Chapter 10 - THE DOG IN THE TUNNEL
Bruno's blood trail ended beneath the hospital laundry dock.
A maintenance door stood open. Behind it, an old utility tunnel ran toward the river.
Elena was still safe upstairs. Bruno had left because he smelled someone.
We followed the tunnel with flashlights. Brooks moved first, Tony behind her, me last. Water dripped from rusted pipes. Somewhere ahead, Bruno barked once.
Then a man screamed.
We found Harlan's driver pinned beneath a broken cart. Bruno stood over him with a shallow cut along his shoulder.
The driver had entered through the tunnel carrying hospital uniforms and a sealed cooler.
Inside the cooler were sedatives, blank death certificates, and a photograph of Elena's room.
"Where is Harlan?" Brooks asked.
The driver laughed through broken breath. "Closer than you think."
His phone showed a map of old service tunnels beneath three hospitals, two courthouses, and City Hall. Enzo's network had not only moved victims. It had moved bribes, weapons, and witnesses.
A red dot blinked under St. Catherine's.
"Bomb?" Tony asked.
The driver smiled.
We ran.
The device was attached to a gas control line beneath the pediatric wing. Brooks called the bomb squad, but the timer showed six minutes.
The hospital began evacuating patients.
Elena refused to leave without Bruno.
I carried her down the stairs while Rosa held the bunny and Tomas pushed an oxygen tank for another child. Bruno limped beside us.
At street level, the timer stopped at twelve seconds.
The bomb squad had cut the signal.
Everyone cheered.
I did not.
The device had been a distraction.
During the evacuation, someone entered the evidence room and stole the original ledger drive.
Security footage showed the thief wearing a detective's jacket.
Brooks watched the recording twice.
Then she removed her badge and placed it on the desk.
"That is my partner," she said.
Detective Paul Raines had worked beside her for nine years.
He was also the officer who first investigated Carlo's murder.
A message appeared on Brooks's phone from Raines.
May you like
TELL MORETTI TO COME ALONE.
Below it was a photograph of Tony tied to a chair.
