Page 101 of One Last Promise

Tillie held her breath as Julian spoke.

“I’m here as an advocate for all custodial parents who have had their children stolen from them. Seven years ago, I had a child with a woman who, sadly, passed away, and since then, I have been searching for my daughter. She was found last night with her aunt, a noncustodial guardian who fled custody and is at large. On behalf of all parents out there seeking their children, I want to thank the Anchorage Police Department and especially Detective Turnquist for their help in gettingmy daughter back.”

Tillie stared at the phone, shaking.

“Tillie. Calm down?—”

“No.” She looked at Moose. “I have to find Hazel before he hops on a plane with her?—”

“Yes,” said Ridge. “Family law is not my specialty, but I called a friend, and they’re working on an injunction to prevent Richer from taking Hazel out of Alaska right now. In the meantime, Moose texted and said you might have evidence against Richer that could help your case?”

She glanced at Pearl’s charging phone. “I think so.”

“Get in,” Moose said, and Ridge climbed into the back seat.

She powered up the phone. The home screen showed a picture of baby Hazel.

Tillie’s throat thickened as she opened the voicemail app.Please, please?—

Empty.

What?

“She had a voicemail—it had Rigger recorded saying to stay away from her and Hazel.”

“Could it be in the cloud?”

She searched through the files. . . . Nothing but a video file. She clicked on it.

And then she turned hollow as she watched Rigger charge onto her townhome deck and assault her sister while toddler Hazel cried from a nearby high chair.

“That’s him?” Ridge said.

“This was on our Ring. I installed cameras when we moved in, afraid of this very thing.”

And then . . . silence as they watched Pearl struggle against Rigger . . .

Tillie closed her eyes, remembering feeling it as if it were yesterday. Her, coming into the house, seeing Riggerbeating Pearl, then grabbing a tire iron from her car and charging back onto the deck, now on camera . . .

“Wow, that’s some swing you have there,” Ridge said as the sound of her blow echoed through the video.

She opened her eyes to Rigger, sprawled on the ground, writhing, his head bleeding.

And then she watched as she grabbed up Hazel, then Pearl, and stumbled away from the shot.

The video stopped.

“He was in the hospital for nearly two weeks,” she said quietly.

“Did he file assault charges?” Ridge asked.

“I don’t know. We left right after that.”

“I’ll check into that.”

“No voicemail about the murder,” Moose said quietly.

She looked at him, then Ridge. No cash. No proof. No Hazel.

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