Chapter 6 - Monday at Nine
The truck arrived at eight forty-seven.
Carter watched from an upstairs window as it turned into the driveway despite the No Trespassing sign attached to the gate. Frank had apparently forced the gate open with his vehicle.
A yellow car followed behind it.
Then came Chloe’s red car and her parents’ aging SUV.
The moving truck stopped directly in front of the house. Two workers climbed out and opened the rear doors.
Inside were beds, chairs, lamps, boxes, suitcases, and a large wooden desk.
They had packed everything.
They had not come to negotiate.
Frank climbed from the SUV holding a baseball bat. He kept it lowered, but its purpose was obvious. Diane carried a handbag and a set of curtains. Chloe held the dark legal folder Carter had expected.
Carter called the sheriff’s office.
“They are here,” she said.
The dispatcher confirmed that officers were already nearby because of the storm.
Carter put on her boots and walked onto the porch with her coffee.
Frank saw her first.
“Open the garage,” he ordered.
“No.”
The movers stopped unloading.
Frank gestured toward the boxes.
“We have paid these men for the day.”
“That was your decision.”
Diane walked closer.
“We can discuss this inside.”
“You are not coming inside.”
Chloe raised the folder.
“We own part of this property.”
Carter looked directly at her.
“No, you don’t.”
Frank struck the bat once against the side of his boot.
“Don’t embarrass your mother.”
Carter almost smiled.
He had said the same thing at restaurants when Diane demanded that Carter pay. He had said it when Chloe ruined Carter’s engagement party and blamed stress. He had said it whenever their behavior became impossible to defend.
But the sentence had lost its power.
“You broke my gate,” Carter said. “You are trespassing. The police are coming.”
May you like
For the first time, uncertainty moved across Frank’s face.
Then sirens sounded through the snow.
