Chapter 3
Detective Cole moved fast.
That was the first thing I liked about her.
She didn't shout.
Didn't posture.
Didn't make promises.
She listened.
Within minutes, hospital security brought the purple backpack upstairs without Daniel.
Detective Cole photographed everything before anyone touched it.
Sophie recognized the bag immediately.
"That's mine."
Rebecca stared at it.
Aaron stared at his sister.
"You said you didn't know where it was."
"I didn't."
Rebecca's voice barely came out.
Detective Cole looked at her.
"Mrs. Mercer, I need you to be very careful with your answers now."
Rebecca's face tightened.
"I didn't give Daniel that bag."
"Did you remove it from this room?"
"No."
"Did you see anyone remove it?"
"No."
Sophie looked at her mother.
"You gave it to him."
Rebecca spun toward her.
"No!"
Sophie flinched so violently that I stood before I realized I was moving.
I didn't approach Rebecca.
I simply positioned myself where Sophie could see me.
Maria sat beside the bed.
"It's okay."
Rebecca started crying.
"Everyone is acting like I'm some monster."
Aaron looked devastated.
"Nobody said that."
"You think I hurt my daughter."
"You lied."
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
Rebecca looked toward Detective Cole.
Then toward Sophie.
"Daniel."
The room changed.
Sophie stopped crying.
Aaron whispered.
"What?"
Rebecca covered her mouth.
"I didn't know what to do."
Detective Cole spoke gently.
"Start from the beginning."
Rebecca shook her head.
"Not here."
Sophie stared at her mother.
"Why?"
Rebecca couldn't look at her.
That hurt Sophie more than anything else.
I saw it immediately.
Her mother had finally admitted fear.
But she still wasn't choosing truth in front of her daughter.
Detective Cole arranged another room.
Rebecca left with her.
Aaron followed after Sophie told him to go.
That left Maria, Lena, Marcus, Calvin, and me.
Calvin leaned against the wall.
Sophie looked at him.
"Are there really ninety-seven?"
He smiled.
"You counted?"
"Uncle Aaron told me."
Calvin glanced at me.
"Technically ninety-six now because Harold went to get tacos."
Sophie laughed.
A real laugh.
Small.
But real.
Then she covered her mouth as if she had done something wrong.
I hated that.
"You can laugh," I told her.
Her expression changed.
"It feels weird."
"Why?"
"Because everything's bad."
I sat again.
"Bad things don't get ownership of every good moment."
She studied me.
"Who told you that?"
"Nobody."
"Then how do you know?"
I looked at the photograph of a horse taped beside her bed.
"Because I wasted a lot of years learning it."
She didn't press.
Kids sometimes know when adults have locked rooms inside themselves.
An hour passed.
Detective Cole returned without Rebecca.
Aaron followed.
His face told me things had become worse.
Sophie sat straighter.
"Where's Mom?"
Aaron approached the bed.
"She's talking to the police."
"Is she in trouble?"
He hesitated.
"She may have made some serious mistakes."
Sophie looked at me.
Not him.
Me.
"Is she getting arrested?"
I hated being the person her eyes found.
"I don't know."
"But she knew."
I couldn't answer that for her.
Detective Cole could.
She pulled a chair close.
"Sophie, your mother told me she saw what happened."
The girl went completely still.
"She did?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she lie?"
Detective Cole looked toward Aaron.
Then back at Sophie.
"She says Daniel threatened her."
Sophie stared at the blanket.
"What did he say?"
"That's something adults are investigating."
"So she picked him."
Nobody answered.
Her face crumpled.
"She picked him over me."
Maria reached for her hand.
Sophie pulled away.
"I don't want anyone touching me."
Maria immediately stopped.
"Okay."
That mattered.
Respecting the smallest boundary mattered.
Sophie looked at Detective Cole.
"Did you watch the video?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"We need proper authorization because the device is evidence."
Sophie frowned.
"It's mine."
"It is."
"So I give permission."
Detective Cole almost smiled.
"Your attorney may appreciate your determination."
Sophie looked confused.
"What attorney?"
Aaron explained that a child advocate had been assigned.
Sophie nodded slowly.
Then Detective Cole's phone rang.
She stepped out.
Two minutes later, she returned with a different expression.
"Russell."
I stood.
"Yes?"
"Can I speak with you?"
We moved into the hallway.
"What happened?"
"Daniel left the hospital before officers could formally question him."
My jaw tightened.
"He ran?"
"We don't know."
"Where would he go?"
"Rebecca gave us several possibilities."
I looked through the window at Sophie.
"Is she safe here?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely?"
"We're increasing security."
I nodded.
Then Cole studied me.
"Your riders are attracting attention."
"Bad attention?"
"Media."
I cursed under my breath.
"We didn't call anyone."
"I believe you."
"Can you keep cameras away from Sophie?"
"We'll do what we can."
I looked out the hallway window.
Below, our motorcycles filled the lot.
What had started as support could become a spectacle if we weren't careful.
"I'll talk to them."
Cole stopped me.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Daniel didn't just take the tablet."
My stomach tightened.
"What else?"
"Rebecca says Sophie had a second recording."
I stared at her.
"Where?"
"Cloud storage."
Hope flashed.
Then Cole finished.
"Daniel knew the password."
Of course he did.
I walked downstairs.
Reporters were already appearing near the hospital entrance.
Calvin came beside me.
"We can move the bikes."
"No."
He looked surprised.
"We stay."
"Media?"
"We give them nothing about Sophie."
"What do we say?"
I thought about the terrified child upstairs.
Then I looked at ninety-six riders waiting quietly.
"We say we're here because no child should feel alone when telling the truth."
Calvin nodded.
Before I could say anything else, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Graves."
A man's voice came through.
Low.
Controlled.
"You should mind your own business."
I knew who it was without asking.
"Daniel."
Silence.
Then he laughed.
"You think ninety-seven motorcycles scare me?"
I looked at the hospital.
"This isn't about scaring you."
"Then leave."
"No."
His voice hardened.
"You don't know what that girl is like."
I felt my anger rise.
I forced it down.
"Police want to speak with you."
"I don't care."
"Then why are you calling me?"
Silence.
That landed.
Daniel breathed into the phone.
Then he said something that made my blood turn cold.
"If Sophie tells them where the second device is, someone else gets hurt."
The call ended.
I immediately dialed Detective Cole.
She answered.
"What?"
"Daniel just called me."
"What did he say?"
I looked toward the fourth floor.
"He said there's a second device."
Cole went silent.
"And he threatened someone if Sophie tells you where it is."
Seconds later, alarms began sounding inside the hospital.
Not fire alarms.
Security alarms.
People near the entrance started moving.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Then Aaron called.
I answered.
His voice was panicked.
"Graves."
May you like
"What happened?"
"Sophie's gone."
