Chapter 8 - The Man at the Gate
Leo complained when I pulled him away from Pepper’s ball.
“June, he hasn’t brought it back.”
“We’ll get it later.”
“Why?”
“Because we need to go inside.”
Something in my voice reached him.
He stopped arguing.
A guard met us at the terrace door. Another moved toward the gate.
I carried Pepper under one arm and held Leo’s hand with the other. The puppy wriggled indignantly against my ribs.
Inside, the house manager guided us down a hallway.
“Stay with me,” I told Leo.
“Is it Uncle Victor?”
I looked at him.
He had seen more than I realized.
“Yes.”
“Did he bring Mom?”
My chest hurt.
“No.”
“Then why is everybody scared?”
I crouched in front of him.
“Some adults are helping us with a problem. Your job is to stay with me.”
He swallowed.
“Okay.”
We entered a room prepared for situations I had hoped never to experience.
There were books, water, a telephone, and a sofa.
It was not a prison.
I kept telling myself that as the door closed.
Leo sat on the rug with Pepper.
I called Adrian.
“We’re inside.”
“Good.”
“Are you with Elise?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t leave her.”
He said nothing.
“Adrian.”
“I’m listening.”
“There are people here doing their jobs. Stay where your sister can see you.”
His breathing steadied.
“All right.”
We stayed on the call while Leo built a crooked tower from wooden blocks.
Outside our room, voices moved through the hallway.
Then a knock.
The house manager spoke through the door.
“June, Mr. Cain is asking to speak with you.”
My skin went cold.
“Which Mr. Cain?”
A pause.
“Victor.”
Adrian heard it.
“Do not open the door.”
I stood.
“Why is he inside?”
“He had authorized access before the alert reached everyone,” the house manager said. Her voice was shaking now. “Security is handling it.”
A different voice came through the wood.
“June.”
Victor.
I could hear him clearly.
“I know this looks frightening.”
Leo looked up.
I moved between him and the door.
“Stay away from us.”
“There’s been a misunderstanding.”
I looked at the phone.
Adrian’s voice was very quiet.
“The police are there. Keep the door shut.”
Victor spoke again.
“Adrian is upset. He’s being told things by people who don’t understand the family.”
Leo’s face changed.
He knew that language.
Secrets between grown-ups.
Things that would make his uncle sad.
People who could not be trusted with a song.
“Is he lying?” Leo whispered.
I did not tell him everything was fine.
“Yes,” I said.
Victor knocked harder.
“June, I’ve been good to you.”
The sentence frightened me more than a threat.
It made kindness sound like a bill.
“You called my grandmother.”
“To make sure she was comfortable.”
“You offered me money to leave.”
“Because I could see where this was heading.”
There were other voices now.
Firm ones.
A command to step away.
Victor ignored them.
“Ask Adrian what he’s done. Ask him how clean his hands are.”
I looked at my phone.
Adrian closed his eyes on the screen.
“He’s answering for himself,” I said through the door.
It was the only answer I had.
A sudden movement sounded in the hallway.
Someone told Victor to keep his hands visible.
Leo flinched.
I sat beside him and covered his ears lightly, speaking into his hair.
“Look at me. Tell me five things you can see.”
“My fox.”
“Good.”
“Pepper.”
“Yes.”
“The blue pillow.”
Outside, voices overlapped.
I kept my face steady.
“The blocks,” Leo said.
“One more.”
He looked at my apron.
“A carrot.”
I glanced down.
A tiny orange smear remained from lunch.
“Excellent observation.”
He gave a shaky laugh.
A minute later, the hallway quieted.
Detective Alvarez identified herself through the door. The security officer inside the house confirmed her identity before we opened it.
Victor was gone.
Not vanished.
Not escaped.
In custody.
I sat back down because my knees had stopped negotiating.
Leo climbed into my lap even though he was nearly too big.
Pepper wedged himself against us.
On the phone, Adrian lowered his head.
“June?”
“We’re all right.”
He nodded, unable to speak.
Elise’s voice came faintly from beside him.
“Tell her thank you.”
That evening, the investigators explained what they could.
Victor had left a meeting after receiving a warning from an associate. He had come to the residence looking for Leo and access to Adrian’s private files.
They were investigating the associate too.
There would be more questions.
More statements.
More days when ordinary sounds made my heart race.
But that night, Leo fell asleep holding the tablet his mother had called on.
May you like
And I sat in the chair beside him, listening to his breathing.
Downstairs, no one lowered their voice to protect Victor anymore.
