Chapter 7 - THE BAIT
Dana took Daniel's phone out of his hand before he could type a reply.
"No."
Daniel stared at the photograph.
"They have my medal."
"Which means they were inside your room after you left."
Elena stood so quickly the chair behind her rolled backward.
"They went through everything."
Daniel looked at her.
"The medal doesn't matter."
"The gun does."
"Yes."
Dana forwarded the message to Brooks through an evidence portal and photographed the screen with a separate device.
"Do not delete anything."
"I know."
"Do not answer."
"I know."
"And do not decide that because you understand ambushes, this is somehow your kind of operation."
Daniel looked at her.
"I wasn't going to."
Dana gave him a long stare.
"You were absolutely going to."
Elena surprised both of them.
"He was."
Daniel turned toward her.
"Whose side are you on?"
It was the first joke he had made since coming home.
Elena's mouth trembled into a tiny smile.
Then she looked at the photograph again and the smile disappeared.
"What does 'keep Elena out of prison' mean?"
Dana pointed at Victoria's court filing.
"They are building a criminal accusation against you."
Elena's face went pale.
"For hitting Victoria?"
"Possibly."
"I didn't."
"I know."
"What else?"
Dana hesitated.
"The filing also accuses you of stealing business funds."
Daniel turned.
"They moved the money."
"Which means they may try to attribute the transfers to Elena."
Elena sank back into the chair.
"How?"
"Credentials."
Dana spoke carefully.
"Signatures."
Another pause.
"Records they control."
Daniel looked at the anonymous message.
The wording suddenly made sense.
Come home alone if you want to keep Elena out of prison.
They were not merely threatening him.
They were offering a false bargain.
Silence in exchange for blame.
Brooks arrived twelve minutes later with two investigators.
She read the message and studied the photograph.
"Wooden table," she said.
Daniel nodded.
"Our dining table."
"You're sure?"
"I built it."
Brooks looked at the medal.
"When did you last see that?"
"This morning before we left."
"Location?"
"Deployment bag in the bedroom closet."
"So someone entered your room after departure."
"Yes."
Brooks zoomed in on the photograph.
"Anything distinctive in the reflection?"
Daniel leaned closer.
The polished surface of the gun reflected a thin stripe of light.
Nothing useful.
Then Elena pointed at the corner.
"The placemat."
Brooks looked at her.
"What about it?"
"Victoria threw those away last month."
Daniel frowned.
"Why?"
"Red wine stain."
Elena zoomed in.
The placemat beneath the weapon had a dark mark near one edge.
"She said they were ruined."
Dana understood first.
"The photograph might be old."
Elena nodded.
"At least a month."
Brooks looked at Daniel.
"When was the weapon last verified in the armory?"
"Four months ago."
"Then it could have been removed weeks ago."
"Which means this message was planned."
Brooks did not disagree.
One investigator took the metadata from the incoming image.
The file had been stripped.
The number was a disposable internet line.
The message had traveled through servers outside the state.
Whoever sent it had made an effort.
Daniel paced once across the room.
"They want me at the house."
Brooks nodded.
"Probably."
"Then use me."
Dana snapped, "No."
Brooks remained quiet.
Daniel looked at her.
"You need probable cause to search the house for the gun."
"Potentially."
"The text says it's there."
"The photograph suggests it may have been there."
"And if I agree to go?"
Dana stood.
"Absolutely not."
Daniel ignored her.
"You can monitor."
Brooks shook her head.
"You are not trained as a cooperating witness."
"I am trained not to panic."
"That is not the same thing."
Elena looked at Daniel.
"Don't go."
His answer came immediately.
"I won't if you don't want me to."
The room went quiet.
Elena studied his face.
A day earlier, he would have made the decision for both of them.
Now he waited.
She looked at Brooks.
"If he goes, can you protect him?"
"We can reduce risk."
"That is not what I asked."
Brooks did not soften the truth.
"No one can promise perfect protection."
Elena turned back to Daniel.
"Then no."
Daniel nodded.
"No."
Dana exhaled with relief.
Brooks's phone rang.
She listened for less than a minute.
"We may not need him."
"Why?" Daniel asked.
"The court order Victoria filed contains an address verification statement."
"So?"
"Keene signed as a witness."
Dana leaned forward.
"Today?"
"This afternoon."
"While he was supposedly sick."
"Correct."
Brooks continued.
"And he certified he was physically present at Daniel's house at 2:10 p.m."
Daniel looked at the clock.
That was less than eight hours earlier.
"Can you use that?"
"Maybe."
Dana smiled without humor.
"Your favorite word."
Brooks ignored her.
"If Keene was acting in an official capacity while off duty and accessing law enforcement systems for a private matter, internal affairs has jurisdiction to move quickly."
"And the gun?"
"If we establish he is involved in evidence tampering or false filings, the threshold changes."
Daniel looked at Elena.
For the first time, the system did not feel entirely controlled by Victoria.
At 11:30 p.m., Brooks received the vendor snapshot from the armory access system.
She called Daniel and Elena back to the screen.
The image was grainy but clear enough.
A man stood near the access reader wearing a baseball cap and medical mask.
He was broad-shouldered.
His face was partly hidden.
Daniel looked at the posture.
"Ricardo."
Brooks said, "You cannot identify him from posture alone."
"I know how he stands."
"A defense attorney will love that answer."
Daniel frowned.
Elena leaned closer.
"His hand."
Everyone looked.
The man was holding a phone near the badge reader.
On his right hand was a thick silver ring.
Elena pointed.
"Ricardo wears that every day."
Daniel remembered it too.
Their grandfather's ring.
Ricardo had inherited it.
Brooks zoomed in.
The resolution was poor, but the shape was distinctive.
"Better," she said.
"Still not enough alone."
A second event snapshot from August appeared.
The same man stood at the door.
This time, the mask had slipped below his nose.
Daniel's heart accelerated.
It was Ricardo.
Not maybe.
Not posture.
Not a ring.
His face was visible.
Elena whispered, "Oh my God."
Dana looked at Brooks.
"Now?"
Brooks nodded.
"Now we have something."
She stepped into the hallway.
Within an hour, state investigators prepared applications tied to Ricardo's unauthorized access, the missing firearm, and the suspected document fraud.
Daniel and Elena were moved again, this time to a protected apartment used for witnesses in domestic violence cases.
The apartment had two bedrooms, beige walls, and nothing personal.
Elena stood at the window while Daniel made coffee neither of them wanted.
"I keep thinking about home," she said.
"Me too."
"Not the house."
Daniel looked at her.
"Us."
She turned around.
"Before they came."
Daniel set down the mug.
"We'll get there."
"Maybe."
He gave her a look.
Elena almost smiled.
"Now I'm saying it."
"I noticed."
She walked closer.
"I need to tell you something."
Daniel waited.
"When Victoria showed me those fake messages from you, I believed them for one night."
Daniel felt the sting but said nothing.
"I hated you."
"You had every reason to believe what was in front of you."
"No."
"Elena."
"I should have known you better."
Daniel shook his head.
"You were being lied to by people inside our home."
"I still doubted you."
Daniel moved closer but did not touch her.
"I came home and accused you of having an affair."
Elena looked down.
"That hurt."
"I know."
"I wanted to tell you everything right then."
"Why didn't you?"
Her eyes rose to his.
"Because I thought the camera was still recording."
Daniel swallowed.
"And because I didn't know if they had convinced you I was crazy."
He could not answer for a moment.
Then he said, "They almost did."
Elena flinched.
Daniel continued before she could turn away.
"For about twelve hours."
He forced himself to be honest.
"And that is on me."
Elena looked at him.
"You came back to a house designed to make me look guilty."
"I still should have asked better questions."
"You asked one bad question."
"A terrible one."
"Yes."
Daniel accepted it.
Elena stepped closer.
Then, slowly, she rested her forehead against his chest.
He did not wrap his arms around her until she lifted his hands and placed them there herself.
They stood like that for a long time.
At 4:18 a.m., Daniel's phone rang.
Brooks.
He answered immediately.
"We executed the warrant."
Elena lifted her head.
"At the house?"
"Yes."
"Did you find the gun?"
A pause.
"No."
Daniel's stomach dropped.
"Ricardo?"
"Gone."
"Victoria?"
"Present."
"Keene?"
"Not there."
Daniel looked at Elena.
"What did you find?"
Brooks's voice became quieter.
"Your medal was on the dining table exactly where the photograph showed it."
"And the gun?"
"Missing."
"So Ricardo took it."
"Possibly."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Brooks continued.
"But we found something else."
"What?"
"A typed note in Ricardo's room."
Daniel waited.
"It lists Elena's work schedule, medical appointments, bank visits, and the hotel you used yesterday."
Elena went cold.
"The hotel?"
Daniel looked at her.
May you like
Brooks finished.
"Someone updated the note after you left the house."
