Chapter 6 - THE MISSING TICKETS
The heavy ticking of the grandfather clock seemed to echo in the silent house like a bomb timer.
Fifteen minutes.
“Get your coats,” my father ordered, his voice cracking like a whip. “Ellie, grab the dog’s leash and his food. Sarah, start your car. We are leaving right now.”
The dining room erupted into chaotic motion. Sarah ran for the kitchen door leading to the garage. Ellie grabbed Max’s leash and his favorite tennis ball, her hands shaking so badly she dropped it twice.
I stood in the center of the room, clutching the diamond necklace and the wooden rosary. My mother’s rosary. Dennis had hidden it in the tin with stolen diamonds, burying it in a box of my winter clothes. He was planning to take it with him to Costa Rica to sell it.
“Marianne, move!” my father barked, grabbing my arm.
“I’m not leaving my house for him,” I said, the shock wearing off and the white-hot anger returning. “This is my home. He brought this on us.”
“This isn’t about the house anymore!” my father yelled, pointing at the diamond necklace in my hand. “Nico Falcone doesn’t care whose name is on the deed! If his men find you here with his wife’s stolen jewelry, they will kill you! We go to the police station. Now.”
Dennis scrambled up from the floor. He rushed toward the scattered mess of his wallet, frantically searching through the receipts and cards.
“Where are they?!” he screamed, tearing through the debris. “Where are the boarding passes?!”
We all stopped.
Ellie had been holding them just moments ago. But her hands were empty now, clutching only the dog leash.
“Ellie,” Dennis said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, psychotic calm. He stood up, turning toward our daughter. “Give me the tickets.”
Ellie stared at him, her chin trembling, but she stood her ground. She looked down at Max, who was sitting faithfully by her side.
“I don’t have them,” Ellie said.
Dennis lunged forward, grabbing Ellie by the shoulders and shaking her. “Don’t lie to me! You little brat, give me the tickets or I swear to God—”
Max exploded.
He didn’t just bite the sleeve this time. With a terrifying roar, the dog launched his entire seventy-pound body at Dennis’s chest, knocking the grown man backward onto the hardwood floor.
Dennis screamed, throwing his arms up to protect his face as Max stood over him, pinning him to the ground, teeth bared inches from his throat.
“Max, stay!” Ellie commanded sharply.
The dog froze, his muscles trembling with adrenaline, but he held his position. He was a good boy. He had always been a good boy.
My father grabbed a heavy bronze candlestick from the dining table and stood over Dennis. “If you ever touch my granddaughter again, I won’t bother calling the police.”
I walked over to where Dennis lay pinned beneath the dog he had tried to throw away.
“Where are the tickets, Ellie?” I asked softly.
Ellie reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, silver kitchen lighter.
She walked over to the stainless steel trash can by the kitchen island, stepped on the pedal, and opened the lid.
In her other hand, she held the two first-class boarding passes to San José.
Dennis’s eyes widened in absolute horror. “No! Ellie, please! I’ll die! They’ll kill me!”
Ellie looked down at the man who had lied to her mother, drained her college fund, and planned to abandon her to violent criminals.
“You tied my dog to a fence,” Ellie said quietly.
She flicked the lighter. A small orange flame illuminated her face. She touched it to the corner of the glossy paper.
We watched in silence as the flame consumed the boarding passes. When the fire reached her fingers, she dropped the burning remnants into the metal trash can, letting them turn to ash.
Dennis let out a hollow, agonizing wail from the floor. His escape route was gone. He was trapped.
“Let’s go,” I said, turning away from him.
I grabbed my purse, dropping the stolen necklace and the rosary inside. We rushed out the back door into the attached garage.
Sarah’s car was running. My father got in the passenger seat, Ellie and Max piled into the back, and I climbed in beside them.
As Sarah threw the car into reverse and the garage door began to open, the headlights swept across the driveway.
Two matte-black SUVs were blocking the end of the driveway.
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And stepping out of the lead vehicle was a tall man in a tailored suit, carrying a heavy metal crowbar.
It was 9:55 PM. They were early.
