Daniel searched his pockets twice.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you last see it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned toward the officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLock down the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mind went immediately to Emily.<\/p>\n
Someone had been close enough to take the key.<\/p>\n
Close enough to hear us talking.<\/p>\n
Close enough to know what we were planning.<\/p>\n
I pulled Emily closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking at the picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bird.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pointed toward the table.<\/p>\n
The photograph was still there.<\/p>\n
I picked it up.<\/p>\n
There was something strange about the edge.<\/p>\n
A faint smear.<\/p>\n
Blue ink.<\/p>\n
Daniel noticed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn't there before.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective examined it.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily touched the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's from the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used blue gloves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Harris looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer used blue nitrile gloves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always wore them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective placed the photograph into an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt had two floors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a front desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA room with toys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd downstairs there was a long hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA red door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no red door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren't allowed downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI went downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Dr. Harris.<\/p>\n
The doctor said nothing.<\/p>\n
Emily continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe red door had a number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich number?\u201d<\/p>\n
She frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she touched her temple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-one?\u201d the detective asked.<\/p>\n
Emily shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo hundred fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cRoom 214.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the room exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBelow the old clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I never found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had a key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Harris spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lower level was never on the official floor plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Mercer showed me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've been there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I knew what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStorage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren's files.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective immediately reached for her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're not going without one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer is already there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel pointed to the blue smear.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took the key because he needs access.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective considered him.<\/p>\n
Then her phone rang.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepeat that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cSend me the location.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hung up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer's car has been found.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree miles from the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
We went in two police vehicles.<\/p>\n
Emily remained at the hospital with a nurse.<\/p>\n
I hated leaving her.<\/p>\n
But she caught my hand before I left.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBring back the names.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat names?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children.\u201d<\/p>\n
I promised.<\/p>\n
The clinic looked abandoned.<\/p>\n
The paint had peeled from the front doors. Weeds pushed through cracks in the pavement. One window was broken.<\/p>\n
Daniel unlocked the front entrance.<\/p>\n
Inside, the air smelled stale.<\/p>\n
Dust covered the reception desk.<\/p>\n
The children's waiting room still contained toys.<\/p>\n
A plastic kitchen.<\/p>\n
A wooden puzzle.<\/p>\n
A stuffed rabbit with one ear missing.<\/p>\n
I stood there imagining Emily sitting among them years earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembers this place,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
We moved downstairs.<\/p>\n
The hallway was darker than I expected.<\/p>\n
A police flashlight swept across the walls.<\/p>\n
Room numbers appeared.<\/p>\n
201.<\/p>\n
202.<\/p>\n
203.<\/p>\n
Then 214.<\/p>\n
The door was red.<\/p>\n
Daniel stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn't here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you had been downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn't find this hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective tried the handle.<\/p>\n
Locked.<\/p>\n
Daniel handed her the key.<\/p>\n
It fit.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Inside was a small room filled with filing cabinets.<\/p>\n
No windows.<\/p>\n
No furniture except a desk.<\/p>\n
On the desk sat a computer.<\/p>\n
The detective immediately called for evidence technicians.<\/p>\n
Daniel moved toward the cabinets.<\/p>\n
I grabbed his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you wanted evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't touch anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
The detective opened the first cabinet.<\/p>\n
Files.<\/p>\n
Dozens.<\/p>\n
She pulled one.<\/p>\n
A child's name.<\/p>\n
Another.<\/p>\n
Another.<\/p>\n
Emily Bennett.<\/p>\n
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.<\/p>\n
The file was thick.<\/p>\n
Much thicker than the others.<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
Medical notes.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
Symptoms.<\/p>\n
Medication.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Then something caught my eye.<\/p>\n
A page near the back.<\/p>\n
My signature.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never signed this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
His face drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective took the page.<\/p>\n
It contained consent for experimental treatment.<\/p>\n
Authorized by Claire Bennett.<\/p>\n
Dated three years earlier.<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never signed this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cMercer forged it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the signature again.<\/p>\n
The handwriting was mine.<\/p>\n
But the signature wasn't.<\/p>\n
Someone had copied it perfectly.<\/p>\n
Then I saw the final page.<\/p>\n
It wasn't a medical record.<\/p>\n
It was a letter.<\/p>\n
Addressed to Daniel.<\/p>\n
The detective read it aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Claire discovers the truth, the child will be transferred.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransferred where?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
The detective turned the page.<\/p>\n
There was an address.<\/p>\n
A rural facility outside the city.<\/p>\n
And beneath it, a handwritten note:<\/p>\n
SUBJECTS ARE MOVED AFTER MEMORY RETURN.<\/p>\n
My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n
Emily hadn't simply remembered.<\/p>\n
She had become a problem.<\/p>\n
The detective's radio crackled.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnit at the hospital reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
Then her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepeat that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone has entered Emily's room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel searched his pockets twice. Nothing. \u201cI had it.\u201d The detective looked at him. \u201cWhen did you last see it?\u201d \u201cHere.\u201d \u201cYou're sure?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d She turned toward the officers. \u201cLock … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":342,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}