CHAPTER 5
"Shut your mouth, boy!" Thomas roared, his calm facade shattering instantly into wild, unhinged fury as he raised the heavy iron prybar over his shoulder.
He lunged forward up the remaining stairs with terrifying speed, aiming a lethal strike directly at my head.
I sidestepped instinctively to the left, squeezing the trigger of my Glock once as the heavy steel bar swung past my ear, splintering the wooden doorframe into kindling.
The gunshot detonated like a thunderclap inside the narrow hallway, the muzzle flash temporarily blinding the dark room as the 9mm round caught Thomas squarely in the right shoulder.
Thomas let out a harsh, guttural grunt, dropping the iron prybar as the force of the bullet spun him backward against the hallway wall.
I closed the distance immediately, driving my knee hard into his chest to pin him against the floorboards while grabbing his left wrist to secure him in heavy steel cuffs.
"Dispatch, shots fired at 1412 Elm!" I shouted, securing the double-lock on the handcuffs while Thomas groaned and thrashed beneath my weight. "Suspect in custody! I need EMS step-it-up right now!"
This time, the sound of heavy siren wails echoed in the distance, cutting through the Iowa rain as backup units raced toward Elm Street at high speeds.
Silas stepped slowly into the hallway, staring down at his cuffed, bleeding father with an expression that was far too old and hollow for a seven-year-old child.
"He was going to put Aunt Sarah down there with the others," Silas whispered softly, looking past his father toward the dark, gaping hole of the cellar entrance.
May you like
"What others, Silas?" I asked gently, standing up and keeping my weapon covering the basement door as the first red and blue strobe lights flooded through the front windows.
"The people who lived in this house before us," Silas answered, pointing his small hand into the darkness. "Grandma didn't buy this house, Officer. She built a cage under it."
