Chapter 5 - An Unexpected Ally
The following morning, my phone rang with a restricted number. I was sitting in Captain Ruiz's office, reviewing the official chain-of-custody documentation for the video evidence.
"Sergeant Callahan," I answered.
"Erin? Please don't hang up."
The voice on the other end was trembling, muffled by heavy, erratic breaths. It was Kelsey.
I made a quick motion toward Ruiz, who immediately clicked on the desk recorder and gave me a thumbs-up.
"Why are you calling me, Kelsey?" I asked, keeping my tone deliberately flat and reserved. "You stood in front of a magistrate and swore under penalty of perjury that I tried to kill you."
"I... I didn't want to do it, Erin!" she sobbed, the sound raw and frantic. "Dad made me. He said if I didn't help him, the bank was going to take the house, and we’d be living out of his truck! He told me that since you were in the Army, the government would just slap you on the wrist and reassign you! He said you wouldn't go to jail!"
"He lied to you," I said coldly. "They charged me with three felonies. If this goes to trial, I'm looking at ten years in prison, Kelsey. You put a stolen, untraceable gun in my living room."
A sharp gasp came through the line. "Stolen? He told me it was an old starter pistol Uncle Ronald had disabled! He swore there were no real bullets in it!"
"It was loaded with hollow-point rounds, Kelsey. One in the chamber. If that deputy had been twitchy, they could have shot me during the raid."
Silence hung heavy over the line for three agonizing seconds. When Kelsey spoke again, her voice had completely shattered.
"Oh god... Dad said... he said he just needed leverage. He went to your apartment building yesterday afternoon while you were in custody."
"Why?"
"He wanted to break into your mailbox," she whispered, terrified. "He said you were getting a reenlistment bonus check sent to your apartment. He was trying to figure out how to forge your signature on an electronic power of attorney so he could take over your bank accounts before the court date."
Ruiz looked at me, his eyes wide with incredulity. The depravity was staggering. Dad wasn't merely trying to salvage his own financial blunders; he was aggressively attempting to cannibalize every single asset I had spent eleven years building.
"Where are you right now, Kelsey?" I asked.
"I’m in the parking lot behind the grocery store on Skibo Road," she whispered. "Dad and Mom are at the house with some guy from a local television station. Dad is doing an on-camera interview about how violent you are. Erin, I’m scared. Dad has Uncle Ronald staying in the guest bedroom. Ronald brought a lockbox with him. They were drinking in the garage last night, talking about how much money they could sue the Army for once you got discharged."
"Listen to me very carefully," I told her. "The Cumberland County Sheriff and the military CID have already restored the serial numbers on that weapon. They know it came from Ronald. They have forensic teams processing everything. You have two choices right now."
"What... what choices?"
"Option one: you stay with Dad, you let him use you as his scapegoat, and you face ten to twenty years for federal firearms conspiracy and perjury," I said without an ounce of hesitation. "Option two: you drive straight to the Fort Bragg visitor center right now. You meet Agent Lin, and you tell the absolute truth before the federal warrants are issued."
"Will you protect me from Dad?" she wept. "He’ll kill me, Erin. He really will."
"The military police will protect you," I answered. "Dad can't touch anyone once the federal marshals step in. But you have thirty minutes to make that decision."
The line went dead.
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Ruiz let out a slow whistle. "Do you think she’ll come in?"
"Kelsey has spent her entire life running from consequences," I said, standing up. "She's weak, but she's not suicidal. When an animal realizes the ship is sinking, it doesn't stay to drown with the captain."
