Chapter 2 - THE BEDROOM DOOR
Police reached the Grant house in eleven minutes.
Emily went with them.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, the living room looked normal.
Cartoons paused on the television.
Half a bowl of cereal on the table.
Lucy's missing shoe beside the stairs.
Then they heard pounding upstairs.
"Help!"
Sarah Grant was locked in the master bedroom.
An officer forced the door.
Sarah fell into the hallway.
Her wrists were bruised.
There was dried blood at her lip.
"Where are my babies?"
"They're safe," Emily said. "They're at the station."
Sarah covered her face and cried.
Then she looked past them.
"Where is Ryan?"
"Custody."
Sarah swayed.
"Thank God."
Emily asked, "How long has he been living here?"
"Seven months."
Ryan had introduced himself as a grief counselor through Daniel's old church.
He was kind at first. Then he started controlling money, school pickups, and phone calls, telling people Sarah was unstable after Daniel's death.
Last night he took her phone.
This morning she found airline tickets.
Three seats.
Nashville to Toronto.
Names:
Ryan Miller.
Ethan Miller.
Lucy Miller.
Sarah whispered, "I told him the kids weren't going anywhere."
So he locked her in.
Emily showed her the two passports.
Charlotte Bennett.
Noah Bennett.
Sarah's face went white.
"I know those names."
"How?"
"Daniel did."
Before Daniel died, he had been investigating a private guardianship company called Harbor Family Services.
Charlotte and Noah Bennett disappeared during a custody dispute four years ago.
Their mother was told the children had been transferred to relatives.
They never arrived.
Emily felt cold.
"Why was Daniel investigating it?"
Sarah looked toward the floor.
"He was a forensic accountant for the state."
Daniel found money from children's trusts moving through Harbor into private shell companies.
Then he died in what police called a highway accident.
Sarah swallowed.
"Ryan told me to stop asking questions about Daniel."
Emily looked toward the basement door.
"Where is the room Lucy mentioned?"
Sarah stared.
"There is no room under this house."
Ethan had said there was.
Lucy had seen it.
Then an officer called from the basement.
"Detective?"
Emily went down.
Behind a shelving unit was a steel door.
No handle.
Only a key slot.
The silver key from Ryan's belt fit.
May you like
The door opened.
And the walls inside were covered with photographs of children.
