Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Abigail stared at the photograph for nearly a minute.
“That isn’t possible,” she whispered.
“You identified him?”
She looked at me.
“That’s Andrew.”
“Your brother?”
“My oldest brother.”
Mara placed another photograph beside it.
A newspaper clipping from three years earlier.
The headline read:
LAB TECHNICIAN KILLED IN CONTAINMENT ACCIDENT.
The victim’s name was Andrew Ward.
Abigail covered her mouth.
“Daniel was the one who died.”
“Then the institute lied about the victim.”
“Why?”
“To hide Andrew’s involvement.”
Abigail’s breathing became shallow.
“Andrew wasn’t a scientist. He handled security and transport. He had access to every room and every shipment.”
“And he was working at the park.”
She closed her eyes.
“My brothers were both involved.”
The investigation moved quickly.
Andrew Ward had rented the dark green van. He had access to the park maintenance road. He had photographed the children. He had planted the snakes and staged the attack to create public chaos.
But we still needed to find him.
Titan led us back to the park.
The ground had been washed by rain, but the dog followed a faint scent from the maintenance road to an abandoned greenhouse behind the old botanical garden.
The building had been closed for years. Its windows were broken, and vines covered the walls.
Inside, we found dozens of empty reptile containers.
A table held maps, photographs, and several video files on a laptop.
One video showed Titan and me during a previous patrol.
Another showed Lily and Mason.
A third showed Abigail leaving the police station.
Andrew had been watching everyone.
Then the laptop screen flickered.
A video began playing automatically.
Andrew appeared in the frame.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Abigail,” he said, “you were always too loyal to Daniel.”
She stood beside me, trembling.
Andrew continued.
“Our family could have been powerful. We could have owned the research. But Daniel wanted justice. He destroyed everything.”
Abigail’s face hardened.
“You killed him.”
“I gave him a choice. He refused.”
Mara searched the room while the video continued.
Andrew explained that the missing recording was hidden with Ava, the janitor’s daughter. He had spent years searching for her. When he learned she had been seen near Centennial Park, he used Lily and Mason as bait.
The recording was not with them.
It was with someone else.
Someone connected to the park.
A low sound came from the greenhouse’s upper level.
Titan lifted his head.
A metal rattle echoed through the room.
I raised my weapon.
“Everyone stay still.”
A trapdoor opened above us.
Andrew appeared on the metal walkway with a small remote control in one hand.
Behind him stood a teenage girl.
She had dark hair, frightened eyes, and a cloth tied over her mouth.
“Ava,” Abigail whispered.
Andrew held a second control.
On the floor around us, hidden beneath leaves and broken glass, several containers began to move.
Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.
“Drop your weapons,” Andrew ordered.
Mara aimed at him.
Andrew pressed the button.
A glass enclosure shattered.
Titan stepped in front of me.
Andrew smiled.
“Now we find out whether the famous dog can save everyone.”
He pressed the control again.
May you like
The greenhouse doors locked.
Smoke began filling the room.
