Chapter 4 - THE MAN INSIDE MY UNIT
I called Major Sarah Moreno from the hospital hallway.
She answered on the second ring.
“Carter?”
“You awake?”
“It’s four in the afternoon here.”
Right.
My body still hadn’t caught up with home.
“I found the leak.”
Silence.
Then:
“You’re sure?”
“No. But I found proof there is one.”
I told her about Emma’s missing messages.
The fake responses.
The casualty notice.
The photographs.
The initials MC.
When I finished, Sarah didn’t speak for several seconds.
“Don’t send me anything electronically.”
That answer told me she already suspected something.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know which channel is compromised.”
My pulse increased.
“You knew?”
“I knew someone accessed your personnel file outside normal administrative hours.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
“And nobody told me?”
“We were investigating.”
“While my wife was being terrorized?”
Her voice hardened.
“Carter, I did not know your family was involved.”
I leaned against the hallway wall.
“Who accessed it?”
“A credentials package assigned to Staff Sergeant Marcus Cole.”
MC.
There it was.
Marcus Cole worked administrative logistics.
He had processed travel orders.
Emergency contact updates.
Temporary duty forms.
He had also been friendly.
Too friendly, I realized now.
He knew when my communications windows were.
He knew when I would be unreachable.
He knew my return date.
And he had copies of my signature on half a dozen official forms.
“Where is he?”
Sarah paused.
“Gone.”
“What does that mean?”
“He failed to report two days ago.”
My stomach dropped.
“When did he leave?”
“We don’t know.”
“Did he know I was returning early?”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
I looked through the hospital room window at Emma.
Marcus knew I had come home today.
And he disappeared two days ago.
Sarah continued.
“We searched his workspace this morning.”
“Find anything?”
“One item that concerned me.”
“What?”
“A prepaid phone.”
My grip tightened around mine.
“Whose number?”
“Several numbers. Most are dead.”
“Most?”
“One is active.”
“Who?”
“We’re working on it.”
“Sarah.”
She exhaled.
“The subscriber data points to a shell company.”
“What company?”
“North Ridge Holdings.”
I knew that name.
Kyle’s spreadsheet.
The family had used North Ridge to receive transferred funds.
“This is bigger than my personnel records.”
“I know.”
“Marcus was moving money.”
“We don’t know that.”
“But you think it.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing electronically. Photograph nothing. Forward nothing. Preserve everything exactly as you found it.”
“The sheriff has the house.”
“Good.”
“And Sarah?”
“Yes?”
“Marcus approached my wife.”
“I heard.”
“If he comes near her again—”
“Call local law enforcement. Do not confront him.”
I said nothing.
“Carter.”
“I heard you.”
“No. I need you to understand. You are home. You are angry. That combination makes people believe they can solve things personally.”
“I’m not interested in revenge.”
“What are you interested in?”
I looked at my son through the glass.
“Making sure nobody can do this again.”
“Then let investigators do their jobs.”
The call ended.
I went back into the room.
Emma was asleep.
Noah was awake.
His eyes moved toward me.
I sat beside him and placed one finger against his tiny palm.
He gripped it.
Harder than I expected.
I stayed that way until my phone vibrated.
A message from the deputy.
We found another device in the residence. Need you to identify whether it belongs to you.
Attached was a photograph.
A small listening device.
Professional.
Not one of mine.
It had been hidden beneath the desk in my home office.
Someone had been monitoring Emma inside our house.
Then another message arrived.
It was from an unknown number.
No text.
Just a photograph.
Taken through the hospital window.
Emma asleep.
Me beside Noah.
The photograph had been taken minutes ago.
A second message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED OVERSEAS.
May you like
I looked up.
Across the parking lot, beyond the falling snow, a gray pickup truck pulled away from the curb.
