Jackson swallows hard and drags the open logbook closer. The second handwritten name, Eli Mercer, sits exposed under the buzzing fluorescent light. Murderbone stops pacing at the door, ears up.
Jackson Temple
Mercer was scared of Sloane. Not the job, him. Owen handled the transfer and told Mercer to keep quiet, or the whole thing would get pinned on him.
Jackson’s hand shakes over the page. His eyes flick to the hallway, then back to Dallas, like he expects trouble to come through the wall.
Jackson Temple
They used my unit number on the evidence run. If Mercer talks, Sloane goes down with him. If Mercer runs, you’ll be chasing a ghost.
Jackson Temple
He used to meet Sloane behind Pier Nine. That’s where you find Mercer first, if he is still breathing.
Murderbone gives a low warning growl. The lead is clear now, Mercer at Pier Nine, Sloane tied to the transfer, and Dallas is one step closer to the truth behind his daughter’s death.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find Eli Mercer at Pier Nine
✓ Quest Accepted
Uncover why the evidence transfer was hidden
“Does Jackson know exactly what evidence was being transferred at the pier?”
EXCEPTIONAL YES (Unlikely, rolled 3)
Jackson Temple
It was not just files, Dallas. They were moving prototype navigation chips from the harbor labs, the kind that could bypass any automated blockade in the sector.
Jackson Temple
If I tell him this, I am as good as dead, but he deserves to know why his daughter was really in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Clara
My name is Clara, by the way. And Jackson is right, those chips are the only reason Sloane would kill to keep the transfer quiet.
“I press Clara for what she heard at Pier Nine”
SUCCESS (Legendary Interrogation, rolled -2)
Dallas lets the silence work on her. Clara’s crossed arms loosen, then drop to her sides as she exhales toward the flickering light.
Clara
I heard boots on the dock, three sets. One man kept saying, keep the bag dry, keep the bag dry.
Clara
Then I heard Sloane. Not loud, just calm. He said the chips were never supposed to leave Pier Nine on paper.
Jackson’s jaw tightens. He looks down at the logbook, ashamed, as if the page itself might accuse him.
Jackson Temple
Pier Nine. Of course. The transfer never touched the official lane, it went through the side berth.
Clara
Eli was there. I did not see his face clear, but I heard him say, I did not sign up for this.
She rubs her forearm, then meets Dallas’s eyes again, steadier now, like the truth has finally made room for her to stand upright.
Clara
If you want the full route, I can tell you where they moved the crate after the dock.
Quest Complete
Uncover why the evidence transfer was hidden
“I ask Clara where they moved the crate”
SUCCESS (Legendary Interrogation, rolled -3)
Dallas Fontaine
Where did they move the crate?
Clara
South slip. Old fish warehouse with the blue door. They did not want eyes on the handoff, so they rolled it under a tarp rack.
Jackson lifts his head from the ledger, listening like each word costs him something. The fluorescent light hisses overhead, washing his face pale.
Jackson Temple
There is a service lane beside the warehouse. If Mercer is still breathing, that is where he would hide from Sloane.
Clara
He hated that route. Too exposed. He kept looking over his shoulder like the water itself was following him.
Murderbone shifts at the door, then settles again, ears forward. Clara reaches for the logbook with two fingers, as if she is done letting it own the room.
Clara
If you go now, you beat the tide. If you want, I can mark the turnoff for you.
“I ask Clara to mark the turnoff”
SUCCESS (Great Investigation, rolled -1)
Dallas Fontaine
Mark the turnoff.
Clara slides a folded street map from the desk drawer and flips it open under the harsh light. Her finger lands on the south slip, then tracks a narrow service lane beside the old fish warehouse.
Dallas leans in, close enough to see a penciled X appear where the lane bends behind a broken loading fence. Clara circles it once, quick and firm, then adds a second mark at the blue door.
Clara
There. That turn keeps you out of the open lot.
Jackson straightens a little from the desk, eyes fixed on the map as if he is memorizing his own mistake. Murderbone’s tail gives one hard, impatient thump by the door.
Jackson Temple
If Mercer is hiding, he will know that lane by sound before you see him.
Clara folds the map halfway, leaving the route exposed in Dallas’s reach, and slides it toward him with the blue door still visible.
“I follow the marked route to Pier Nine”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled -1)