Chapter 13: The Second Clue
491 Words
The evidence box was taken to police headquarters under heavy security.
Detective Laura Bennett placed every item on the conference table: the journal, the old photographs, the letter, and a faded map folded inside the leather cover.
"There has to be something we missed," she said.
Maya carefully unfolded the map.
"It's a map of the city."
Jordan leaned closer.
"There are markings."
Three small red circles had been drawn on different locations.
The first circle was around Blackwater Lighthouse.
The second was around an abandoned railway station on the east side of the city.
The third was covered by a dark coffee stain, making the location impossible to identify.
Alexander looked at the journal.
"Maybe Father left another message."
---
For the next hour, they searched every page.
Most of the journal contained business notes and personal reflections.
Then Maya noticed something unusual.
"The first letter of every paragraph..."
Alexander frowned.
"What about them?"
"They spell something."
Jordan quickly wrote them down.
T... R... U... S... T... N... O... O... N... E.
He looked up.
"It says... 'TRUST NO ONE.'"
A heavy silence filled the room.
Detective Bennett sighed.
"That means the person responsible could have been close to your father."
Alexander closed the journal slowly.
"Someone he worked with every day."
---
Later that evening, Maya returned home exhausted.
Ethan greeted her with a worried smile.
"You've barely slept all week."
She laughed softly.
"I know."
As she walked into the kitchen, she noticed an envelope lying on the table.
"There wasn't any stamp," Ethan said. "Someone slipped it under the door."
Maya opened it carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed Alexander's father standing beside another man.
The man's face had been scratched out with a black marker.
On the back of the photograph were handwritten words.
Stop looking for the truth... or the next funeral will be yours.
Maya's blood ran cold.
---
The next morning, she showed the photograph to Alexander.
His expression darkened.
"I've seen this picture before."
"You have?"
"It was taken at Stone Global's twenty-fifth anniversary celebration."
He pointed to the scratched-out figure.
"I know exactly who that man is."
Maya held her breath.
"Who?"
Alexander looked out the window.
"My father's business partner."
"What happened to him?"
"He disappeared the same week my father died."
Before Maya could ask another question, Jordan burst into the office.
"Alexander!"
"What is it?"
"The abandoned railway station..."
Alexander stood.
"What about it?"
"Someone broke in last night."
"They found the second clue?"
Jordan shook his head.
"No."
"They're waiting for us."
Alexander exchanged a determined look with Maya.
"Then we won't keep them waiting."
As they headed for the elevator, neither of them noticed the tiny camera hidden inside the office smoke detector.
Miles away, a mysterious figure watched them on a monitor.
"They're getting closer," he whispered.
"But they're still chasing the wrong person."
He smiled.
"Exactly as I planned."
To be continued
- Writer
