Chapter 6 - The Raid
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The sirens got louder. I pressed my ear against the bathroom door.
Three cars. Maybe four. Tires screeching. Doors slamming.
"Police! Everyone on the ground!"
I unlocked the door. Cracked it open.
Jake was standing in the middle of the diner, badge out. Behind him, six officers in tactical gear.
The waitress was on the floor. Hands shaking. Crying.
"We're looking for Marcus DeLuca," Jake said. "He's not a suspect. We just need to talk to him."
I stepped out. "I'm here."
Jake nodded. "Good. We got her."
"Karen?"
"She's at Memorial. Hypothermia. Dehydration. But alive."
I almost fell over. "She's okay?"
"She's okay."
I wanted to cry. Wanted to laugh. Wanted to hit something.
"What about my mother?"
Jake's expression flickered. "That's the thing."
"What?"
"They're gone."
"Gone?"
"The restaurant's empty. No sign of your mother, your uncle, your cousins. Nobody."
I stared at him. "That's impossible. They were there an hour ago."
"Someone tipped them off." Jake's jaw tightened. "One of my team. We're investigating."
"Shit."
"Yeah." He put a hand on my shoulder. "We need you to come with us. Give a statement. Then—"
"Then what?"
"Then we find them."
I rode to the station in the back of Jake's car. The city passed by in a blur. I kept thinking about Mom. The way she'd looked at me. The anger in her eyes.
She knew.
She knew I'd call the police.
She knew I'd go to Jake.
How?
The flash drive. She'd seen me grab it. She knew what was on it. And she knew I wouldn't just sit on it.
But how did she know about Jake? How did she know who to bribe?
The answer came to me like a punch in the gut.
Sophie.
Sophie had called me. Asked where I was. And like an idiot, I'd told her.
She'd sold me out.
At the station, Jake led me to an interview room. Brought me coffee. Sat across from me.
"Tell me everything. From the beginning."
I told him. Again. The freezer. The note. The video. The flash drive.
He took notes. Asked questions. Made me repeat details.
When I was done, he leaned back.
"Your sister's a hell of a woman."
"She is."
"She's been investigating for years. On her own. No training. No backup. Just... guts."
"She always was stubborn."
"Stubborn enough to get killed." He paused. "Or smart enough to stay alive."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean someone tipped them off. Someone knew we were coming. And it wasn't one of my people."
"Sophie."
"I don't know that yet. But someone in your family knew you were talking to me. They moved fast. Too fast for it to be a coincidence."
I thought about the note. The handwriting.
"Mom wrote it."
"What?"
"The note on the freezer. 'She stole from the family. Let her learn.' I recognize the handwriting. It's Mom's."
Jake's eyes narrowed. "That's not enough for a warrant."
"I know. But it's enough for me."
"Marcus, don't do anything stupid."
"Stupid? My mother murdered my father. Tried to murder my sister. And now she's in the wind with forty thousand dollars and God knows what else."
"And we'll find her. But we need to do it the right way."
"The right way." I laughed. Bitter. "The right way is what got my dad killed. He tried to do it the right way. And where is he now?"
Jake didn't answer.
"I'm going to see my sister."
He nodded. "I'll drive you."
Karen was in a private room. Tubes in her arms. Machines beeping. Her face was pale, but her eyes were open.
"Marcus."
I sat beside her bed. Took her hand.
"Hey."
"You found it."
"I found it."
"You watched the video?"
"Yeah."
She closed her eyes. Tears leaked out.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"You were trying to protect me."
"I was trying to protect everyone. And I failed."
"You didn't fail." I squeezed her hand. "You're alive. That's not failure."
"Mom?"
"Gone. They're all gone. But we'll find them."
She opened her eyes. Looked at me hard.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The ledger. The real one. I hid it."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
"Karen—"
"If I tell you, they'll find out. They'll come after you."
"Jake can protect me."
"Jake's not the problem." She glanced at the door. At the window. "There are people in the department. People who work for Mom."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've been investigating for ten years. I know names. Faces. Cops. Lawyers. Politicians."
My blood ran cold. "How high does it go?"
"Higher than you can imagine."
She reached for something under her pillow. A piece of paper. Folded.
"Take this. It's a name. Someone who can help. Someone who's not involved."
I opened it. A name I didn't recognize.
"Who is this?"
"An old friend of Dad's. He's been in hiding for years. He has evidence. Real evidence. The kind that can't be destroyed."
"Where do I find him?"
"Go to the old cabin. The one we used to visit when we were kids. He's there."
"The cabin? That place has been abandoned for years."
"Exactly. Nobody would think to look there."
I pocketed the paper. "What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Jake's got people watching me."
"Karen—"
"Go, Marcus. Before it's too late."
I didn't want to leave her. But she was right. Every minute I waited, Mom got further away.
I kissed her forehead. "I'll be back."
"I know."
I walked out of the room. Jake was in the hallway.
"I need to go somewhere."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
"Marcus—"
"Trust me. Please."
He stared at me for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"Be careful."
"I will."
I walked out of the hospital. Into the night. The city was quiet. Still.
I didn't know where I was going. Not really. The cabin was two hours north. Deep in the woods. Isolated.
But it was a start.
I pulled out my phone. Called for a ride.
While I waited, I thought about Mom. About the last time I'd seen her. The anger in her eyes. The coldness.
She'd tried to kill my sister. She'd killed my father.
And now she was running.
But she'd made one mistake.
She'd left me alive.
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