Chapter 8 - The False Police
The taller man closed the apartment door.
The second officer moved toward Emily.
Michael stepped in front of her.
“What precinct are you from?”
“Central,” Cole replied.
“Badge number?”
Cole’s smile faded.
“Are you interfering with an investigation?”
“I’m asking for identification.”
The second man reached beneath his jacket.
Michael reacted immediately.
He shoved Emily behind the kitchen island and grabbed the heavy ceramic bowl from the counter.
The man drew a syringe.
Not a weapon.
A syringe.
Sarah ran toward the hallway.
Cole caught her arm.
“Stay where you are.”
She struck him with her handbag.
Michael threw the ceramic bowl.
It shattered against the wall beside the second man’s head.
Emily crawled toward the living room.
Cole released Sarah and rushed after her.
Michael tackled him from the side.
They crashed into the dining table.
“Go!” Michael shouted.
Emily reached the front door.
The security panel demanded the six-digit code.
She entered Michael’s birthday.
ACCESS DENIED.
Behind her, Sarah screamed.
The second man had grabbed her by the hair and pressed the syringe against her neck.
“Code!” Emily shouted.
Michael struggled beneath Cole.
“Four, nine, one, seven, two, six!”
Emily entered the numbers.
The lock opened.
She pulled the door wide.
A fire alarm began shrieking throughout the building.
Red lights flashed in the corridor.
Residents stepped from their apartments.
The false officers hesitated.
Michael drove his elbow into Cole’s jaw.
Sarah broke free and ran.
Emily entered the hallway.
“Help!” she shouted. “Call the police!”
A neighbor raised his phone.
The second attacker charged toward Emily.
Before he reached her, the stairwell door burst open.
Ruth stepped out holding a fire extinguisher.
She sprayed a cloud of white powder into the attacker’s face.
He staggered backward.
Ashley appeared behind her.
He grabbed Emily’s arm.
“Move!”
They ran toward the stairwell.
Sarah followed.
Michael did not.
Emily looked back.
He stood in the apartment doorway, staring at Cole.
The false detective wiped blood from his mouth.
“You know what Richard will do,” Cole said.
Michael’s face was unreadable.
Then he slammed the apartment door shut and locked himself inside with the two attackers.
Emily stopped.
“Michael!”
Ashley pulled her toward the stairs.
“We can’t wait.”
“He’s still in there.”
“He made his choice.”
They descended four flights before Emily’s legs began to fail.
Ashley supported her.
“Just a little farther.”
Ruth went ahead.
“Garage level is compromised,” she said. “We go through the laundry exit.”
“How do you know?” Emily asked.
“Because the real police are outside, and someone blocked every elevator.”
Sarah stumbled behind them.
“Why are we trusting her?”
Ruth looked over her shoulder.
“You shouldn’t.”
They reached the sixth floor.
The fire alarm stopped.
The sudden silence was worse.
A voice came through the stairwell speaker.
Richard Carter.
“Emily.”
She froze.
Ashley gripped her arm.
“Keep moving.”
Richard’s voice remained calm.
“You are frightened. That is understandable.”
Sarah looked toward the speaker.
“Father?”
“Sarah, return to the apartment.”
“Those men attacked me.”
“They were instructed to retrieve Emily safely.”
“One of them put a needle against my neck.”
“You interfered.”
Sarah’s face changed.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that she was not protected.
Richard continued.
“Emily, the men with you have lied. Your brother has stolen confidential medical material. The woman calling herself Ruth has committed multiple crimes.”
Ruth did not react.
“You have nowhere to go,” Richard said. “But if you return voluntarily, I will forgive everyone involved.”
Ashley laughed bitterly.
“Forgive us?”
“Your sister requires medical care.”
Emily touched her injured cheek.
The pain had intensified.
“The hospital is ready for her.”
Ruth leaned close.
“He wants you sedated.”
Richard seemed to hear her.
“Ruth Bennett, you have already lost one son because of Daniel Monroe. Do not lose another.”
Ruth’s face went white.
Emily looked at her.
“What does he mean?”
Ruth kept moving.
“Not now.”
Richard’s voice followed them down the stairs.
“The child belongs to my family.”
Emily stopped again.
She looked directly at the speaker.
“No.”
There was silence.
Then Richard said, “Anna said the same thing.”
Emily’s heart began to pound.
“Who was Anna Vale?”
Ruth grabbed her hand.
“We have to go.”
May you like
Richard answered before they moved.
“She was your mother.”
