Chapter 4 - THE LEATHER GLOVE
I slammed the laptop shut.
“Put your seatbelt on, Lily. Right now.”
She scrambled to buckle in, her eyes wide with sudden fear.
I threw the car into drive and slammed my foot on the gas. We shot out of the diner parking lot, my tires squealing against the wet pavement.
I checked the mirror.
The black SUV pulled out smoothly, keeping a deliberate distance, but following exactly.
My mind raced. I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t go to the police yet—I didn’t know who was in the Whitmores’ pocket, and if they took the flash drive, I had nothing.
I needed to secure the evidence.
I drove toward the public library downtown. It was crowded, brightly lit, and had dozens of public computers.
“Mommy, why is that car following us?” Lily asked, her voice trembling.
“It’s just traffic, baby,” I lied, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.
I pulled into the library’s busy parking garage, weaving through the tight lanes until I found a spot near the elevator. I grabbed my laptop bag, grabbed Lily’s hand, and practically ran toward the sliding glass doors.
Once inside, the quiet hum of the library offered a false sense of security.
I found a secluded desk in the corner of the reference section.
“Sit right here, Lily. Do not move. Okay?”
She nodded, clutching her backpack.
I pulled out my laptop, plugged in the blue flash drive, and opened my email. I started attaching the files, intending to send them to every local news station in the city.
The upload bar crawled.
10%... 20%...
A heavy, leather-gloved hand clamped down on the laptop screen.
I gasped, jerking backward in my chair.
A tall man in a dark suit stood over me. He pushed the laptop screen down until it clicked shut.
He didn’t look at me. He looked at Lily.
“Beautiful girl,” the man said. His voice was entirely flat. Devoid of emotion.
“Get away from her,” I snarled, standing up and putting myself between him and my daughter.
The man slowly reached into his breast pocket.
He pulled out a small, familiar object and set it on the desk.
It was a pink plastic watch.
Lily’s watch.
The one she had left in her locker at school that morning.
“Principal Coleman found this,” the man said quietly. “He thought Lily might want it back. He also thought you might want to reconsider your position on the confession.”
I stared at the watch. It was a threat. Clear and undeniable. They had access to her things. They had access to her.
“Who are you?” I demanded, keeping my voice low so the librarian wouldn’t hear.
“I work for Mr. Whitmore,” he said. He extended his gloved hand. “The flash drive, Mrs. Bennett.”
“I don’t have it.”
He smiled. A thin, cruel line.
“You just plugged it into this computer. Hand it over, and your daughter gets to go back to being a normal third grader. Keep it, and David loses his job, your custody arrangement gets revisited by a very friendly judge, and you end up in a cell for stealing private corporate property.”
I looked at his outstretched hand.
I reached toward the laptop.
I pulled the blue flash drive out of the USB port.
The man held out his palm.
But I didn’t give it to him.
I dropped it on the floor and brought the heel of my boot down on it with all my weight.
The plastic shell cracked loudly.
The man flinched, stepping back.
I grabbed my laptop and Lily’s hand.
“Tell Mr. Whitmore I already sent the files,” I bluffed, my voice shaking with adrenaline. “And tell Coleman I’ll see him at the school board meeting tonight.”
I didn’t wait for his reaction. I dragged Lily toward the emergency exit, pushing through the heavy metal door and setting off the fire alarm.
We ran down the concrete stairs.
But as we hit the bottom landing, my phone buzzed again.
It was David.
I answered it as we ran. “David, they sent someone after us! You have to—”
“Sarah, stop,” David’s voice interrupted. He sounded completely broken.
May you like
“What?”
“I didn’t just take a job with them, Sarah.” He paused. A long, agonizing silence. “I was the contractor who poured the foundation for the science wing.”
