Chapter 5 - The Chase to Oakridge
The siren screamed as Detective Miller’s unmarked police cruiser sped through the morning traffic, cutting across lanes and blowing through red lights. I was sat in the passenger seat, gripping the dashboard with knuckles so white they burned. Behind us, two state trooper vehicles followed with their lights flashing brightly against the morning fog.
“Call your sister, Margaret! Tell her to lock the doors and hide!” Miller commanded, navigating the sharp curves of the rural highway.
My hands shook uncontrollably as I dialed Sarah’s number. The line rang once, twice, three times.
“Come on, Sarah... pick up...” I whispered, tears of sheer terror blinding my eyes.
On the fourth ring, Sarah answered. “Margaret? What’s going on? We just got to the house—”
“Sarah, listen to me very carefully!” I screamed over the roar of the siren. “Lock all the doors right now! Get Lily, go into the master bathroom, lock the door, and do not open it for anyone! Daniel is on his way!”
There was a sudden, sharp gasp on the other end of the line, followed by the terrifying sound of screeching tires right outside Sarah’s house.
“Margaret!” Sarah shrieked through the phone. “There’s a black SUV tearing through the front lawn! He’s hitting the garage door!”
“Sarah! Run!” I screamed.
Through the phone speaker, I heard the deafening crash of breaking glass and splintering wood, followed by Daniel’s enraged voice shouting in the distance: “Lily! Come to Daddy!”
“We’re two minutes away!” Miller yelled into his radio, pushing the cruiser’s accelerator to the floor. “Dispatch, suspect has breached the residence at Oakridge Lane! Shots fired or forcible entry in progress!”
I covered my mouth, listening to the horrifying audio feed from my sister’s phone. I could hear Sarah screaming, the heavy thud of boots kicking down interior doors, and then—the terrified, high-pitched crying of my granddaughter.
“Grandma! Grandma!” Lily sobbed.
“Got you!” Daniel’s unhinged voice echoed through the speaker. “You’re coming with me, Lily! We’re leaving this damn country!”
“Let her go, you monster!” Sarah screamed, followed by the sound of a heavy struggle, a sharp slap, and Sarah groaning as she fell to the floor.
“I’m going to kill him,” I whispered, my grief turning into pure, lethal rage. “If he touches one hair on her head, I will kill him myself.”
Miller pulled his vehicle around the final bend of Oakridge Lane.
Ahead of us, Sarah’s quiet country cottage looked like a war zone. The front porch wooden railings were smashed to pieces, and a heavy black SUV was idling violently on the lawn, its driver-side door wide open.
Daniel was dragging a sobbing Lily toward the passenger side of the SUV, holding a heavy chrome handgun in his right hand.
“Police! Drop the weapon!” Miller screamed, slamming his cruiser to a halt across the driveway and jumping out with his firearm drawn.
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Daniel spun around, pulling four-year-old Lily in front of his chest as a human shield, pressing the barrel of the gun against his own daughter’s side.
“Back off!” Daniel screamed, his eyes wild, blood running down his forehead from where he had shattered the garage door. “Back off or I swear to God I’ll end it all right here!”
