Chapter 18 - The Cost of a Father's Name
Patricia lunged across the defense table, her fingers curled like talons, screaming an incoherent torrent of curses until two bailiffs tackled her to the carpet. Her immaculate chignon unraveled, grey hair spilling wildly across her face as she bucked against the handcuffs clicking shut behind her back.
"Arrest Julian Beaumont as a co-conspirator to capital murder," the Assistant State Attorney, who had slipped quietly into the rear of the room, ordered aloud.
Julian Beaumont didn't scream. He didn't fight. As the marshals encircled him, his cold eyes shifted from Patricia to Daniel, and finally settled on me.
"A trust requires a living trustee to collect, Mrs. Vance," Julian whispered as they pulled his arms behind him. "Check your pocket."
A cold spike of dread pierced my chest.
I reached into my coat pocket. My fingers brushed against a cold, rectangular object that hadn't been there when I walked into the courthouse.
A silver tracking tile.
The courtroom was in chaos—Patricia was being dragged through the side door, screaming Daniel’s name in agony, reporters were flooding through the rear doors, cameras flashing blinding white lights into our eyes.
I pulled out the tracker. A small, flashing green light blinked rhythmically against my palm.
"Daniel," I gasped, grabbing his arm. "Daniel, where is Mrs. Gable?"
Mrs. Gable was our trusted neighbor who had agreed to watch Sophie in the courthouse children's annex on the ground floor during the hearing.
Daniel turned white. "She was with Sophie downstairs."
We bolted from the courtroom, taking the marble stairs three at a time, our footsteps thundering through the corridor. We burst into the annex.
Mrs. Gable was slumped forward on the small play table, snoring unnaturally deep, a half-empty cup of court coffee sitting beside an open packet of crushed sedative pills.
The coloring books were scattered across the floor.
May you like
Sophie’s yellow raincoat was gone.
***
