Chapter 8 - Sanctuary Was a Lie
Thomas did not remember crossing the warehouse.
One second Jacques's voice was on the speaker.
The next, Thomas had Moreau pinned against a steel shelf.
"That recording. Is it live?"
"I don't know!"
The speaker crackled again.
"Daddy?"
Rosa's voice.
Not a recording.
Thomas went white.
Maya hit him in the chest.
"You promised me."
He caught her wrists.
"I know."
"You promised her!"
"I know."
Jacques laughed over the speaker.
"Saint Cecilia's was the first place I checked. Priests keep secrets. They also keep predictable schedules."
Thomas pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Moreau pointed upward.
"Jammer."
Jacques continued.
"Bring the complete ledger to Pier Nine. Thirty minutes. Come alone. Maya stays where she is."
Maya shouted at the ceiling, "You touch her and I swear-"
"You have sworn many things, Mara Bennett. Most of them were lies."
The line went dead.
Thomas looked at Mateo.
"Can you walk?"
The teenager nodded.
"Take Moreau and go through the drainage corridor. It exits two blocks north. Find police you trust."
Maya laughed harshly.
"Police? The ledger has the superintendent's name in it."
Thomas paused.
"Then find a reporter."
Mateo looked at him.
"Which one?"
Maya answered immediately.
"Nina Caldwell. WNOH. Tell her Gabriel Bennett sent you."
Thomas looked at Maya.
"You trust her?"
"My brother did."
They left through the loading bay.
Rain pounded the river.
At Pier Nine, one black SUV waited beneath a sodium lamp.
Jacques stood beside it in a raincoat.
Rosa sat inside the back seat with her wrists zip-tied.
Thomas stopped thirty feet away.
"Let her go."
"Ledger first."
Thomas held up the leather envelope.
Jacques smiled.
"You know, I wondered which would hurt you more. Finding out Celeste was murdered or finding out you had a daughter."
"You should have wondered what I would do to you."
"I know exactly what you do. I spent twenty years doing it for you."
Maya remained hidden behind a cargo crane, gun in hand.
Thomas took another step.
"Why the children?"
"Because you were sick. Because the captains would panic if they knew. Because I needed time to prepare the transition."
"You could have told me."
Jacques laughed.
"And become the man who tells Thomas Rousseau he is mortal? I preferred becoming the man who replaced him."
Rosa twisted toward the door.
Jacques opened it and pulled her out by the arm.
Thomas's face darkened.
"Take your hand off her."
"Ledger."
Thomas tossed the envelope onto the wet concrete between them.
Jacques pushed Rosa forward.
She ran.
Thomas dropped to one knee and caught her.
"You okay?"
She nodded against his shoulder.
Then Jacques bent, picked up the envelope, and frowned.
He opened it.
Blank paper.
Thomas looked up.
"I finally learned to make copies."
A rifle cracked from the warehouse roof.
The bullet hit Thomas in the side.
------------------------------------------------------------
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
May you like
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
