Cole watched her.
"What happened to Edward?"
"He died suddenly."
"Heart attack?"
"They said so."
Cole looked at her.
"They?"
"Doctors."
She opened the door.
Inside was dust.
Broken furniture.
A fireplace.
An old wooden table.
Evelyn walked straight toward the fireplace.
"Nathan loved this place."
She knelt.
Her arthritis made the movement painful.
She reached behind a loose brick.
Nothing.
She tried another.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something carved into the wood above the fireplace.
Two initials.
E.C.
N.C.
Evelyn smiled.
"Our game."
"What game?"
"When Nathan was little, we hid notes for each other."
She ran her fingers over the carving.
"There was always a clue."
Cole looked around.
"Find one."
Evelyn examined the room.
Then she saw an old fishing rod.
She pulled it down.
A metal tube was taped beneath it.
Inside was a key.
Not a house key.
A safe-deposit key.
There was a number engraved on it.
417.
Sarah looked at Cole.
"Bank?"
Evelyn nodded.
"First National."
Cole looked at his watch.
"Closed."
Evelyn smiled faintly.
"Nathan thought ahead."
A sound came from outside.
Branches breaking.
Cole raised his hand.
Everyone froze.
Another sound.
Footsteps.
Then another.
Cole whispered:
"Lights out."
Sarah killed her flashlight.
The cabin became black.
Footsteps surrounded them.
Evelyn's breathing became rapid.
Cole placed himself between her and the door.
A voice called from outside.
"Evelyn."
Victor Hale.
"We know you're inside."
Cole whispered:
"How many?"
Marcus listened.
"At least six."
Sarah whispered:
"More."
Cole looked at the broken windows.
"We can't hold this place."
Evelyn suddenly touched his arm.
"There is another exit."
"Where?"
"Behind the fireplace."
Cole stared.
"You knew about this?"
"My husband built it."
They moved.
Cole found the hidden panel.
It opened into a narrow tunnel.
One by one they entered.
Evelyn went first.
The tunnel was dark and wet.
Behind them, the cabin door exploded inward.
Men entered.
Cole closed the hidden panel.
They crawled.
After several minutes, they emerged near the creek.
The motorcycles were gone.
Evelyn stared.
"What happened?"
Cole's face was grim.
"They took them."
"Who?"
"Hale's men."
Evelyn's shoulders dropped.
Then she heard something.
A motorcycle engine.
Far away.
Then another.
Then another.
Marcus smiled.
"They didn't take all of them."
Three bikers emerged from the trees.
They had hidden the motorcycles farther down the road.
Cole smiled.
"That's my boys."
They climbed aboard.
But Evelyn stopped.
She looked at the safe-deposit key.
"First National."
Cole nodded.
"Tomorrow morning."
Evelyn shook her head.
"Nathan said before midnight."
Cole looked at her.
"We have two hours."
Sarah looked toward the road.
"Then we'd better move."
The Vault
First National Bank had been closed for nearly three hours.
But the manager opened the doors when Deputy Collins showed her badge.
Inside, the building was dark.
Evelyn stood in the lobby with Cole.
She looked impossibly small beneath the high marble ceiling.
"What if it isn't here?"
Cole said, "Then we find out where it is."
They reached the vault.
The manager examined the key.
"Box 417."
Evelyn nodded.
The box opened.
Inside was not money.
There was a folder.
A photograph.
And another black drive.
Evelyn picked up the photograph.
It showed Nathan.
Standing beside a man she didn't recognize.
She turned it over.
On the back were two words.
TRUST COLE.
Evelyn looked up.
Cole stared at the photograph.
"I don't know him."
"You don't?"
"No."
The manager opened the folder.
Inside were hundreds of pages.
Names.
Dates.
Bank accounts.
Payments.
Photographs.
Judicial records.
Police reports.
Everything.
Sarah read one page.
Her face changed.
"These aren't just financial transactions."
"What?"
"They've been controlling criminal investigations."
Cole looked at her.
"How?"
"Cases disappear. Evidence gets lost. Witnesses change statements."
Evelyn whispered:
"Nathan said they were buying people."
Sarah looked at the pages.
"They bought entire departments."
Then she saw a name.
Her own supervisor.
Sarah went pale.
"No."
Cole noticed.
"What?"
She handed him the page.
At the bottom was a payment record.
CAPTAIN ROBERT COLLINS — $75,000.
Sarah stared.
"That's my father."
Silence.
"He's been dead for five years."
Evelyn looked at her.
"The ledger goes back fifteen years."
Sarah sat down.
"My father wasn't corrupt."
Cole put the page down.
"Maybe he wasn't."
"Then why is his name there?"
"Maybe somebody used his identity."
Sarah looked at him.
"Or maybe he was."
She stood.
"I need air."
She walked outside.
Cole followed.
Rain had stopped.
The streets were empty.
"You okay?" he asked.
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
"Good."
She gave him an angry look.
He smiled.
"Means you're thinking."
She looked toward the bank.
"I trusted him."
"That's what makes betrayal hurt."
Before she could answer, headlights appeared.
Four vehicles.
Cole's expression hardened.
"Hale."
They were surrounded.
Cole ran inside.
"Everybody move!"
The bikers grabbed Evelyn.
The bank manager ran toward the rear entrance.
Glass shattered.
Men stormed through the front doors.
Cole fought his way toward Evelyn.
There were too many.
Then the lights went out.
Complete darkness.
A voice echoed through the bank.
"Everybody down!"