Chapter 14 - Bellweather HouseBellweather House stood beyond a line of tall cedar trees, twenty miles northwest of Willow Creek.
It was a large brick residence originally built as a private retreat.
The property had been purchased three years earlier by a holding company whose ownership records led investigators toward individuals connected to Andrew Mercer.
Officers approached with a search warrant obtained on the evidence gathered so far.
The front doors were locked.
Nobody answered.
Inside, the building appeared recently cleaned.
The first floor contained expensive furniture, unused bedrooms, and a kitchen stocked with food.
Upstairs, investigators discovered a smaller room.
Its windows had been fitted with interior security screens.
A child's jacket lay across a chair.
On the bedside table stood a plastic cup decorated with pink stars.
Sarah had bought Mia a cup just like it.
But the room was empty.
A detective photographed the space while another officer checked closets and adjoining rooms.
Then an investigator discovered a concealed maintenance passage behind a laundry cupboard.
The passage led toward an old service stairwell.
At the bottom was a storage room.
There, officers found something important.
A child's handwritten note.
Dear Mommy, I was good. Please come get me.
The letters were uneven.
The final word was underlined twice.
Detective Brooks called Sarah as soon as the evidence was documented.
Sarah broke down when she heard the words.
“She thinks I left her.”
Daniel held her shoulders.
Sarah pushed him away and walked to the window.
“How many places are they going to move her?”
Brooks answered carefully.
“We're establishing the sequence. The room appears to have been occupied recently.”
Sarah pressed her forehead against the glass.
“Did you find anything that tells you where they went?”
“We found packing materials and receipts. We're following those leads.”
What Brooks did not immediately disclose was that the team had also recovered a printed schedule.
It listed three dates.
The birthday party.
A proposed family oversight meeting.
And a final transfer date two days later.
Beside the transfer entry appeared the initials P.C.
Patricia Cole.
Investigators were now trying to determine whether Patricia was merely following Evelyn's instructions or acting with full knowledge that Mia had been taken without her parents' permission.
Meanwhile, a different problem emerged.
Andrew Mercer had disappeared.
His office was empty.
His personal phone was switched off.
His company vehicle had been left at a parking garage near the airport.
But airline records available through the investigation did not show that he had boarded a flight.
Someone was helping him remain hidden.
That afternoon, Daniel returned to the mansion to retrieve old corporate records.
He entered his father's study for the first time since Mia's disappearance.
Richard's portrait hung above the fireplace.
Daniel stood beneath it.
“I thought I could handle everything,” he whispered.
The room remained silent.
He opened the lowest drawer of Richard's desk.
Inside was an old notebook filled with financial calculations and legal appointments.
One page was marked with a red tab.
Across the top Richard had written:
The Mercer Problem.
Daniel stared at it.
May you like
Beneath the heading was a sentence.
If Evelyn ever brings the Mercers back into the family business, follow the payments before you believe anything they say.
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