Chapter 6 - The Card in the Snow
Calvin had not escaped.
He had been released.
A clerk had processed paperwork approved by someone with access to the city system.
Dominic stared at Marcus.
“Names.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Faster.”
Emily interrupted.
“Stop.”
Both men looked at her.
“You’re thinking about Calvin. Reed is thinking about the card.”
Dominic frowned.
“The card is gone.”
“Maybe not.”
“What?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“When I found the girls, my apron was under my coat. But later, after warming Grace, I changed because my uniform got soaked.”
“Where did you put the first apron?”
“In the kitchen.”
“That’s the one missing.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
Emily opened her eyes.
“I emptied the pockets first.”
Dominic stared.
“Where is the card?”
“I put everything on the counter. My tips. Keys. That plastic card.”
“And then?”
“I swept everything into my purse when the SUVs arrived.”
Dominic’s eyes dropped to her handbag.
Emily slowly opened it.
Receipts.
Keys.
Lip balm.
Thirty-eight dollars.
And a scratched black access card.
Marcus whispered, “You’ve had it the entire time?”
Emily held it up.
“Apparently.”
Dominic took one look.
His expression changed.
“That’s Vale Atlantic.”
Marcus examined it.
“Executive access.”
Emily asked, “Who does it belong to?”
Marcus scanned the number using his phone.
Several seconds passed.
Then he stared at Dominic.
“Daniel Reed.”
Dominic took the card.
“Why would Grace have Reed’s access card?”
Emily answered before Marcus could.
“She stole it.”
Everyone turned.
“Grace told me the wolf was sleeping when they ran. She said Lily opened the van.”
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
“The card may have opened the vehicle security system.”
“And it proves Reed was with them,” Emily said.
Marcus nodded.
“It also logs secure doors.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Pull the history.”
A minute later, Marcus turned his screen toward Dominic.
“There.”
The access log showed Reed had entered a restricted Vale Atlantic storage facility two nights before the kidnapping.
Dominic’s voice went cold.
“That building holds port redevelopment documents.”
Emily understood.
“The contracts.”
“Yes.”
“And Reed needed your daughters so you wouldn’t report the theft.”
Dominic nodded.
“He planned to force me to transfer control quietly.”
Emily looked at the card.
“So this can expose him.”
“And whoever helped him.”
Marcus’s phone rang.
He listened.
“Calvin’s car was found.”
“Where?”
“Near the diner.”
Emily stood.
“We’re going.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
She gave him a look.
He sighed.
“Fine.”
Miller’s Corner looked almost normal from outside.
Snow covered the parking lot.
The neon sign still flickered.
Inside, chairs were overturned.
Emily walked behind the counter.
Her life felt like it belonged to someone else.
Thirty-eight dollars in tips had once been her biggest problem.
Dominic stood beside her.
“You miss this place?”
“I miss knowing what tomorrow looked like.”
He studied her.
“I can understand that.”
She almost smiled.
“No, you can’t.”
“Why?”
“You probably schedule your disasters.”
Before he could answer, a voice came from the kitchen.
“She always did talk too much.”
Emily froze.
Calvin stepped out.
But he wasn’t alone.
Daniel Reed followed.
No weapon was visible.
He didn’t need one.
Two men stood behind him.
Dominic’s guards moved.
Reed raised both hands.
“Everyone relax.”
Dominic’s voice was flat.
“You took my daughters.”
“I borrowed leverage.”
Emily stared at him.
“They nearly froze to death.”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Lily’s terror flashed through Emily’s mind.
“The fact that you can say that calmly is disgusting.”
Reed looked at her.
“And there she is. The accidental hero.”
Dominic stepped between them.
“Talk to me.”
“I am.”
“Then leave her out of it.”
Reed smiled.
“That’s becoming difficult.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
Reed continued.
“A waitress rescues your daughters. Suddenly she’s living in your house. Sitting in your meetings.”
Emily said, “I’m not living in his house.”
Dominic glanced at her.
“This feels like an odd time to clarify that.”
Even Marcus almost smiled.
Reed’s expression hardened.
“The card.”
Dominic held it up.
“You mean this?”
Calvin looked horrified.
Reed’s face finally lost its composure.
Dominic noticed.
“So that’s what this was about.”
Reed stepped forward.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what’s on it.”
“I understand enough.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Reed looked toward the windows.
Dominic said, “Unlike you, I don’t need every cop in Chicago.”
Reed’s expression changed.
Dominic continued.
“I needed one honest federal investigator.”
Reed looked at Marcus.
“You called the Feds?”
“No,” Emily said.
Everyone turned toward her.
“I did.”
Dominic looked genuinely surprised.
“When?”
“From your study.”
“You used my phone?”
“You have seventeen of them.”
The sirens came closer.
Reed stepped backward.
Calvin suddenly moved away from him.
“I’m done.”
Reed stared.
“You think walking away fixes this?”
“No.”
Calvin looked at Emily.
“But maybe telling the truth starts.”
Federal vehicles surrounded the diner.
Reed looked at Dominic one last time.
“You think this ends because of her?”
Dominic looked at Emily.
Then at the man who had betrayed him.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“It ends because my daughters survived you.”
Agents entered.
No one fired.
No one had to.
Reed was handcuffed.
Calvin surrendered.
As Reed was taken outside, Emily felt her knees weaken.
Dominic caught her.
She laughed shakily.
“I’m really tired of you catching me.”
“Then stop nearly falling.”
“I work nights.”
“Not anymore.”
She glared at him.
Dominic almost smiled.
“You can yell at me later.”
Emily looked around the destroyed diner.
“What happens now?”
Dominic’s expression softened.
“Now you get your life back.”
Emily looked at him.
“What if I don’t know what that is anymore?”
Dominic didn’t answer immediately.
May you like
Then he said, “Maybe you choose a new one.”
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