Chapter 8 - The Trooper on Route 9
Eli scrambled to his feet, waving his arms wildly above his head in the middle of the dark, rain-soaked road.
"Stop! Please stop!" Eli screamed.
The heavy tires of a New York State Police cruiser screeched against the wet pavement, coming to a halt inches from where Eli stood.
The driver’s side door opened, and a tall female state trooper stepped out into the rain, holding a flashlight.
"Kid?! What are you doing out here in this storm?!" Trooper Sarah Miller shouted, rushing over to wrap a heavy yellow rain jacket around the shivering, muddy boy. "Are you hurt?!"
"My grandfather... my dad..." Eli gasped out, tears mixing with the rainwater on his face. "Carrow Manor! My uncle has a gun! He shot my dad!"
Trooper Miller’s eyes widened. She recognized the Carrow name instantly—everyone in the county knew the Hudson Valley estate.
"Kid, calm down," Miller said firmly, lifting her shoulder radio. "Dispatch, this is Unit 204, I have an 11-year-old male at Route 9 and Carrow Creek bridge, reporting an active shooter and domestic emergency at Carrow Manor. Requesting immediate back-up and EMS!"
"Unit 204, backup is five minutes out," the radio crackled back.
"I have the proof!" Eli yelled, unzipping the wet backpack and holding out the leather ledgers and flash drives. "He stole sixteen million dollars! He locked my grandfather in a service elevator behind a portrait for eleven days!"
Trooper Miller looked at the soaked documents, then looked down at the boy's bruised face and desperate blue eyes. She didn't doubt a single word.
"Get in the car," Miller ordered, opening the passenger door. "We're going back."
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"No! He’s going to burn the house down!" Eli cried.
"Not on my watch," Miller said, slamming her foot onto the accelerator as the police cruiser turned around, its red and blue lights flashing wildly against the pouring rain, sirens blaring into the night.
