Chapter 3 - The Arrival of the Law
My father froze mid-step. The arrogance on his face faltered for the very first time.
“You... you called the police on your own parents?” Eleanor gasped, her hands shaking as she looked from me to the driveway.
“I didn't call them on my parents,” I spat back. “I called them on child abusers.”
Sirens echoed in the distance, their high-pitched wails cutting through the sound of the falling rain. Two blue-and-red flashing lights reflected off the wet pine trees down the driveway as two sheriff’s cruisers pulled into the gravel lot, blocking my parents’ SUV.
Deputy Aaron Miller stepped out of the lead cruiser, his flashlight cutting through the darkness. A female officer followed closely behind him.
“Is everyone alright here?” Deputy Miller asked, resting his hand near his belt as he surveyed the tense scene on the porch.
“Officer! Thank God you’re here!” Eleanor immediately cried out, putting on a dramatic face of distress. “My daughter is mentally unstable! She broke into our home, damaged our property, and is trying to kidnap our granddaughter!”
Deputy Miller looked at my mother, then at the broken kitchen window, and finally at me. He saw Lily’s tiny hands clutching my neck for dear life, her face red and swollen from crying.
“Ma’am,” Deputy Miller said, addressing me calmly. “Are you Emily?”
“Yes, Officer,” I said, stepping down from the porch toward the safety of the cruiser. “I’m Lily’s aunt. My niece called me begging for food. When I got here, she was locked inside an upstairs bedroom with a heavy padlock from the outside.”
“That’s a lie!” Arthur shouted, stepping off the porch. “It’s a safety latch! The girl wanders!”
The female officer stepped between Arthur and me. “Sir, stand back.”
Deputy Miller looked at Lily. “Little girl, what’s your name?”
“Lily...” she whimpered from behind my coat.
“Lily, are you hungry?”
She nodded frantically. “I haven't had dinner since yesterday. Grandma gave me bread crusts and said I was bad.”
Deputy Miller’s face hardened. He turned to the female officer. “Take Ms. Emily and the child into the back of my cruiser where it’s warm. I’m going to inspect the premises.”
“You have no right to enter my home without a warrant!” Arthur roared, trying to block the porch entrance.
“Sir, under exigent circumstances involving potential felony child endangerment, I don't need a warrant,” Deputy Miller said sternly, pushing past my father.
Ten minutes passed in excruciating silence inside the warm police cruiser. I wrapped a thermal blanket around Lily while the female officer handed her a juice box and a protein bar from her emergency kit. Lily ate as if she hadn't seen food in months, her hands shaking.
When Deputy Miller emerged from the house, he was carrying the broken iron latch, the rusted padlock, and the stack of unopened checks from the kitchen counter. His jaw was clenched so tight his muscle twitched.
He walked over to my parents, who were standing under the porch light looking increasingly panicked.
“Arthur and Eleanor Mercer,” Deputy Miller declared loudly. “You are under arrest for felony child neglect, unlawful restraint, and financial endangerment.”
Eleanor shrieked as the female officer cuffed her hands behind her back. “You can't do this! Do you know who we are? We are respected members of this community!”
“You’re inmates tonight, ma’am,” Deputy Miller said coldly, clicking the iron cuffs around my father’s wrists as well.
As the police car took my parents away into the rainy night, Deputy Miller turned to me. “You did the right thing, Emily. Take her to the emergency room for a full medical evaluation. Child Welfare will contact you in the morning.”
May you like
I held Lily tight, staring at my parents’ dark, empty house. But as I turned to walk to my car, I saw something shining on the floor of my father’s SUV through the open door—a heavy leather accordion folder labeled: JENNA MERCER - ESTATE & TRUST.
My sister’s private documents.
