Chapter 6 - THE SURVIVOR IN THE RAIN
Detective Reed survived the explosion.
Two members of his team suffered minor injuries when a charge detonated inside an abandoned storage building near the lighthouse. The device had been placed to destroy records, not kill investigators, but the timing was precise.
Someone knew the police were coming.
By sunrise, Reed stood outside Emma’s room with a cut near his eyebrow and rainwater still clinging to his jacket.
“You should be examined,” Rachel said.
“I was.”
“What did you find?”
“Most of the storage room burned. We recovered fragments of computers, pieces of maritime equipment, and blood.”
“Whose blood?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“And Daniel?”
“No sign of him.”
Rachel showed him the message.
Your father warned you too late.
Reed photographed the screen.
“Did anyone besides Charles know we were going?”
“You, me, Joanna, and the officers involved.”
“Also whoever had access to the hidden phone records.”
“You think someone inside the department leaked it?”
“I think we need to consider every possibility.”
Rachel looked toward Emma’s bed.
“Charles knew there would be an explosion.”
“He claimed he knew the site was dangerous.”
“He said you would die.”
“That might have been manipulation.”
“Or knowledge.”
Reed leaned against the wall.
“Your father’s attorney secured his release pending further investigation. Diane was also released. Vanessa remains in custody on assault and child endangerment charges.”
Rachel’s anger sharpened.
“How did Charles walk out after you found a chained room beneath his office?”
“He claims Caroline installed the chain herself because she was afraid someone would enter while she slept.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous isn’t the same as disproven.”
“What about Lily’s statement?”
“It creates serious concerns, but prosecutors need corroboration.”
Rachel understood the law. She also understood money.
Charles had both.
Reed handed her a printed photograph.
It showed a man standing beyond the police line at Bellweather Point, partially hidden by an umbrella. His face was turned away, but the broken compass pendant was visible at his throat.
“Daniel,” Rachel whispered.
“That photograph was taken four minutes after the explosion.”
“He watched from the road.”
“Maybe.”
“Why didn’t he come forward?”
“Maybe he caused it.”
Rachel looked at Reed.
“You believe my father?”
“I believe everyone in this case has withheld something.”
“Not Emma.”
“No. Not Emma.”
A doctor entered and announced that Emma could likely be discharged that afternoon if her neurological checks remained stable.
Joanna arranged emergency placement with Rachel under several conditions. Rachel would temporarily move into a furnished family-support apartment near the hospital. Emma would attend trauma counseling. Contact with Charles, Diane, and Vanessa would be prohibited.
Lily would remain with a licensed foster family until investigators determined whether she and Emma could safely reunite.
Emma cried when she heard Lily would not come with them.
“She’ll think I hate her.”
“You don’t hate her,” Rachel said.
“She pushed me.”
“She was scared.”
“I was scared too.”
Rachel had no perfect answer.
“I know.”
Emma hugged her rabbit.
“Mommy said brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means you tell the truth anyway.”
Rachel smiled sadly.
“Your mommy was right.”
That afternoon, a nurse brought Emma’s discharge papers and a plastic bag containing the clothes she wore when admitted.
Something hard was sewn into the lining of her yellow coat.
Rachel cut a loose thread and removed a tiny memory card.
Emma watched from the bed.
“Mommy put it there.”
“When?”
“The last night.”
“Did she tell you what was on it?”
Emma nodded.
“She said it was the reason Daddy had to pretend.”
Rachel placed the card in an evidence envelope and called Reed.
Before he arrived, the lights in the hospital corridor flickered.
Then every monitor on the floor went dark.
Emergency power activated seconds later.
A man in medical scrubs stepped into Emma’s room carrying an empty syringe.
Rachel reacted before she could think.
She pushed the medication cart into him and screamed.
The syringe dropped.
The man struck her across the face and lunged toward Emma.
Rachel grabbed the metal IV pole and swung it into his shoulder.
Security alarms began to sound.
The man ran.
Rachel chased him into the stairwell, but by the time guards reached the lower floor, he had vanished into the rain.
The syringe remained behind.
Its label had been removed.
Later, toxicology identified the contents as enough sedative to stop a child’s breathing.
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Someone had tried to silence Emma.
And that person had known exactly when she was being discharged.
