Chapter 9 - Sirens and Shadows
The cold night air hit Ethan's face like a bucket of ice as he followed Marcus down the iron fire escape behind the apartment building. Behind them, through the fourth-floor window they had just exited, the dull glow of a flashlight beam swept over the empty room. Seconds later, a muffled muffled explosion followed by the distinct smell of accelerant drifted down the alleyway.
""They're torching the place,"" Ethan muttered, watching smoke curl into the night sky.
""Standard procedure for Eleanor's cleanup crew,"" Marcus said, landing silently on the concrete alley floor and motioning for Ethan to follow. ""The local precinct has three senior detectives on her payroll. It’ll be ruled an electrical fire by breakfast.""
They hurried through the labyrinth of back alleys until they reached an unmarked, nondescript black sedan parked under the shadow of an overpass. Marcus unlocked the doors, and both men slipped inside.
Ethan immediately pulled out Clara’s lab results under the dashboard light. His eyes scanned the technical data until they reached the conclusion: Compound identified: Synthetic Ergot Alkaloid. Highly controlled substance. Known distributor: BioPharm Logistics.
Ethan's breath stopped. ""BioPharm Logistics is a subsidiary of Vance Industries.""
""Eleanor manufactured the very poison she slipped into your wife's tea,"" Marcus confirmed, starting the engine. ""She used her own shell company to bypass federal tracking.""
Ethan's phone vibrated violently in his pocket. He snatched it out, expecting a call from Dr. Harrison.
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Instead, a text message flashed on the screen from an unknown number. It contained a single photograph: a live security feed of the NICU room where his newborn son lay inside an incubator. Standing right outside the glass window, wearing a visitor's pass, was Eleanor.
The caption beneath read: Bring me the notebook, or the boy won't make it through the night.
