Chapter 18 - The Empty Classroom
Emily hadn't attended school since her rescue. She was at my apartment with a security officer, Sarah, and Naomi. But the thought of Jason walking into the place where she once felt safe was enough to make my knees weak.
Ruiz contacted the principal. The school immediately restricted entry while officers checked the campus. Students remained inside supervised classrooms. I wanted to drive there, but Ruiz told me to stay with Emily.
“He may be trying to draw you out,” she warned.
I watched my daughter at the dining table, drawing another bird. This one had its wings open.
At 1:22 p.m., a school custodian reported a man matching Jason's description near the rear service entrance. Officers searched the grounds but found only a discarded jacket and a visitor badge bearing a false name.
A message appeared on the phone Jason had sent me.
YOU CAN'T WATCH HER EVERY SECOND.
I took a screenshot and handed it to Ruiz through the secure channel she'd established. My hands wanted to move faster than my mind, but I wasn't going to make an impulsive decision that put Emily in danger.
Then Emily looked up from her paper bird.
“Dad, that's not what he's doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Jason got mad, he said he'd make everybody run one way while he went the other.”
I thought of the school, the empty jacket, the fake badge. It was a distraction.
“Where would he go?” I asked.
Emily picked at the edge of her paper. “He kept a bag at the lake cabin. He said it was for emergencies.”
Sarah stiffened. “He told me he'd sold that place.”
Ruiz checked property records. The cabin was still held by a company controlled by Nicole.
When officers reached it, they found the front door open and the fireplace warm.
On the mantel was a framed photo of Emily taken two weeks earlier, beside a handwritten note addressed to me.
May you like
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE REST OF THE TRUTH.
THE THINGS BENEATH THE WATER • 20 CHAPTERS
