Page 34 of Hidden Tide
A clear plastic evidence bag rested beneath the exterior light.
Inside it was a black cable.
One end had been cleanly severed.
“What is that?” Calle asked.
“The power cable from the eastern security camera,” Harper said. “The repair team removed it this afternoon.”
Calle studied the cut end.
“So the storm didn’t knock out the camera.”
“No.”
“Someone cut it.”
“Yes.”
Ward folded his arms.
“From which side of the perimeter?”
Harper looked at him.
“The cable was buried for most of its length. The exposed section was inside the secured fence.”
No one spoke.
The Coast Guard had installed that fence after we escaped Blackwater.
A guard remained at the access road around the clock.
If someone approached from outside, the checkpoint should’ve seen them.
Calle reached for my hand.
I held it.
“How did someone get inside the fence?” Storm asked.
Lieutenant Harper glanced toward the dark mountain we couldn’t see from the beach.
“Our investigators don’t believe they did.”
A chill moved down my spine.
Keating’s voice came through the phone.
“The chain on the eastern tunnel wasn’t cut by someone entering Blackwater.”
I already understood what he was going to say.
Calle did too.
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“It was cut from the inside,” Keating continued.
