The Truth About the Money
Chapter 14 - The Truth About the Money
Captain Richard Sloan had commanded airport police for seventeen years.
He was respected.
Decorated.
Trusted.
He had also been the officer who ordered Daniel removed from Caleb's case.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Sloan had buried Daniel's original statement.
He had protected Grant.
He had controlled the investigation into Owen.
And he knew exactly when the duffel arrived.
Federal agents quietly detained Sloan.
At first, he denied everything.
Then investigators showed him the ledger.
His name appeared on twelve payments.
He stopped talking.
The money Caleb carried into the airport wasn't merely a bribe fund.
It was the final payment intended for Sloan and several officials who would approve Grant Hale's newest cargo contract.
Sarah had accidentally become the most dangerous witness in the case.
But the biggest surprise came from Owen.
He had been gathering financial records for years.
Enough to expose the entire operation.
"Then why didn't you turn them over sooner?" Elena asked.
"Because I had records."
Owen looked toward Caleb.
"But I didn't have proof linking the records to the people receiving the money."
Sarah's duffel changed that.
For the first time, investigators had money, serial numbers, payment schedules and names.
The case was strong.
But none of that mattered to Caleb.
"Where's my mom?"
No one answered.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
Agents had reached the private airstrip.
They found vehicles.
Documents.
And Grant Hale.
He had been arrested while preparing to leave.
But Sarah wasn't there.
Grant refused to say where she was.
Caleb walked toward the interview room window where Grant sat.
The boy studied him.
Then he noticed Grant's shoes.
Red clay covered the soles.
Caleb remembered something his mother had told him weeks earlier.
She had visited an old family property near Red Creek.
The ground there was the same color.
May you like
Caleb turned toward Daniel.
"I think I know where he took her."
