The phone rang, breaking him from his thoughts. He hurried to answer.
“Ryan? It’s Sandra. The reporter and her cameraman are at the gates waiting for you. I’m out here too.”
He’d been so distracted with the Hansons, he’d abandoned watching the video feed. He looked at it now and saw that she was right. Three people were standing out there, and Sandra was easy to spot withFBIemblazoned across her bulletproof vest.
I am important. People will finally hear my story and know the truth. I will set the record straight and clean up the Hanson family name.
“I’ll be right out.” He ended the call and walked over to the boy and nudged his gun at him. “You’ll be coming with me.”
“No, don’t do this. Please, I beg of you.” The woman was crying and grabbed hold of her son’s arm.
Ryan tugged on the other. “Let him go now.” Ryan aimed the gun at the boy’s head, and she released him. The boy rushed against him from the momentum of the abandoned tug-of-war.
I won!
The woman and teen were crying, but he lifted his head high, confident he was making the right decision here. He needed leverage if he were to walk away from this. And the asthmatic kid was just the ticket.
THIRTY-NINE
4:55 PM
Cindy Moore pulled up in front of the second estate of the day. Neither had stirred any sort of respect within her as she wasn’t swayed by showy display. Though she felt somewhat intimidated around wealthy people. Her family never had money, and she had to work several jobs to get herself through college before she ended up in the police academy. But she had the pride and freedom of doing it on her own terms. Not to discount the cheerleading she received from her family.
She pulled up to the gate, another cruiser behind her. The man in the gatehouse sauntered to the window and had a dopey look about him that suggested she’d roused him from a nap.
“How can I help you, Officer?” he asked, glancing back at her companion.
She wasted no time holding up the warrant and telling him exactly what power that piece of paper had. “This gives us the legal right to search the home office.”
“Let me see that.” The man reached for it, and she willingly handed it over.
“As you’ll see, it is rather limited and only allows us to collect certain documents,” she elaborated.
The man didn’t look up for several minutes. When he did, he lifted the warrant. “Do I keep this?”
That piece of paper would cover his ass if the legitimacy of this search was questioned at a later time. “Yes, that’s a copy.” She’d come prepared. The original warrant was to stay with her.
“Okay, great. Just knock on the front door, and Rupert will let you in. I’ll notify him about the details of the warrant.”
“Thank you.”
“Yep.” He stepped out of view, and the gate opened.
Cindy and her colleague drove through and up the curved drive. She and the other officer parked at the top of it and walked up the front steps. It took one press of the doorbell to receive a response. The rendition of some classical song was still playing when the door cracked open. An older gentleman was standing there dressed in a black suit. Every one of his gray hairs lay in place, and his dark brown eyes studied her and her colleague.
“Are you Rupert?” When he nodded, she said, “I’m Officer Moore, and this is Officer Green.”
“Yes. I was informed of the reason for your visit. If you would kindly wipe your shoes before following me through the home.”
“Of course.” Cindy glanced at Green. Unlike what Larry’s surname might suggest, he was with the MPD longer than her. If he felt stepped on from her taking the lead on this, he gave no indication. She would have gladly come alone, but Green had been assigned to accompany her for the sake of efficiency.
“This way then.”
They both wiped their shoes and set off behind Rupert. Cindy took in all the ornate touches in the home. The coffered ceilings, the high baseboards, and the many chandeliers overhead. Their numerous crystals winked as she walked past them. Though instead of making her feel welcomed, she felt out of place.
While she followed Rupert, she admired how the employees of the home still ran on protocol as if their master were stillalive. What kept them busy with him gone was beyond her. She supposed they’d just be biding time while legal matters were sorted out.
“Mr. Hanson’s office.” Rupert stopped outside of a closed room and opened the door for them. “Please do your best not to upset everything. It’s a delicate matter with your being here like this. Disrespectful too, if you ask me, as the man is hardly cool in the ground.”
