Chapter 2 - One Step at a Time
"Where's Mom?" I shouted down.
"Emily, eyes on me," Nolan called. "Right foot on the ladder. Then your left. I've got you."
I wanted to refuse until somebody brought Mom out. Then my bedroom door split at the latch. Dad got one arm through and reached toward me, his face twisted with rage and something that looked like panic.
"Don't go with them," he said. "You have no idea what she's done."
He used to say that whenever Mom cried. You have no idea. It meant I was supposed to stop asking questions. This time I put my foot on the first rung and climbed out.
Nolan steadied the ladder while an officer entered my room from the hall. His team had been stationed two blocks away after Mom reported the threat that morning. A minute later I stood on the wet grass beside a black SUV. He wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, though I wasn't cold yet. I was too frightened to be cold.
The front door opened. Two local police officers led Dad outside in handcuffs. He saw me, then looked past me at Nolan.
"If Sarah talks," Dad said, "they'll find all of us. You know that."
"You don't get to threaten them anymore," Nolan answered.
"I'm warning you." Dad's voice broke. "He knows the address."
Before I could ask who he meant, two paramedics came out wheeling Mom on a stretcher. Her hair hung wet against her face. One eye was swollen, but when she saw me she lifted a hand.
"My girl," she whispered.
I ran alongside the stretcher. "I'm sorry. I should've called sooner."
Mom caught my fingers. "You called. That's what matters."
A paramedic told us she'd need an examination at the hospital. Nolan said I could ride in a vehicle directly behind the ambulance, with another marshal. Mom kept looking at the street as though someone might step out of the parked cars.
The ambulance pulled away. As Nolan opened our SUV door, his radio crackled.
"Pierce, there's a vehicle at the east intersection. No plates. Driver just photographed the ambulance."
May you like
Nolan's expression changed. He closed the door between us and the street.
"Emily," he said, "tell me everything you remember about the man who came to your house on Tuesday."
