Chapter 5 - The Intruder in the Shadows"Freeze! Police!" Natalie whipped her service weapon out, training the barrel toward the dark hallway.
A tall figure silhouetted against the porch light stumbled backward, hands raised. As the figure stepped into the dim light of the kitchen, Natalie recognized the sharp, expensive suit and the cold, arrogant sneer.
It was Arthur Sterling, the city councilman.
"Put the gun down, Officer," Sterling said smoothly, adjusting his silk tie as if he were walking into a board meeting rather than a sealed crime scene. "You’re treading in deep water you don't understand."
"You’re standing in an active crime scene, Councilman," Vance snarled, stepping forward with his badge held high. "You have no business being here."
"Business?" Sterling chuckled, a dark, chilling sound. "My business is this entire zip code. And frankly, you two are standing on private property that legally reverted to the municipal housing authority twenty-four hours ago upon Andrew Miller's abandonment declaration."
"He didn't abandon anyone!" Natalie shouted, stepping right up to him. "You and Elena orchestrated this! You ran his truck off the road, you terrified his little girl, and you tried to steal his home!"
Sterling’s smile never reached his eyes. He leaned in close, speaking in a low, venomous hiss.
"Prove it, Officer. Show me the body. Show me the crash report that names me. You have a missing man, a traumatized child, and a pile of paranoid delusions found under a floorboard. Do you really think a judge is going to take down a city councilman based on a deadbeat’s scrapbook?"
He turned slowly toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob.
"Oh, and by the way... little Ashley’s hospital room? It’s very exposed on the ground floor. It would be a tragedy if something else happened to her while you're out playing detective."
Natalie’s vision went red. She lunged forward, but Vance caught her shoulder, pulling her back with immense force.
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"Let him go, Natalie," Vance whispered through clenched teeth. "If you touch him right now, he walks on a technicality, and we lose everything."
Sterling flashed a sickeningly polite smile, stepped out into the rain, and closed the door behind him.
