Chương 12
Lily pushed away her worksheet.
“You said you wouldn’t leave.”
“In the alley.”
“You didn’t say only the alley.”
Lena looked at the child’s pale face, at the wolf bracelet returned to her wrist, at the garnet eyes catching the morning light.
“No,” she said. “I didn’t.”
Lily’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
Daniel entered with Detective Chen.
The detective carried a warrant.
North Meridian’s financial records had connected the gray van, Aaron Velez’s payments, and the five thousand dollars planted in Lena’s apartment to an account authorized by Vincent Caro.
It was strong evidence.
It was not enough.
Vincent’s signature did not appear on the latest transfers. The authorization came through an employee who had vanished. Aaron remained missing. Maribel could identify only Aaron.
“Where is Dominic?” Chen asked.
Daniel said, “Unavailable.”
“Mr. Mercer, this warrant includes the home office and electronic devices belonging to North Meridian.”
“This is a private residence.”
“The listed office address is here.”
“It was registered here six years ago.”
“Then someone should have updated the paperwork.”
Elena Price arrived and began objecting.
Lena took Lily upstairs before the search started.
From the schoolroom window, they watched unmarked police vehicles gather outside the gate. Reporters followed within twenty minutes. A helicopter appeared before noon.
“Are they taking Daddy?” Lily asked.
“No.”
Lena did not know whether that was true.
At one, Dominic entered the schoolroom.
His suit was wrinkled. There was a cut at his lower lip, small and dry.
Lily ran to him.
He knelt and held her with both arms.
“Where were you?” she demanded.
“Working.”
“You got hurt.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Who did it?”
“No one you need to worry about.”
Lena stood near the window.
Dominic looked at her over Lily’s shoulder.
“I need to speak with you.”
They went into the hallway. Daniel remained with Lily.
“What happened?” Lena asked.
“I found Aaron Velez.”
“Where?”
“A motel near Hammond.”
“Is he alive?”
Dominic’s face hardened. “Yes.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“No.”
“Did someone else?”
“He was frightened. He ran. He fell.”
“That sounds convenient.”
“He confessed that Vincent arranged the pickup.”
“To you.”
“Yes.”
“Will he tell Chen?”
“He doesn’t intend to tell anyone.”
“Where is he now?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Your safe or police safe?”
“Mine.”
Lena stared at him.
“You kidnapped a witness.”
“I removed him from men who were sent to kill him.”
“You don’t know how to solve anything without becoming part of the crime.”
His jaw tightened.
“He has information about Bianca.”
The hallway noise receded.
“What information?”
“Aaron moved vehicles for Vincent three years ago. One belonged to the mechanic who altered Bianca’s maintenance record.”
“Did Vincent kill her?”
“Aaron doesn’t know.”
“But he connects them.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re hiding him.”
“If Chen takes him into custody, Vincent learns exactly what he said within hours.”
“You think the police are compromised.”
“I know they are.”
“Chen?”
“No.”
“Then give Aaron to her.”
Dominic looked toward the schoolroom door.
“He’s asking for money and a new identity.”
“He kidnapped your daughter.”
“He says he believed Lily would be returned safely.”
“Maribel believed it was a custody dispute. Everyone believes something helpful after they’re caught.”
“He can testify.”
“Then let him.”
“He will not survive long enough.”
“Is that what he said, or what you decided?”
Dominic did not answer.
Lena stepped back.
“You went looking for him without telling Chen because you wanted control.”
“I wanted the truth.”
“You want truth that belongs only to you.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Be careful.”
The warning was quiet.
Lena felt fear. Real fear, cold and immediate.
Then anger rose beside it.
“Or what?”
Dominic looked away first.
The movement was small, but it changed something between them.
“Lily needs stability,” he said.
“Then stop making me lie to her.”
“I haven’t asked you to.”
“She asked whether police were taking you. I said no.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted it to be true.”
Dominic’s expression softened, which made her angrier.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t look grateful. Do something.”
She left the house before her contracted hours ended.
Daniel followed her to the gate.
“Lena.”
“I’m taking the train.”
“Dominic said—”
“I don’t care what Dominic said.”
Daniel lowered his voice. “Vincent knows Aaron is alive.”
“How?”
“Because someone followed us from Indiana.”
“Us?”
Daniel looked toward the house.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You helped Dominic hide him.”
“I helped retrieve him.”
“That is the kind of sentence people use before grand juries.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“I was assigned to Lily the day Bianca died,” he said.
Lena stopped.
“What?”
“She was four. Bianca had a meeting in Wisconsin. I was supposed to go with them. Vincent reassigned me that morning to handle a problem at a warehouse.”
“Who went instead?”
“A driver Vincent hired.”
“The driver died?”
“No. He disappeared afterward.”
“And you stayed with Dominic.”
“I thought the rival group had arranged it. We all did.”
“You believed Vincent.”
“Yes.”
“Do you still?”
Daniel looked older than he had in the car.
“No.”
“Then why hide Aaron?”
“Because I failed Lily once before she was ever taken.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“It’s the only answer I have.”
Lena took out Dominic’s emergency card.
“Where is Aaron?”
Daniel looked at it.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Can Vincent find him?”
“Possibly.”
“Can Chen protect him?”
“Possibly.”
“Which possibility gets him into court alive?”
Daniel said nothing.
Lena tore the card in half.
“You all keep choosing the danger you control.”
She walked to the train.
That night, Vincent called her.
His number was blocked.
“I hear you left the house angry,” he said.
Lena sat on the edge of her bed with the lights off.
“Who told you?”
“People notice when Dominic is abandoned.”
“I didn’t abandon him.”
“No? He takes disagreement personally.”
“What do you want?”
“To offer perspective.”
“I’ve had enough perspective from criminals.”
Vincent laughed softly. “He told you what he is, then.”
“He didn’t need to.”
May you like
“Dominic has a talent for making confession look like intimacy.”
The line landed because it was accurate.
