Page 154 of Hidden Tide

The radio crackles.

“Entry team is in position.”

Marquez answers. “Proceed.”

The body-camera feed replaces the black screen.

An officer stands beside Hazel’s apartment door while the building manager unlocks it. Two more officers wait behind him with their weapons ready.

The lock turns.

“San Francisco Police!”

No answer.

The officers enter.

One clears the living room while another moves toward the kitchen. A third checks the hall.

“Rear bedroom door is open,” someone says.

The camera follows them.

I tighten my arm around Hazel.

She trembles against me.

The officer reaches her room.

The steamer trunk stands beside the bed with its lid open. Clothes, photographs and old letters cover the floor.

The broken music box lies in the center of the room.

Simon Vail is gone.

“Clear,” the officer calls.

“Bedroom clear.”

“Check the windows.”

One of the officers approaches the rear window.

“It’s locked.”

“What?” Hazel whispers.

Ben leans toward the monitor. “He couldn’t have gone through it.”

“He may still be inside,” Keating warns.

The officers search beneath the bed, inside the closet and behind the bathroom door.

They find no one.

“Check the rest of the apartment again,” Marquez orders.

The officer pauses beside the security camera.