rocco whispered, “Friend?”
“No.”
The footsteps descended.
Then another voice spoke from behind them.
“You people really should’ve left the dead alone.”
Maeve spun around.
May you like
A second man stood at the far end of the corridor.
And this one was holding a shotgun.
