Chapter 25 - The Girl at the Window
Daniel slammed the phone into its cradle. His heart pounded against his ribs like a sledgehammer. He looked at Lily and Noah. Leaving the house was out of the question; Vance likely had hired men watching every exit. Surrendering the box was equally impossible—the moment Vance had the evidence, there would be no reason to leave any witnesses alive.
"Lily, listen to me," Daniel said, dropping down to her eye level. "I need you to take Noah upstairs to my bedroom closet. The heavy one with the inside latch. Take the dog, lock the latch, and do not open it for anyone except me. Do you hear me?"
Lily didn't move. She stared at the window facing Elm Street, her eyes glassy with memory.
"The night before Mom died," Lily said, her voice trembling, "I looked out the living room window because I heard Mom crying on the porch. She was talking to a tall man with a cane. She told him, 'If you touch my children, I will burn everything you built to the ground.'"
Daniel’s breath caught. "Did you see who it was?"
"I couldn't see his face," Lily whispered. "He wore a long black coat. But when he pointed his cane at Mom, the porch light caught his hand. He was wearing a big gold ring with a bird on it. An eagle with red eyes."
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Daniel remembered that ring. Arthur Vance had worn that antique signet ring on his pinky finger for as long as anyone in the township could remember. The final piece of doubt vanished from Daniel's mind.
"Go upstairs, Lily. Now," Daniel commanded gently. "I'm going to finish what your mother started."
