Chapter 4 - The Escape
The piercing scream of the fire alarm echoed through the chaotic police station.
"Stay right behind me and keep your head down," Officer Davis ordered as smoke began filling the hallway.
We blended into the crowd of evacuating officers and civilians pushing toward the rear exit.
I pulled my winter hood over my face to hide my identity from the other detectives.
The cold winter air hit my lungs as we burst out into the precinct parking lot.
"Get into the passenger side of my personal vehicle," Davis instructed, pointing to a dark sedan.
I slid into the car just as three fire trucks roared into the parking lot with their sirens blaring.
Davis threw the car into drive and sped away from the station before anyone realized I was missing.
"Why are you risking your entire career to help me?" I asked, trembling with adrenaline.
Davis gripped the steering wheel tightly and stared straight ahead at the snowy road.
"My younger brother was murdered for his life insurance, and the police completely ignored the evidence," he confessed quietly.
He refused to let another innocent person die because of a corrupt investigation.
"We cannot go straight to the hospital because Miller has patrol cars guarding Clara's room," Davis warned.
I needed solid proof that Dad was the one who orchestrated the financial transfer.
"We have to go back to the house," I told him without hesitation.
I knew my father had a hidden lockbox in his home office where he kept his most important documents.
Davis parked two blocks away from my dark, quiet neighborhood.
We crept through the snowy backyards and approached the rear door of the house.
The glass patio door was already shattered into a million tiny pieces.
Someone else had broken into the house while Dad was at the hospital.
We drew our flashlights and stepped carefully over the broken glass.
The living room was completely trashed, with couch cushions slashed and books thrown everywhere.
I rushed down the hall to my father's office and froze in the doorway.
The hidden lockbox was completely ripped out of the wall and resting open on the desk.
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Standing in front of the desk was a tall woman wearing a dark trench coat.
She turned around slowly, and my heart completely stopped beating.
