Chapter 9 - At 8:14)
Richard arrived the next afternoon.
But before he reached the house, everything exploded.
It began with water.
Noah had been coloring at the kitchen table while Emily searched James's records.
A glass tipped over.
Water spread across the floor.
Noah jumped up immediately.
"I'm sorry."
Rick entered.
He looked at the spilled water.
Then at the crayons.
Then at the green paint stain Noah had accidentally transferred from the hidden room.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
Rick grabbed Noah's broken spare glasses from the counter.
"What did I tell you about touching things?"
Emily came through the hallway.
"Leave him alone."
Rick threw the glasses onto the floor.
They broke.
Noah flinched.
Rick reached for the leather belt.
It was no longer in its usual place.
He opened the trash can.
Found it.
Laura appeared in the doorway.
She had been waiting for Richard's message.
Her phone showed one word.
Outside.
Then Rick raised the belt.
Everything happened exactly as Emily would remember it for the rest of her life.
The belt came down.
Noah covered his head.
Emily rushed forward.
"Let him go, you bastard!"
Noah cried, "I'm scared! Stop it!"
Rick swung toward Emily.
"I'm gonna teach this brat a lesson!"
Emily stepped in front of Noah.
She kicked Rick backward against the table.
"Don't you dare touch my little brother, you bastard!"
Rick stood again.
Laura remained in the doorway.
Emily looked at her.
For one instant, her mother's expression seemed almost relieved.
Emily did not understand.
Later she would.
Laura had seen the porch sensor light blink on the small receiver beside the hallway.
Richard had arrived.
Rick grabbed Emily by the collar.
The phone rang.
Emily answered.
Richard's voice came through.
"Emily, do not hang up."
Then three knocks struck the front door.
The knob turned.
The door opened.
Richard Hale stepped inside.
"Stay away from the children."
Rick released Emily.
Richard was sixty six, tall, silver haired, wearing a dark jacket over a plain shirt.
He did not look like a savior.
He looked like a man who had spent eight years waiting for a door to open.
Rick laughed.
"You've got nerve."
Richard held up a folder.
"I have an emergency protection order, an injunction freezing the Carter trusts, and authorization from Laura to enter this home."
Rick looked at Laura.
"You signed something?"
Laura stepped forward.
"Several things."
Rick's face changed.
Richard looked at Noah.
"Are you hurt?"
Noah shook his head.
Emily stood beside him.
Richard's gaze moved to her.
For a moment his composure broke.
He looked at Emily's face as if seeing someone else.
James.
Then he turned back to Rick.
"We need to talk about 8:14."
Rick became perfectly still.
Laura noticed.
Emily noticed.
Richard noticed.
"What happened at 8:14?" Emily asked.
Richard did not look away from Rick.
"At 8:14 on the morning your father died, he called me."
Rick smiled faintly.
"You mean you called him."
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"No."
Rick laughed.
"You still don't know."
"Know what?"
Rick looked toward the kitchen table.
Then toward Noah.
"He called the wrong Richard."
Laura frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Rick stepped backward.
"You found James's recorder. You found the ledgers. Congratulations."
Richard's face hardened.
"But you didn't find the second phone."
Emily remembered Rebecca's message.
Second copy.
"Where is it?" she asked.
Rick smiled.
"Ask your aunt."
Then someone spoke from the open front doorway.
"You should ask me yourself."
Laura turned.
A woman stood outside.
She wore a blue coat.
Her face was older and thinner.
But there was no mistaking the resemblance.
Laura whispered, "Rebecca."
Noah grabbed Emily's hand.
May you like
The woman looked directly at Rick.
Then she said, "Tell them who answered James's call at 8:14."
