Chapter 6 - The Cabin on Pine Crest
We didn't have much time.
Detective Miller called for backup to transport Vance’s arrested enforcer to the station, but his primary concern was Daniel.
“Daniel knows the game is up,” Detective Miller told me as we sped down the highway in his unmarked police sedan toward my house. “Vance’s people realize he betrayed them, and the federal task force is closing in on his illegal accounts. A cornered man in his position is extremely dangerous.”
“He doesn't want the money anymore,” I realized out loud, staring at the rain-slicked windshield. “He wants the boys. He thinks if he has Noah and Ethan, Megan won't testify against him.”
“Exactly,” Miller said, leaning forward on the steering wheel. “We need to secure your house before he gets there.”
When we pulled into my driveway, my heart dropped into my stomach.
Clara’s sedan was parked in the yard, but the driver's side door was wide open.
I scrambled out of the police car before Miller even came to a complete stop, running up the front steps.
“Clara! Clara!” I yelled, bursting through the front door.
Inside, the living room was in shambles. A floor lamp was knocked over, chairs were overturned, and Clara sat on the sofa, clutching a ice pack to her head, weeping softly.
“Evelyn!” Clara sobbed, looking up. “I’m so sorry! I tried to stop him!”
“Where are the boys?” I screamed, dropping to my knees beside her. “Clara, where are Noah and Ethan?”
“Daniel came through the back door,” Clara wept. “He was like a madman! He grabbed the boys and threw them into the van! He said... he said he was taking them to the place where it all started.”
The place where it all started.
Detective Miller ran into the room, radioing for emergency units. “Where is that, Evelyn? Does he have a secondary property?”
My mind raced through thirty years of family history. The old house? No, that was sold. The office? No.
Then it hit me like a physical blow.
“The cabin,” I whispered. “My late husband’s cabin on Pine Crest Lake. It’s where Daniel and Megan got married. It’s where they spent their summers before everything fell apart.”
“Is it remote?” Miller asked, his hand resting on his sidearm.
“It’s deep in the woods, ten miles off the main highway,” I said, my voice filled with cold, unwavering resolve. “No cell service. No neighbors for miles.”
“I’m calling state troopers for a roadblock,” Miller said, turning toward the door. “Stay here, Evelyn. Let us handle this.”
“No,” I said, grabbing his arm with a grip that surprised us both. “You don't know the trails up there. You don't know which dirt road leads to the bluff. I’m coming with you.”
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Detective Miller looked into my eyes, saw the fierce, unstoppable fire of a grandmother fighting for her children’s lives, and gave a single, firm nod.
“Get in the car.”
