Chapter 5 - The Homecoming Trap
The snow was coming down in thick, blinding sheets as my unmarked police SUV pulled into the driveway of our suburban home. Two unmarked cruisers flanked my vehicle, their headlights killed, blending seamlessly into the shadows of the winter night.
Captain Miller sat in the passenger seat, adjusting his tactical ballistic vest. “You sure you want to play it this way, David? We can just raid the place with a battering ram.”
“No,” I said, my voice ice-cold. “Evelyn expects me to be at the hospital for hours dealing with social services and medical reports. If we raid it now, she’ll lawyer up and claim it was a domestic misunderstanding. I want to walk through that front door on my own terms. I want her to think her plan is working right up until the hammer drops.”
Miller nodded, signaling the back units to move into position around the perimeter. “Got your wire on?”
I tapped the small lapel mic clipped inside my heavy winter jacket. “Streaming live audio and video straight to your comms unit and the evidentiary server. Let’s finish this.”
I stepped out of the vehicle, letting the freezing wind whip against my face. I walked up the snowy steps of the porch, retrieved the wrapped Christmas package I had dropped earlier in the evening, and slid my key into the front door lock.
The house was warm, smelling faintly of cinnamon and pine, but the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.
“David? Is that you?” Evelyn’s voice floated down the hallway, laced with a sickeningly sweet tone of synthetic concern. Footsteps padded softly across the hardwood floor, and she appeared around the corner, wearing a plush silk bathrobe, her hair perfectly styled.
“You’re back early,” she said, stopping short. Her eyes darted to my empty hands—because Lily was safely tucked away at the hospital, though Evelyn didn't know I knew that yet. “Where... where is Lily?”
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I looked at her, my face completely devoid of emotion. I stepped past her into the foyer, closing the door behind me with a heavy, deliberate click.
“She’s somewhere safe, Evelyn,” I said softly, placing the wrapped Christmas box on the entryway table. “Somewhere you will never, ever be able to touch her again.”
