Page 6 of Once Hidden
They badged through security and walked the familiar corridor toward Special Agent in Charge Brent Meredith's office.
“Agent Paige!Good to see you back in the building,” called a senior analyst whose name Riley couldn't quite remember.She gave a polite nod in response.
“You're still a legend around here,” Ann Marie murmured as they continued walking.
“Legends belong in books,” Riley said.“I prefer reality.”
Meredith's door was open when they arrived.He stood at his window, broad-shouldered and solid as ever, staring out at the grounds with his hands clasped behind his back.When he turned at their approach, Riley saw the familiar lines of tension around his eyes—the look that meant the darkness had crept into another corner of the world, and they were being called to face it.
“Agent Paige.Agent Esmer.Close the door, please.”
Ann Marie shut it behind them as Riley took one of the chairs facing Meredith's desk.The office was unchanged: sparse, functional, with only a few personal touches—a family photo on the bookshelf, a Virginia Tech mug holding pens, a framed commendation partly hidden behind a stack of files.
Meredith didn't sit.Instead, he picked up a tablet and began swiping through what Riley assumed were case files.
“I'll get right to the point,” he said.“We've got two missing delivery workers, both vanished within the past forty-eight hours.Both cases show signs of foul play.”
He turned the tablet to show them a DMV photo of a young Black man with close-cropped hair and a serious expression.
“Cable Morris, twenty-seven.Driver for FleetRush Logistics.Disappeared during his route near Bundydale in Springcrest County day before yesterday.His truck was found abandoned on a rural delivery road.Keys still in the ignition, phone on the seat.”
Riley studied the photo, already beginning the mental exercise of transformation—not seeing Cable as just a victim, but as a person with habits, relationships, vulnerabilities.It was the first step toward understanding what might have happened to him.
“Signs of struggle?”she asked.
“Scuff marks consistent with someone being dragged.”
He swiped to another photo—a young woman with pale skin, long dark hair, and an open, confident smile.
“Amanda Lindeen, twenty-five.National Parcel Express driver.Went missing yesterday near Talomaska Crossing.Almost identical circumstances—vehicle abandoned on a remote stretch of her route, keys present, signs of a struggle nearby.”
“Witnesses?”Ann Marie asked, her notebook already open, pen poised.
“None so far,” Meredith said.“Both locations are isolated.Low traffic, no security cameras.”
“What makes you think they're connected?Besides the similar circumstances?”
Meredith set down the tablet and moved to his computer.“This is where it gets interesting.Both vehicles contained an envelope.Same handwriting on both.”
He turned the monitor so they could see.On screen was a photograph of a standard white business envelope with “UNDELIVERABLE” written across it in black marker, the letters neat but slightly slanted.
“Inside each envelope was a sheet of paper with similar codes.Here’s one of them.”He clicked to the next image, showing a photographed note:
CG, AF-AI-BI-AH-5, GI, EA-AB-AA-AE
Riley leaned forward, her pulse quickening as she studied the numbers.Something about the format triggered a memory—a kind of pattern that she’d seen before.
“The other one’s like that, only with different letters,” Meredith said.
“This reminds me of the Lancaster case,” Riley said slowly.“Timothy Lancaster.”
Ann Marie glanced at her.“The math teacher killer case we solved last summer?”
“Yes.”Riley's mind raced back to those days spent poring over what appeared to be algebra quizzes, discovering that the solutions revealed coordinates where bodies were buried.“Lancaster left numeric puzzles at his scenes—they looked like ordinary math problems, but they were actually location coordinates.Have you checked if Lancaster could be involved?”
Meredith frowned slightly.“I wouldn’t make too much of the similarity, Agent Paige.Lancaster is still in Red Onion State Prison, and he’s not going anywhere.We've confirmed he's had no outside contact beyond approved family visits.”He folded his arms across his chest.“I've got our cryptographers working on these codes now.They're looking at the possibility of geographical coordinates, among other things.”
“Any word from the abductor?”Ann Marie asked.“Ransom demands?”
