Chapter 5 - WHAT THE CHILD RECORDED
We gave Sofia’s information to the police. With a warrant, officers
searched the storage unit in Long Island City.
They found boxes of company files, two unregistered phones, a
bloodstained jacket, and a laptop hidden beneath a tarp. Behind a stack
of crates, they found Daniel Price.
He was alive, barely. His face was bruised and one arm badly injured.
Paramedics took him to a hospital under police protection.
The laptop contained spreadsheets showing millions transferred through
shell companies. Marco had been stealing from the organization for
years, then blaming missing funds on employees who disappeared.
But the memory card was missing.
I returned to Mateo’s restaurant. He was sitting alone, staring at
Elena’s drawing.
“Did she have a hiding place?”
“She used to hide things in her schoolbag. Notes, stickers, little
treasures.”
He led me upstairs. Elena’s schoolbag sat beside her bed. Inside were
crayons, a spelling workbook, tissues, and a drawing of a horse. I
checked every pocket. Nothing.
Then Bruno entered. He sniffed the bag, moved past the desk, and stopped
beside a stuffed brown rabbit on the pillow. He nudged it with his nose.
Mateo frowned. “She took that rabbit everywhere.”
One seam along its back had been stitched with different thread. Inside
was a tiny pocket.
A memory card slipped into my palm.
Mateo covered his mouth. “Elena.”
The police made a forensic copy. The recording was shaky but clear. It
showed Marco beside the sedan, Daniel Price being forced into the trunk,
and Marco turning toward the camera.
His face was unmistakable.
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The recording ended with his voice.
“Get the phone. Find the girl.”
