Page 101 of Tangled Trust

"Where is he?" I say as I leap to my feet.

"We’ve located Drake at a hardware store near the boulevard. We’re going to have to move it if we’re going to catch him."

A hardware store? Is he buying cleaning materials? Is he trying to cover up a crime scene?

No! Stop it, Carter!

I move toward the door in haste. There’s no time to waste.

* * *

The arrest has to be swift and quiet. No sirens, no attention.

I’m in the car with Detective Anderson and two other armed officers. We don’t know if Drake is armed, and Anderson has sworn to me that he’ll cuff me to the steering wheel if he has to. I have to stay in the car until they’ve secured Drake. I know that he’s serious, so I assure him that I’ll behave.

I watch as the cops pour out of the two additional vehicles and rush the store. It isn't long before they emerge from the store, escorting a man in cuffs. Drake. I want to leap out of the car and beat him with my fists until his face looks like hamburger meat, but I know I can’t do that.

Anderson puts his head into the car I’m in.

"Where's Ella?"

"Drake won’t talk, but we searched his pockets and found a key for a hotel nearby," he tells me. "Scott, take Mr. Moore to the Sunset Hotel. Drake’s in room twenty-eight. I’m going to accompany Drake to the station and make sure we book his ass."

"Yes, Sir," Scott says.

"Carter," Anderson says before we leave, "well done."

"Drake better pray that Ella is okay. I don’t want to incriminate myself by telling you what I plan on doing to him if she isn’t."

"You’d better get going, Scott," he says, tapping the roof of the police car.

This time the cop turns on the sirens, so we have a clear path to the hotel.

Please be okay, Ella. I’m coming.

Scott, an armed officer, and I enter the hotel lobby.

"Stay behind me, please, Mr. Moore."

Scott talks to the receptionist, who is bewildered for a moment. She points us in the direction of the room after she confirms that the man in the photo Scott shows her is indeed booked into room twenty-eight, but she says she hasn’t seen anyone with him.

I’m worried. What will I do if Ella isn't in the room? Where the hell will we even start looking for her? My mind moves briefly in the direction I’ve been keeping it from for days now. What if Drake killed her?

No! Don’t go there, Carter. You can’t afford to think that!

We bypass the elevator. It’s only two flights of stairs. We can get there quicker if we take the stairs. Scott is leading the assault, and I’m right behind him. We stop outside room Twenty-Eight, and Scott motions for me to stand to the side while he pulls the spare keys from his pocket and quietly unlocks the door.

The armed officer enters the room first, followed by Officer Scott.

My heart is thumping in my throat. I want to rush in, but I know I can’t.

"Clear!" the officer calls, after which Scott comes out to fetch me.

"She’s here," is all I hear before I rush past him.

Is Ella alive? Oh, please, Ella. Be okay!

I see her lying on the bed. She’s bruised, and her head is caked in dry blood. But Ella is alive!

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