Chapter 13 - The Deadline
The fire was mostly smoke.
A distraction.
Daniel broke the emergency glass and released the stairwell door.
They escaped before firefighters arrived.
But Margaret had accomplished what she wanted.
Every police unit nearby focused on St. Catherine’s.
While the city watched the hospital, Margaret moved Lily.
Naomi rejoined Nora after clearing her name enough to stop an immediate arrest.
Not completely.
But enough.
“The fire department found accelerant.”
“So now they believe us?”
“They believe someone wanted you dead.”
“That’s progress.”
Naomi handed Nora a tablet.
A traffic camera showed Margaret’s car leaving Tampa thirty minutes before the fire.
Heading south.
“Where?”
“We followed it to Interstate 75.”
Nora stared at the image.
“What’s south?”
“Fort Myers.”
“Miami.”
“The Keys.”
Daniel looked at the time.
“Or an airport.”
Naomi nodded.
“Or a marina.”
Nora remembered Margaret’s wealth.
Private planes.
Private boats.
Places ordinary search warrants could not reach quickly.
Then Marcus called.
“I found something.”
Caroline’s letters contained repeated references to a property named Bellhaven.
Daniel recognized it.
“My grandfather owned a house near Naples.”
Naomi checked property records.
It still belonged to a trust controlled by Margaret.
They left immediately.
Bellhaven sat behind iron gates overlooking the Gulf.
The house appeared empty.
They entered with a warrant.
Nora found Lily’s pink cardigan in an upstairs bedroom.
Still warm from sunlight.
On the dresser sat a child’s drawing.
Three women.
One little girl.
One woman had gray hair.
One wore a pink dress.
One wore a silver half-heart necklace.
Above Nora’s figure, Lily had written:
MY REAL MOM.
Nora pressed the paper to her chest.
Naomi entered.
“We found passports.”
“For Margaret?”
“And Lily.”
Nora turned.
“When’s the flight?”
“No commercial reservation.”
Daniel looked through another drawer.
He found a marine chart.
One route was circled.
Naples to Havana.
Naomi swore quietly.
“She’s leaving by boat.”
“When?”
Daniel pointed to a tide chart.
“High tide tomorrow morning.”
Nora stared at the clock.
Less than twelve hours.
Then Naomi’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression hardened.
“What?”
Nora asked.
Naomi lowered the phone.
“Captain Greene is gone.”
“Gone where?”
“His house is empty.”
Daniel looked at Nora.
“If he’s running, Margaret knows the investigation is closing in.”
Naomi nodded.
“We have enough to arrest Mercer.”
“Do it.”
“We need Margaret more.”
Nora looked toward Lily’s drawing.
“No.”
She folded it carefully.
“We need Lily.”
That night, the Coast Guard was alerted.
Marinas were searched.
Margaret’s known boats were flagged.
At four thirty in the morning, Daniel received a message.
A photograph of a yacht.
A location pin.
And one sentence.
COME WITHOUT POLICE OR LILY LEAVES AMERICAN WATERS AT SUNRISE.
Nora looked at Naomi.
“How long?”
“Sunrise is fifty-eight minutes.”
The location was thirty-four minutes away.
Naomi grabbed her radio.
Nora stopped her.
“She’ll see police.”
Naomi looked at her.
“You are not going alone.”
Nora looked at Daniel.
“No.”
May you like
She picked up the keys.
“But she has to believe I am.”
