Chapter 17 - The House Was Not Empty
Police reached Hawthorne Street before Daniel did.
Emily sat rigid in the passenger seat, calling Ruth again and again to confirm Noah was still safely with her at the station.
He was.
That was the only thing keeping her breathing.
Two patrol cars blocked the street. The front door of the house was open.
Ramirez ordered Daniel and Emily to stay behind the tape.
"I live there," Daniel said.
"And right now that means you wait."
Officers entered.
A crash came from the second floor.
Then another.
Emily grabbed Daniel's arm.
A man burst through the back door and sprinted across the yard.
"Police! Stop!"
He jumped the fence.
An officer chased him through the alley.
Daniel caught one clear glimpse of the runner's face.
Vince Harper.
Ten minutes later, Vince was in handcuffs.
He had a screwdriver, copied house keys, and Thomas Walker's missing blue document file stuffed under his jacket.
Ramirez opened the file at the station.
Inside was the original deed, the original will, and one document nobody had seen before.
A signed statement from Thomas.
I have chosen to leave 414 Hawthorne Street to Daniel because Marcus has already received financial gifts greater than half the home's current value. This is not punishment. It is balance. Daniel cared for me and Ruth during the years Marcus chose distance. I love both my sons. I will not allow guilt to become another loan.
Daniel read the last line twice.
He did not feel victorious.
He felt sad.
His father had tried to solve a family wound with paperwork.
Marcus had turned it into war.
Vince agreed to cooperate.
He admitted tracing the will and helping access the insurance account. He admitted leaving the attic photograph.
"Marcus made me," he said.
Ramirez's expression hardened. "No. Marcus paid you. There's a difference."
Vince also admitted setting the workshop fire.
The remaining question was where Marcus had gone.
At 1:14 a.m., Daniel's new backyard camera sent an alert.
Emily stared at the screen.
A figure stood near the blackened workshop ruins.
Marcus.
He looked directly into the camera.
May you like
Then he raised a metal crowbar and walked toward the house.
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