Chapter 17 - The Perimeter
I grabbed Sarah’s arm with my left hand and scooped Emily into my right arm, sprinting past Mrs. Harris as she writhed on the floor, clutching her shattered wrist.
We burst through the smashed pedestrian door out into the freezing rain.
The cold night air hit my lungs like a shock wave, washing out the burning chemical reek of the ammonia.
Across the gravel yard, the black SUV that had blocked the exit was no longer alone.
Three county sheriff cruisers had pinned it against the chain-link fence, their red-and-blue light bars sweeping through the rain. Two deputies had the SUV driver face down on the hood.
"Over here!" I yelled, waving my arm.
Vance’s unmarked cruiser screeched to a halt right in front of us, spraying mud across our shins. She kicked her door open, stepping out with her weapon drawn.
"Medics are right behind me!" Vance shouted, her eyes sweeping over Sarah and Emily. "Are there other shooters inside?"
"Harris and Luke Collins," I yelled back, setting Emily down into the dry back seat of Vance's car. "They’re incapacitated, but the main refrigeration manifold blew. That warehouse is full of concentrated ammonia gas."
"Evacuate the perimeter!" Vance barked into her radio. "Hazmat protocol on Unit 44!"
Sarah collapsed into the passenger seat beside Emily, pulling the little girl onto her lap, sobbing uncontrollably.
I stood in the rain, leaning heavily against the car frame, feeling the adrenaline finally drain out of my limbs like dirty water.
Vance walked up to me, handing me an emergency foil shock blanket from her trunk.
"Forensics finally decrypted the backup drive from the pool cooler," Vance said quietly, keeping her voice low so Sarah couldn't hear.
"And?" I asked, wrapping the crinkling foil around my shoulders.
"It wasn't just bank accounts and shipping manifests, Mark," Vance said, her eyes dead-serious. "There were three other names on that distribution ledger. Public officials. Including the head of the county child protective services division."
I froze. "What does CPS have to do with this?"
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"Someone tipped off Jason that you were filing for full emergency custody three weeks ago," Vance said. "That's why they accelerated the plan. They weren't just trying to steal the insurance money, Mark. They were setting you up to take the fall for Sarah's murder."
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