Chapter Nine C: The Wrong Road
At the market, officers had surrounded the bus without approaching its doors.
The driver had pulled the curtains across the windows.
Through a narrow gap, a deputy could see two adults seated in the front row.
Someone farther back was holding a white towel against the glass.
The driver told police that the passengers had requested privacy.
He also claimed that a second bus would arrive to take them to a medical facility.
Kent listened to the updates while Adrian spread the county map across the counter.
“There’s no medical facility on that road,” he said.
“The old grain warehouse is the only building beyond the market.”
Grant looked at the map from the kitchen doorway.
“There’s a truck scale behind the warehouse,” he said.
“It still works when the power is on.”
Emily glanced at him.
“How do you know that?”
“I used to deliver supplies there,” he replied.
“Before I bought the diner.”
Kent asked whether the warehouse had another exit.
Grant pointed to a narrow road that curved around the northern fence.
“That road goes to a maintenance yard,” he said.
“The gate is usually chained.”
“Usually?” Kent asked.
“The chain was missing last month,” Grant answered.
“I noticed it when I took a shortcut home.”
The deputy transmitted the information to officers at the market.
Minutes later, a second patrol car moved toward the maintenance yard.
Emily watched Kent’s expression as she listened.
“They found fresh tracks,” Kent said.
“Someone drove a van through the yard this morning.”
Samuel leaned against the counter.
“That van was behind our diner,” he said.
“It reversed when we approached.”
“We don’t know whether it was the same vehicle,” Kent cautioned.
“We know someone is using roads that aren’t on the transport plan,” Emily replied.
Kent acknowledged the distinction with a nod.
She called the officer at the maintenance yard and asked him to photograph the tire impressions without entering the warehouse.
Grant stared at the map as though it might change beneath his hands.
“I thought the contractor was moving equipment,” he said.
“He told me they were relocating a kitchen.”
“You didn’t ask which kitchen?” Emily asked.
Grant had no answer.
Chapter Nine D: Lucia’s Number
Lucia called Nadia from the staging area while the police were still negotiating with the driver.
The girl’s voice sounded smaller over the phone than Emily remembered.
“Inez told me to remember six numbers,” Lucia said.
“She said I should only tell someone who could say my mother’s name.”
Nadia told her that she was safe and that her mother was listening.
Lucia recited the number slowly.
Nadia wrote it on a paper napkin.
Adrian recognized the first three digits as the prefix used for county vehicle assignments.
“It’s probably a bus number,” he said.
Kent asked him not to guess in front of the child.
“Lucia, did Inez say what the numbers meant?” the deputy asked.
“She said it was on the side of the white van,” Lucia answered.
“The man with the silver ring covered the last number with his hand when she looked.”
Kent wrote down the sequence.
“You did exactly what she asked,” she told Lucia.
“Now you can rest.”
The girl hesitated.
“Is Inez in trouble?” she asked.
Nadia closed her eyes.
“We’re trying to find her,” she answered.
“You helped us understand where to look.”
After the call, Kent compared the digits with the county’s transport contractor database.
The sequence did not belong to a bus.
It identified a temporary loading permit issued to a freight company.
The permit listed the old grain warehouse as its destination.
Adrian looked at the map again.
“Then the warehouse matters,” he said.
“The permit may be legitimate,” Kent replied.
“But now I have a reason to ask the company who is using it.”
The company dispatcher answered on the second ring.
She said the permit had been canceled the previous week.
She also said the white van assigned to that permit had been reported missing from a fenced yard.
Kent ended the call and asked the dispatcher to send the report directly to the officers at the market.
Samuel stared at the napkin with the six numbers.
“She knew someone might take her away,” he said.
Emily touched the back of a chair to steady herself.
“She also knew Lucia might be the only person who could help,” she answered.
