No name. No stamp. Only four words written across the front. You should have listened. Clare stared at it.
Daniel picked it up. You're not going home alone tonight. She shook her head. "I can handle this." You almost couldn't handle the hallway.
Her eyes flashed. "I am not helpless." I didn't say you were. You looked at me like I was. Daniel held her gaze.
"No, I looked at you like somebody is trying to scare you." That silence was different. Not angry. Personal. Clare looked down.
Lily is at the office daycare. Daniel checked the time. 4:38. Go get her." Clare nodded.
But when they reached the daycare, Lily wasn't there. The room was empty. Her backpack was gone. Her teacher explained that Clare's assistant had picked her up 40 minutes earlier. Clare's face went pale.
My assistant? The teacher nodded. Sarah said, "You asked her to take Lily home." Clare took out her phone. Sarah wasn't answering.
Daniel felt the muscles in his jaw tighten. "Call the police." Clare already was. 20 minutes later, they found Sarah's car parked two blocks from the building, empty. Lily's backpack was inside.
The silver compass was missing. Clare nearly collapsed. Daniel caught her arm. Where would Lily go? Clare couldn't answer.
Then Daniel saw something. A small sticker on the backpack. A cartoon fox. The same fox Lily carried everywhere. Does Lily have a favorite place?
Clare wiped her eyes. "The Christmas market." Why? Her father used to take her there. Daniel looked toward the street.
Then that's where we'll start. They found Lily 40 minutes later beside a carousel. She was sitting alone on a wooden bench. A police officer stood nearby. Clare ran toward her.
Lily? The girl jumped up. Her mother dropped to her knees and pulled her close. Daniel stayed back. Lily looked over Clare's shoulder.
Where's Daniel? Clare turned. He was standing under a string of warm lights. Lily ran to him. Daniel crouched.
You okay? She nodded. Then she whispered something only he could hear. "The man gave me this." She opened her hand.
A small brass key. Daniel's expression changed. Who? Lily pointed toward the carousel, but the crowd had shifted. Nobody was there.
Daniel took the key. Stamped onto the metal were two letters. HD Hartwell Technologies. The investigation suddenly wasn't about forged documents anymore. Someone had taken Lily because they believed she knew something.
But what? They returned to headquarters after the police secured the area. Clare sat in a conference room while Daniel studied the key. At 7:10 p.m., Daniel remembered something. "Your storage floor."
Clare looked up. What about it? Last month, you asked me why maintenance had access to an old server room. I remember. I told you the locks had been changed.