Chapter 10 - The Last Delivery
I froze completely, terrified that any sudden movement would get me killed.
I shouted back over the rain that I was unarmed and trying to protect the child.
David painfully pushed himself up from the mud, raising his empty hands in the air.
He yelled that he was the baby's father and that Marcus was the actual attacker.
The officers hesitated, keeping their weapons trained on us as they slowly advanced.
One officer secured Marcus, finding the bloodied hunting knife strapped to his wrist.
I carefully reached into my pocket with two fingers and pulled out the suppressed pistol I had taken from Sarah.
I dropped it slowly into the mud and kicked it away, proving my compliance.
I told the captain to check the motel room on the edge of town, giving him the exact address and room number.
I explained they would find Sarah tied up in a plastic-lined kill room with all the evidence of their conspiracy.
A female officer gently approached me and took the crying newborn from my arms to check his vitals.
After thirty tense minutes of radio calls, the police verified our story.
Sarah had been found and arrested at the motel, and the Amber Alert was officially canceled.
Paramedics treated David's shoulder and bandaged my scraped arm.
Marcus and Sarah were both facing life in prison for attempted murder and kidnapping.
The nightmare was finally over.
A week later, David and his son were resting safely in my heavily guarded living room.
The offshore trust was secured, and the baby was finally free from danger.
I sat on the couch, drinking a hot cup of tea, feeling truly at peace for the first time.
Then, the doorbell rang softly.
I opened the front door to find a small, unmarked cardboard box resting on the welcome mat.
I brought it inside and carefully cut the tape with a pair of scissors.
Inside was a brand new baby blanket, completely identical to the one ruined by the ice water.
A handwritten note resting on top read, "Keep him warm for me."
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The handwriting was a perfect match to the dead mother's signature on the hotel key.
She was still alive, and she was coming for him.
