Chapter 6 - THE SAFEHOUSE THAT WASN'T SAFE
Thomas decided they had one advantage.
Everyone believed they were running away from Veil House.
So they would go toward it.
Sarah stared at him.
“You told me not to take Lucy there.”
“I’m not taking her inside.”
“Then why go?”
“Because everybody hunting us expects us to avoid it.”
Marian understood.
“And the property borders the river.”
Thomas nodded.
“There’s an old service road on the west side.”
They left the ranger station before dawn.
Smoke still covered the forest.
From a ridge, Sarah finally saw Veil House.
It was larger than she expected.
A three-story Victorian mansion with white siding and black shutters.
The building looked almost peaceful.
Lights glowed on the first floor.
Three police vehicles were parked outside.
“They were waiting for us,” Sarah whispered.
Thomas used binoculars.
“Not police.”
“What?”
“The cruisers are county units.”
“But none of those officers are wearing body cameras.”
Marian whispered.
“Circle security.”
Thomas led them downhill toward an abandoned boathouse.
They hid beneath the dock.
Twenty minutes later, voices approached.
Evan appeared with another man.
Sarah recognized him immediately.
Judge Harold Keene.
A man whose face appeared on campaign signs and local television.
Keene looked furious.
“You were supposed to bring the infant here before the fire.”
Evan answered.
“Thomas surprised me.”
“You told me he trusted you.”
“He did.”
“Then why is he still alive?”
Sarah covered Lucy’s mouth gently as the baby stirred.
Evan lowered his voice.
“Because somebody warned him.”
Keene stopped.
“Marian?”
“Possibly.”
“What about Rebecca?”
Sarah felt Thomas tense beside her.
Evan shook his head.
“No contact.”
Keene looked toward the river.
“She cannot be allowed to come back.”
Sarah stared at Thomas.
Rebecca was alive.
Not just in a twenty-three-year-old recording.
Alive now.
Keene continued.
“If Rebecca reaches the hearing with the girl and the infant, everything collapses.”
Evan asked,
“What hearing?”
Keene glared at him.
“You know enough.”
“No.”
“I’ve killed my career for this.”
“My partner thinks I’m a traitor.”
Keene smiled.
“You are a traitor.”
“Don’t romanticize it.”
Evan’s face hardened.
“Where’s Rebecca?”
“That information remains above you.”
Evan stepped closer.
“You keep saying above me.”
“Who’s above you?”
Keene didn’t answer.
A phone rang.
Keene listened.
Then said,
“Bring her in.”
A black SUV pulled up beside Veil House.
Two men opened the rear door.
A woman stepped out.
Sarah gripped Thomas’s arm.
The woman was older now.
Silver threaded through her dark hair.
But Sarah knew those eyes.
Rebecca Lane had just arrived at Veil House.
And she wasn’t a prisoner.
May you like
She walked inside beside Judge Keene as though she belonged there.
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