Chapter 10 – The Rabbit's Secret
Richard stared at the photograph on Michael's phone.
Three words.
Too late, Richard.
Beneath them was the crude drawing of Emma's stuffed rabbit.
His pulse quickened.
"She knows about the rabbit," Richard said.
Michael nodded grimly.
"Which means she knows Laura used it to hide evidence."
Richard looked toward the hospital visible across the street from the federal building.
"No."
Michael frowned.
"What is it?"
"If Natalie knows about the rabbit..."
Richard's face drained of color.
"...she may know about Emma."
At St. Mary's Medical Center, Emma sat beside Laura's bed, coloring quietly with a box of crayons a nurse had brought her.
Laura smiled weakly.
"What are you drawing?"
"A house."
"Is it our new house?"
Emma shook her head.
"It's the one we'll have after all the scary people are gone."
Laura reached over and gently brushed a strand of hair from her daughter's face.
"I like that house already."
A soft knock interrupted them.
A nurse entered carrying a bouquet of white lilies.
"These were just delivered."
Laura frowned.
"I wasn't expecting flowers."
The attached card simply read:
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
No signature.
The nurse placed the arrangement on a nearby table and left.
Emma wrinkled her nose.
"They smell funny."
Laura glanced at the flowers.
"They do."
Before she could say anything else, Richard burst into the room with Michael close behind.
"Don't touch them!" Michael shouted.
The nurse froze in the doorway.
Richard crossed the room in seconds and pulled Emma away from the bedside.
Bomb technicians weren't available immediately, but Michael had seen enough suspicious deliveries during his years with the FBI to trust his instincts.
The hospital evacuated the entire floor.
Minutes later, a hazardous materials team arrived.
Everyone watched from behind a glass security door as technicians carefully examined the bouquet.
One of them slowly removed the card.
Another opened the base of the vase.
Inside, hidden beneath the water reservoir...
...was a tiny GPS tracking device.
No explosives.
No poison.
Just a tracker.
Michael exhaled.
"They wanted to know exactly where Laura would be moved."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"So they weren't trying to kill her."
"No."
"They were planning something else."
That afternoon, the investigation took another unexpected turn.
A federal cybercrime analyst finally cracked the encrypted files recovered from Victor's office computer.
Michael opened the report.
His eyes widened.
"You need to see this."
Richard walked over.
The screen displayed hundreds of encrypted emails between Victor and Natalie.
Most discussed money transfers and legal strategies.
Then one message stood out.
Subject: Insurance Policy
Victor had written:
If Laura ever talks, activate Phase Two.
The child is the leverage.
Without Emma, Richard Bennett will surrender everything.
Richard felt a chill run through him.
"They were never after the evidence."
Michael looked at him.
"They were after Emma."
At that exact moment, alarms suddenly echoed through the hospital.
A security guard's voice blared over the intercom.
"Code Pink! Code Pink! Pediatric abduction attempt!"
Richard's heart nearly stopped.
Emma had been playing in the children's activity room...
Only two doors away.
He and Michael sprinted down the hallway.
When they reached the room, crayons and coloring books were scattered across the floor.
The window was open.
May you like
Rain blew through the curtains.
Emma was gone.
