Chapter 4 - The Alibi Crumbles
Sheriff Miller stared down at the scratched silver bracelet, reading the inscription engraved inside: Property of Sarah Carter. 2018. The color drained from the lawman's face. He knew Sarah; he had watched her grow up alongside Nathan. He knew that bracelet never left her wrist.
"Kane... Kane told us she took off with a lover," Miller muttered, running a hand over his stubbled jaw. "He had receipts from a diner fifty miles south, time-stamped midnight."
"Forged receipts," Nathan snapped. "Marcus is a professional liar. He’s been skimming funds from local construction contracts and laundering money through dummy corporations for years. My sister finally found out. She threatened to go to the feds with the financial ledgers he kept in his home office. That’s why he killed her."
Miller exhaled a long, shaky breath, the reality of the situation finally settling over him. "If what you're saying is true, Nathan, we need to get those kids and you off this mountain. Kane filed a missing persons report, and he’s mobilizing a civilian search party. He’s claiming you abducted your niece and nephews during a psychotic break."
Nathan’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "He’s coming here?"
"He’s already on his way up the mountain with two of his associates, claiming he’s looking for his family," Miller said, reaching for his radio. "I called for state police backup, but the mountain passes are completely iced over. Choppers can't fly in this wind. We're on our own for at least four hours."
May you like
Nathan walked over to his desk, unlocked a hidden compartment beneath the mahogany drawer, and pulled out a heavy, matte-black Sig Sauer P226 pistol. He checked the magazine, the mechanical click echoing loudly in the quiet room.
"Let him come," Nathan said quietly. "I built this house of glass, Miller. Let's see how well it holds up against a storm."
