Chapter 6 - The Arrival of the AuthoritiesTwo sharp, high-pitched sirens echoed through the valley below.
Red and blue emergency lights flashed through the snow-covered pine trees along Route 9, as three state trooper sedans and a sheriff's SUV pulled up behind Leo's idling vehicle.
When I had reached the ranger station three hours earlier, I hadn't just built a fire. I had used the station's emergency landline—connected to the forestry service's hardwired copper network—to dial the State Police Special Investigations Division.
Ten state troopers and two county deputies marched up the fire road, their heavy boots crunching through the slush, their sidearms drawn as they entered the illuminated clearing.
Leading them was Senior Captain Marcus Vance.
"Leo Vance!" Captain Vance announced, his baritone booming through the night. "Keep your hands where we can see them! Step away from the woman!"
Leo turned around frantically, his hands coming up into the air, tears of pure, pathetic panic cutting clean tracks through the grime on his face.
"Officer! You don't understand!" Leo shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me. "My wife is crazy! She set me up! She stole my corporate documents!"
Captain Vance walked up to Leo, grabbing his wrists, driving his heavy frame down onto his knees in the cold snow.
CLICK. CLICK.
Heavy steel handcuffs locked tightly around Leo’s wrists.
"Mr. Vance," Captain Vance stated cleanly, reading from a tablet held by a deputy. "You are under arrest for Felony Child Abandonment, Spousal Endangerment, Grand Larceny, and Wire Theft. Furthermore, federal agents from the Internal Revenue Service have executed a master warrant on your residence in Lake Forest."
Leo dropped his head into the slush, weeping like a broken, pathetic child, as two troopers hoisted his groveling frame off the ground, dragging him down the fire road toward the transport sedans.
Valerie climbed down from the roof terrace, running into my open arms. I wrapped my coat around her shoulders, pulling her tight against my heart, pressing a hundred warm kisses into her dark hair.
Captain Vance stepped up to us, taking off his heavy gloves, offering a warm, respectful smile.
"Mrs. Vance... or should I say, Miss Claire," Captain Vance said gently. "Your emergency report was the most detailed operational dispatch we've received in ten years. You and your daughter are safe now."
May you like
I looked down at Valerie, then looked at the dark forest road where Leo was being driven away in chains.
"My name is Claire Mercer, Captain," I answered cleanly, holding my chin high. "And we have never been safer."
