Chapter 7 - The Parking Lot Confrontation
The neon sign of the Starlight Diner hummed against the freezing rain, casting long pink and yellow reflections across the wet asphalt of the near-empty parking lot.
parked in the rear corner, tucked away beneath the shadow of a rusted dumpster, was Maris’s blue SUV. The engine was idling, thin white plumes of exhaust curling into the night air.
Inside the car, Maris sat in the driver's seat, her face illuminated by the harsh glow of her phone screen. She was checking her watch every twenty seconds, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
A black sedan pulled into the spot directly beside her.
Maris turned, expecting her brother. Her smile vanished when the driver’s side door opened and I stepped out into the rain, wearing my dark winter coat.
I walked slowly around the hood of her vehicle and tapped on her window.
Maris stared at me through the glass, her eyes wide with sudden, sharp suspicion. She lowered the window three inches, cold air rushing into the warm interior of her car.
"Gideon?" she asked, her voice tight. "What are you doing here? Where is Aris?"
"Aris isn't coming, Maris," I said, my voice calm, steady, and clear over the hum of her engine.
She froze. "What are you talking about?"
"I know about the index cards," I said softly, resting my forearm on the top of her door frame. "I know about the dictaphone in Lumi's backpack. I know about Richard Vance. And I know about the three-hundred-thousand-dollar trust."
The color drained from Maris’s face so completely that her dark lipstick stood out like a stain against her skin. She reached instinctively for the gear shift to put the car in reverse.
"Don't do that," I warned her gently.
Before she could touch the lever, two unmarked police cruisers swerved around the dumpster, blocking her SUV from the front and rear, their high beams pinning her in a blinding wash of white light.
"MARIS VANCE! STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS VISIBLE!" a bullhorn blasted from the lead cruiser.
Maris slammed her hands against the steering wheel, letting out a sharp, furious scream of anger and defeat. She looked at me through the open window, her eyes filled with a venomous, unadulterated hatred that completely stripped away the beautiful, gentle facade she had presented to the world for a year.
"You ruined everything!" she spat, her voice shrill and ugly. "You stupid, useless nurse! You were supposed to be easy!"
"Lumi saved us both, Maris," I said, stepping back from the car as Frank Vance and three officers moved in with drawn weapons. "She's stronger than you think."
Officers pulled the driver's door open, unbuckled her seatbelt, and escorted her out into the rain. The handcuffs clicked into place over her wrists before she even reached the wet pavement.
As they loaded her into the back of the police cruiser, Frank walked over to me, handing me a warm paper cup of coffee from his trunk.
"State police just executed a search warrant on Aris Thorne’s city office," Frank reported, taking a sip from his own cup. "They found ledgers going back six years. Fake medical reports, extortion contracts, offshore banking records. It's a full syndicate, Gideon. They're looking at federal racketeering charges on top of the state counts."
I took a long drink of the hot coffee, watching the blue lights fade as the cruisers pulled out of the parking lot, taking Maris away forever.
"Where is Lumi?" I asked.
May you like
"She’s at the child protection facility in the city," Frank said softly. "ADA Mercer is there with her now. She's waiting for you."
I got back into my car, turned the heater on high, and drove toward the city light.
