Chapter 13 - THE LIE I TOLD THE SHERIFF
Noah lied to Sheriff Ortiz at 8:03 a.m.
He did it with his hands still bleeding.
That bothered him later.
How easy it was.
Ortiz met them at a gas station two miles from the factory with three patrol units and an ambulance.
“Where’s Katie?” she demanded.
Noah looked at Mara.
Mara looked down.
He said, “Adrian has her.”
Not exactly false.
Not remotely true enough.
Ortiz grabbed his jacket.
“What happened in there?”
“He has people. Medical equipment. Eli Trent is alive, sort of. We need state police.”
“Where is my deputy?”
Noah’s mouth went dry.
“In the factory.”
“Alive?”
He hesitated.
That was the second mistake.
Ortiz saw it.
“What did you do?”
“Mara didn’t mean—”
Mara said, “I turned her to stone.”
Noah closed his eyes.
Ortiz let go of his jacket.
Nobody spoke.
An EMT nearby stopped opening a saline kit.
Mara continued, “She looked at me while my glasses were off. I was defending us. I forgot she was behind me.”
Ortiz’s face emptied.
“My deputy is a statue.”
“Yes.”
“Can you fix it?”
“I think so.”
“You think so.”
Mara flinched.
Ortiz laughed once, a broken sound.
Then she walked away ten steps and stood with both hands on her hips.
Noah followed.
“Sheriff.”
“Don’t.”
“She saved June Bell.”
“I know.”
“She saved me.”
“I know.”
“She didn’t choose what happened to Katie.”
Ortiz turned.
“She chose to steal a police vehicle and enter a hostage situation without backup.”
Noah had no answer.
Because that part was true.
Mara had made a terrible choice for understandable reasons.
Understandable did not erase terrible.
Ortiz looked past him at Mara.
“From this moment on, you do not disappear. You do not improvise. You do not decide you’re the only person allowed to be scared.”
Mara nodded.
“Yes.”
Ortiz’s radio cracked.
A state trooper’s voice came through.
“Sheriff, we’ve got movement at the factory. Multiple vehicles leaving west side.”
Ortiz grabbed the radio.
“Stop them.”
Static.
Then screaming.
A trooper shouted, “What the hell is that?”
The transmission cut.
A minute later, a photo arrived on Ortiz’s phone from an officer on scene.
Katie’s statue was gone.
So was Eli’s.
Painted across the factory wall in white letters were four words.
BRING ME MARA VALE.
Below it was a second message.
OR THE CHILD DIES.
Noah stared.
“What child?”
Mara was already reaching for her phone.
June Bell’s father had called nine times.
---
The chapters are on the left side of your screen.
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
May you like
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
