Chapter 24 - The Phone That Answered Itself
The heavy wooden front door shut behind them, sealing them back inside the house. Daniel immediately ushered Noah and Lily into the interior hallway, far away from any ground-floor windows. He pulled his smartphone from his pocket to dial Detective Ramirez’s direct mobile number, but the screen showed zero bars of reception.
"No signal," Daniel muttered, frustration mounting. "The cell tower must be down."
Suddenly, the landline telephone mounted on the kitchen wall rang.
The electronic chime cut through the silence like a gunshot. Noah flinched, burying his face in Lily’s jacket. Lily stood rigid, her eyes fixed on the handset.
*Ring.*
*Ring.*
Daniel walked slowly toward the kitchen, the steel pry bar still clutched firmly in his right hand. He picked up the receiver and pressed it to his ear without uttering a word.
For three seconds, there was only the static hum of an open copper line. Then, a dry, raspy voice spoke—cultivated, polite, and completely devoid of human warmth.
"Good evening, Daniel."
It was Arthur Vance.
"You should have left that patch of cement undisturbed, son," Vance said quietly. "Rachel was a stubborn girl. Clever, but stubborn. She failed to understand that some structures cannot be dismantled without crushing the people standing beneath them."
"You murdered my wife," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal register.
May you like
"A tragic automotive failure," Vance replied calmly. "And now, you have something that belongs to the municipal archives. Bring the metal box across the lawn to my study, Daniel. Bring it within ten minutes, and perhaps your children will have a father who lives to see tomorrow."
The line went dead with a loud click.
