Chapter 2 - The Police Who Knew Too Much
The house disappeared into darkness.
Emma screamed again.
Daniel pressed her face against his chest and moved toward the staircase.
“Stay together,” he said.
Emergency lights glowed faintly along the hallway floor.
The pounding stopped.
For three seconds, there was complete silence outside.
Then a man shouted through the door.
“Mr. Daniel Whitmore, we have a warrant. Open immediately.”
Daniel froze.
Nobody had called the police yet.
My phone had never completed the emergency call.
The people outside had arrived before Emma opened the gift.
I looked toward Richard.
He seemed almost amused.
“You invited them,” I said.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
He glanced at the grandfather clock.
“They are early.”
Daniel stepped closer to him.
“Who are they?”
Richard lowered his voice.
“Men wearing uniforms.”
The front door burst inward.
Four officers entered with weapons raised.
Their badges reflected the Christmas lights from the battery-powered decorations.
The lead officer pointed at Daniel.
“Put the child down and show me your hands.”
“She’s been poisoned,” Daniel shouted.
“Now.”
Emma clung to his neck.
I moved between them.
“She needs an ambulance.”
The officer looked at the red burns across her face.
His expression did not change.
“Where is the container?”
I pointed to the floor.
He stepped around me and placed the broken jar into an evidence bag.
Too quickly.
He knew what he was looking for.
A second officer moved directly toward my phone.
I picked it up first.
“Why do you need that?”
“Potential evidence.”
“It recorded Richard confessing.”
Richard laughed softly behind us.
The lead officer’s eyes moved toward him.
Not with surprise.
With recognition.
Daniel noticed too.
“You know my father.”
The officer ignored him.
“Mr. Whitmore, you are being detained for attempted murder.”
My breath stopped.
Daniel stared.
“Of whom?”
“Your wife.”
I looked at the officer.
“That’s insane.”
He removed handcuffs.
“The poisoned cosmetic was purchased using Daniel Whitmore’s corporate account.”
Richard’s smile vanished.
Just slightly.
Daniel looked at him.
“You used my account.”
The officer grabbed Daniel’s arm.
Emma cried harder.
I pulled her away before she fell.
“Do not touch him,” I said.
The officer reached for my phone.
I stepped back.
Richard finally spoke.
“You should give it to them, Claire.”
My name sounded like a warning in his mouth.
“Why?”
“Because some recordings are dangerous.”
The lead officer moved toward me.
Daniel twisted free and shoved him away.
Two officers forced him against the wall.
Emma screamed.
“Daddy!”
I held her tightly.
Then a crash came from the kitchen.
A fifth man stumbled into the room wearing a police uniform.
Blood covered his shirt.
He pointed toward the officers surrounding Daniel.
“They’re not police,” he gasped.
The lead officer drew his gun.
Richard stepped behind the Christmas tree.
The wounded man looked at me.
May you like
“Mrs. Whitmore, run.”
A shot exploded through the room.
