Chapter 7 - The Diamonds and the Desperate Deal
The heavy diamond bracelet hit Dennis in the cheek, the sharp edges drawing a sudden line of blood.
He flinched, bringing a hand to his face. The tire iron dropped to the asphalt with a loud clatter.
In that split second of distraction, I slammed my foot on the gas pedal. My sedan lurched forward, clipping Dennis’s side and spinning him around as I drove directly over the black ledger on the ground.
I didn’t stop. I aimed the car straight for the narrow gap between the dumpster and Dennis’s black SUV.
Metal screeched against metal as the side of my car scraped against the dumpster, tearing the side mirror clean off. We squeezed through, bursting out into the empty access road behind the diner.
“Is everyone okay?” I yelled over the roar of the engine and the wind whipping through my shattered window.
Maddie was sobbing softly into Katie’s shoulder. Dad was breathing heavily, clutching the small silver thumb drive in his fist.
Tessa was slumped back against the seat, staring blankly out the window. “He’s going to hunt me down. My son is back there in my car.”
I slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a halt on the dark road.
“What did you just say?” I turned around, my heart dropping into my stomach.
“Leo,” Tessa sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “He was asleep in his car seat. I couldn’t grab him before Dennis showed up.”
I had driven away. I had left a four-year-old child in a parking lot with a violent, desperate man.
“Mom, we can’t go back,” Katie pleaded, her eyes wide with terror. “He’ll kill us. We have Grandpa’s drive. We need to go straight to the police station.”
“If we go to the police, Dennis will run,” Tessa said, her voice hollow. “He has a private plane chartered at the regional airport for 3:00 AM. If he sees police lights, he’ll take Leo and disappear to the Caymans. I’ll never see my baby again.”
I looked at the dashboard clock. It was 11:45 PM on Thanksgiving night.
I looked at my father. He held my gaze, his jaw set. We had spent our entire lives trying to keep the peace. Trying to be the good, quiet, respectable family. Dennis had banked on that. He had banked on our fear of scandal.
“He wants the ledger and the drive,” I said, my voice hardening into something cold and sharp. “He won’t leave without them. He needs to destroy the evidence before Monday.”
I reached out and took the silver thumb drive from my father’s hand.
“Katie,” I said, pulling out my phone. “I want you to drive Dad and Maddie to the police station. Don’t talk to the desk sergeant. Ask for Detective Miller. He was your uncle’s partner before he retired. Give him this drive.”
“What are you going to do?” Katie asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m going to get the boy,” I said.
Tessa looked up, her eyes wide with shock. “Eleanor… why would you help me? I ruined your marriage. I sat at your mother’s table.”
I looked at this young, terrified woman. Dennis hadn’t loved her any more than he loved me. He had used her as an incubator, a pawn, and a distraction.
“He ruined my marriage,” I corrected her. “You were just the tool he used to do it. But that little boy is innocent. And no mother is leaving this night without her child.”
I got out of the driver’s seat. The freezing wind bit into my face.
“Mom, no!” Katie cried, scrambling into the driver’s seat as I walked around to the passenger side.
“Go to the police,” I commanded her. “Give them thirty minutes. Then send them to the regional airport, hangar four.”
I turned to Tessa. “You said he chartered a plane. Get in the driver’s seat. We’re going to the airport.”
Tessa scrambled behind the wheel of my battered sedan.
As Katie drove away with my father and granddaughter, Tessa and I turned back toward the highway, heading for the airstrip.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a picture message from Dennis.
It was a photo of little Leo, crying, strapped into a seat inside a private hangar.
May you like
The text beneath it read: Bring the drive and the ledger to Hangar 4. Come alone, or I leave with him.
I looked at Tessa. “Drive faster.”
