Chapter 14 - The Second ManPolice breached the lake house.
Richard heard shouting.
Then three more shots.
He tried to run forward.
Ward stopped him physically.
“Stay here!”
“My son is inside!”
“And I have officers getting him!”
The next sixty seconds felt endless.
Then the front door opened.
An officer emerged carrying Ethan.
Richard ran.
This time no one stopped him.
He took his son into his arms.
Ethan buried his face against Richard's neck.
“Dad.”
“I'm here.”
Richard held him so tightly Ethan complained.
“You're squishing me.”
Richard laughed and cried at the same time.
“Good.”
Maria reached them.
Ethan stretched one hand toward her.
She took it.
For several seconds they stood together without speaking.
Then officers brought Thomas Keller out on a stretcher.
Alive.
A bullet had struck his shoulder.
Richard looked toward the doorway.
“Who shot him?”
Ward emerged.
Her expression was grim.
“Nathan.”
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
Richard stared.
“How?”
“Back entrance. Boat.”
The lake.
Nathan had planned an escape route.
“He was already inside?”
Ward nodded.
“According to Keller, Nathan arrived before us.”
Ethan heard.
“He was in the closet.”
Richard looked down.
“What?”
“When Mr. Keller brought me inside, Uncle Nathan came out of the bedroom closet.”
Richard felt sick.
“What did he say?”
Ethan swallowed.
“He was angry.”
“At Keller?”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“The red phone.”
Richard exchanged a look with Ward.
The phone was in police custody.
Nathan didn't know that.
Ethan continued.
“He said everyone was ruining everything.”
Ward crouched.
“Ethan, did Nathan lock you in the freezer?”
The boy became silent.
Maria squeezed his hand.
Ethan finally nodded.
Richard closed his eyes.
“Tell me.”
“Vanessa grabbed me.”
His voice trembled.
“She wanted the phone.”
Richard waited.
“I ran downstairs.”
“Then?”
“She caught me by the freezer.”
Maria listened carefully.
“She opened the door?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said she wanted to scare me.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“She pushed you inside?”
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
Ethan whispered,
“Uncle Nathan did.”
Richard stared.
“He came downstairs. Vanessa said no. She said, ‘Not like this.’”
Ward's eyes sharpened.
“What happened?”
“Nathan pushed me.”
“Did he close the door?”
Ethan nodded.
“He told Vanessa five minutes.”
“What did she do?”
“She followed him upstairs.”
Richard felt a strange, vicious hope.
Perhaps Vanessa hadn't intended Ethan to die.
Then Ethan continued.
“I heard her come back.”
Richard froze.
“What?”
“After a while.”
“How long?”
“I don't know.”
“What happened?”
“She opened the door.”
Everyone became still.
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought she was getting me out.”
Richard could barely breathe.
“But she didn't.”
Ethan shook his head.
“She took the phone.”
Maria whispered,
“Oh God.”
Ethan had carried the red phone into the freezer.
Vanessa returned.
Opened the door.
Saw an eight-year-old boy already shivering.
And instead of saving him—
“She said she was sorry.”
Richard's face drained.
“What exactly did she say?”
Ethan began crying.
“She said, ‘I'm sorry, Ethan. I can't lose everything because of you.’”
Maria covered her mouth.
Ethan continued.
“Then she closed the door again.”
Richard turned away.
His knees almost failed.
Ward stood.
“That's attempted murder.”
Richard looked toward the road.
“Where is she?”
Ward's expression changed.
Vanessa had been released pending further investigation earlier that day because police didn't yet have enough to hold her.
Ward called immediately.
No answer.
Another officer ran toward them.
“Detective.”
“What?”
“We got an alert on Mrs. Cole's passport.”
Richard's stomach dropped.
“Where?”
“JFK.”
Ward checked the time.
“She has a flight leaving in fifty minutes.”
Richard grabbed his keys.
Ward stopped him.
“Airport police are being contacted.”
“She'll run.”
“She won't get through.”
Richard looked toward Ethan.
Then Maria.
Something didn't fit.
“Why would Vanessa go to an airport using her real passport when she had a fake one in the safe?”
Ward froze.
Maria understood first.
“The airport alert is a distraction.”
Richard's phone buzzed.
Home security notification.
FRONT DOOR UNLOCKED.
He stared at the screen.
Someone had just entered the house.
Then another alert appeared.
BASEMENT CAMERA OFFLINE.
Maria went pale.
Richard whispered,
“Vanessa.”
May you like
And suddenly they knew exactly where she had gone.
Back to the freezer.
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