Chapter 13 - Where Elijah Went
I wanted to drive to Elijah's house myself. Mara said no. He had a child with him. We couldn't put them at greater risk.
Torres checked the report. Dani helped Elijah's sister gather the last messages he'd sent. I stayed by the phone and fought the urge to make everything happen faster.
At three in the afternoon, an email came through Mara's secure intake address.
*We're safe. Please don't put Milo's name in the news. I didn't trust my phone. I can testify if you help me do it safely.*
It was Elijah. He and Milo were at his sister's farmhouse two counties away. Someone had left a photograph of the boy's school bus on his windshield. Elijah panicked, pulled his son out of class, and left without telling anyone but his sister where he was going.
"He's not running from us," Mara said. "He's afraid Marcus will find him."
When Naomi reached Elijah through counsel, he agreed to provide a sworn statement and work with investigators. He also revealed that he had made more than one backup of the accounts. One set was stored with an independent data service, with audit logs showing when each file was created.
"Why didn't you tell us?" I asked during our brief call.
"Because I kept hoping I wouldn't have to choose between my job and my kid."
I knew that kind of hope. It had kept me at Marcus's dinner table long after I should have left.
"You get to be scared," I told him. "Just keep telling the truth."
After we hung up, I walked outside. Two kids on scooters raced past Dani's porch. I wondered why I'd protected my marriage for so long.
Then my phone rang. It was Rosa.
"Ivy, someone broke into the maintenance office at Alder Court. They took the inspection books."
"Is everybody all right?"
"The guard is fine. But they left the heater on full blast and cut the fire alarm cable."
I looked toward the gray clouds rolling over the roofs.
May you like
"Rosa, get the residents away from that office. I'm calling the fire department."
Before I could hang up, I heard glass break on her end of the line.
