Chapter 6 – The Badge That Hid a Traitor
Every officer slowly turned.
Detective Mark Sullivan stood near the warehouse entrance.
A respected investigator.
Twenty-two years on the force.
One of Daniel's closest mentors.
"What is this?" Mark asked calmly.
Daniel didn't answer.
Rex's growl grew louder.
The German Shepherd bared his teeth.
Something Daniel had never seen him do toward another officer.
"Rex..."
The dog refused to back down.
Mark slowly smiled.
"I guess dogs really do remember scents."
Daniel's blood turned cold.
"What are you talking about?"
Mark reached into his jacket.
Several officers instantly raised their weapons.
Instead of a gun...
He pulled out a small stuffed rabbit.
The same kind the rescued little girl had been clutching.
Daniel's eyes widened.
"No..."
Mark sighed.
"You were never supposed to find this place."
Before anyone could react...
The warehouse lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A loud metallic crash echoed through the building.
Then came shouting.
Footsteps.
Gunfire erupted somewhere in the darkness.
Daniel lost sight of everyone.
"Rex!"
The dog barked once.
Then twice.
Guiding Daniel through the darkness.
When the emergency lights finally flickered back on...
Detective Mark had vanished.
So had the laptop.
So had every folder of evidence.
Only one thing remained on the concrete floor.
A silver police badge.
On the back, someone had engraved six chilling words:
"The Chief knows everything already."
Daniel slowly looked up.
If those words were true...
The conspiracy reached far beyond one corrupt detective.
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It had already climbed to the very top of the police department.
To be continued in Chapters 7 & 8...
