Advertisement
That evening Rachel cornered me in the kitchen. Rachel was nineteen, sharp as broken glass, and impossible to fool.
"You're lying to us," she said.
"I'm not lying."
"You are hiding something."
I looked at her, then handed her Daniel's phone. "If he stops answering tonight, call the state police. Not local. State."
She stared at me. "Why?"
"Because I think Tom is involved in whatever happened to your mother."
We started digging.
Advertisement
She went pale. "You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
The old house was gone except for the broken foundation and the collapsed root cellar. Rain started again as we pried up the cellar door and climbed down.
The dirt floor was uneven. Alice pointed. "There."
We started digging, tearing up the soil.
That made Daniel suck in a breath.
Then a voice behind us said, "You really should have left this buried."
Advertisement
Tom stood at the top of the stairs with a gun in his hand.
Daniel moved closer to me. Alice went still.
Tom looked almost annoyed. "You never learn, Alice."
I said, "You threatened her for 12 years."
He shrugged. "She stayed alive for 12 years, didn't she?"
That made Daniel suck in a breath.
He didn't answer directly. He didn't need to.
Advertisement
I saw his phone half hidden in his sleeve, recording.
I said, "What did my brother-in-law find?"
Tom let out a tired laugh. "Enough to be inconvenient."
"Kids were moved for money?"
He didn't answer directly. He didn't need to.
He said, "Your brother-in-law should have kept his mouth shut. Alice should have done the same."
Alice stepped forward. "You stole years from my children."
That landed like a slap.
Advertisement
Tom looked at her. "No. You handed them over when you stayed gone."
That landed like a slap.
Then, from somewhere above us, we heard tires on wet gravel.
Tom heard it too. His eyes sharpened.
Alice said, "Rachel called them."
His face changed.
The metal lockbox split into view beside him.
Daniel yelled, "Now!"
Advertisement
I grabbed Tom's wrist. The gun fired into the ceiling. Dirt and wood came down. Daniel kicked his leg. Alice slammed the shovel into his shoulder. He stumbled backward, and the rotten boards under him gave way.
He crashed into the lower pit.
The metal lockbox split into view beside him.
By the time the state police came down the steps, Tom was trapped under broken timber, still cursing, and Daniel was holding up his phone with shaking hands.
Ben hugged her and she started to cry.
Advertisement
