Chapter 4 - Following The Cold Trail Of The Abandoned Car
The police tape fluttered miserably in the drizzle behind an abandoned industrial warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
Detective Miller leaned against the side of his unmarked cruiser, sipping black coffee from a stained paper cup as Nora approached.
“We found the sedan ten minutes after your call, Nora,” Miller said, pointing toward a silver SUV covered in mud.
“Wiped clean inside and out; no fingerprints, no child safety seats, no receipts in the glove compartment.”
Nora stared at the empty vehicle, her chest tightening as she remembered the little girl pressing her face against the rear window.
“The woman driving that car... did you find any registration records tied to her plates?” Nora asked urgently.
Miller let out a heavy sigh, tossing his empty cup into a nearby wire trash barrel.
“The plates belonged to a dead man in New Jersey, and the vehicle was purchased with a pre-paid debit card,” Miller explained.
“Whoever took that child isn’t just some amateur kidnapper, Nora; they have professional-grade institutional backing.”
“My ex-husband knows something,” Nora insisted, gripping Miller’s sleeve with desperate fingers. “He told me to stop looking.”
Miller looked down at her hand, his expression softening into a mix of professional sympathy and grim caution.
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“Mark Vance sits on the board of trustees for three major hospital networks in this state,” Miller warned quietly.
“If he’s tied up in this, you’re playing a very dangerous game against people who own the judges and the cops.”
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