"That's where they're taking him," Jace said. Rhett looked at Norah, who had come out of the warehouse with Mara. The relief he had expected to feel on seeing her alive did not arrive. Instead he felt the weight of having to tell Caleb's wife that he had lost the child Caleb had placed in his care.
"Eli is alive as far as we know," Rhett told her. "The people who took him contacted the club. They want the evidence and the drive. They believe we'll trade everything to get him back." Norah listened without blinking. Then she asked, "What have you promised them?"
"Nothing," Rhett said. "The evidence is already moving through official channels. Even if I wanted to erase it, I couldn't. But I can help the people looking for him find the plant."
Norah looked down at his bloodied face, then at Mara's worried expression. "Caleb said you never quit on people," she said. "I need you to understand that my son is not another piece of the case. He's a child who needs to come home."
"I understand," Rhett answered. He wanted her to know how completely he meant it, but words had begun to feel inadequate beside the things they had already lost. "He'll never be used as proof that I kept a promise," he added. "I want him alive enough to be angry with me tomorrow. That's what matters."
As they spoke, Victor Hale appeared near a warehouse office doorway under the escort of two security employees. He looked older than in his charity photographs, with silver hair combed carefully back and a pale blue shirt that remained immaculate despite the alarms around him. He took in the arriving federal vehicles, the departing witnesses, and Rhett's cut face with an expression that moved from irritation to calculation. His eyes settled on Norah before shifting to Rhett.
"Mr. Callahan," he said. "Your friend Caleb always did have a talent for persuading people to take risks on his behalf." Rhett felt a rush of anger so intense that he deliberately opened his hands. "Caleb is dead because of what you built," he replied. "And you have his son."
Hale did not deny the accusation. He glanced toward the investigators and lowered his voice, trying to make the conversation seem like a private disagreement between businessmen. "The boy is being looked after," he said. "Whether he remains comfortable depends on what you do next. I want the documents Norah has collected, and I want the copies your people have transmitted removed."
"Those copies are beyond my control," Rhett answered. "And your people will gain nothing by harming him." Hale smiled faintly. "People say that until they discover what losing everything actually feels like."
An investigator approached and told Hale he was being detained for questioning connected to the warehouse operation. Hale raised both hands with elaborate patience and requested his attorney, then turned his head just enough to speak one final sentence to Rhett. "County Road 7. The old plant. My associates are waiting for a phone call, and they don't enjoy delays."