Prologue #2
That was not something my dad had taught us.
Archer had forced us to fill a duffle bag a while back with what he called essential shit.
We had a few changes of clothes, some long-life food and energy bars and a few other items. It also had a small amount of cash and a burner phone he had provided each of us with.
At the time I thought he was being a bit dramatic, but now I was glad he had insisted.
I made it back to my car and pulled out slowly, with Belle following behind me. I was surprised I never met her inside. We pulled into the alley behind the post office and all three of us stepped out of our cars.
I tried to control my breathing and talk at the same time. “I think dad was killed.”
“He was. I heard them.” Vivi kept her voice low as she started typing on her phone. “Julian and the Sheriff were in the barn. They spoke about it so casually. They didn’t know I was there as well. Didn’t hear me leave either.” She held her phone up to me. “Found it.”
Before I could ask what she was talking about Belle held out a photo album she’d been hugging to her chest. Her normally pale skin had gone sheet white and her eyes were wide. “I think the Argent Group is like some kind of secret society. Look at this.”
She opened the album but there weren’t just photos, there was another list of names and photos of men and women in rather compromising positions. Our father, the senator, the judge… all of them.
Between what we held and what Vivi had overheard, I knew we had a lot.
The confession to murder, the financial motive, and the blackmail.
I let out an exhale. And there was nothing we could do.
“The sheriff is in on this and who knows how high up it goes. We know they’re blackmailing a judge and a senator. ”
“They have no idea where we are, but they’ll be searching for us soon. And they’ll realize all the evidence they need buried is missing too. We need to get out of town as soon as possible.”
“Okay.” Vivi nodded. “We need to get Mrs. Shell to print this. “And we’ll sign it and ask her to hand it to Archer.”
“What is this?” I looked at the document she had on her phone. It essentially ceded partial power of attorney over to another party. “Why do you have it?”
“You can find all kinds of legal forms on the internet.” I hated that Vivi had lost her lightness. “I had it so I could sign my share of Dad’s estate over to you. But now I’m thinking we need to sign it over to Archer.”
“What? Why?” Belle’s brows raised almost comically, but she asked the same question on my lips.
“Then he can manage the land while we figure our shit out.” Vivi spoke as if what she said was obvious.
Both Belle and I nodded in agreement.
“Good. You do that.” I turned to Belle. “Make sure the cars have gas, charge it to the farm. I'll go and withdraw all the cash we have in our accounts. Text me your card PINS.”
Belle’s eyes widened. “You want us to split up?”
“It’s the fastest way.” My stomach turned, but I needed them to understand. “The sooner we leave, the more of a headstart we’ll have.”
At the ATM, I fumbled with the keypad and kept my head swivelling as I scanned around hoping no one recognized me.
Every car, every noise became an instant threat.
It was only as I withdrew the last cash from Vivi’s account that I noticed the camera overhead.
“Fuck.” Oh well, they would find out sooner or later we left town.
Within half-an-hour, we were all back. We had a half-baked plan, but none of us had any idea what to do next. Where could we run to? My father had a private plane, but it could easily be tracked. Instead, I texted Archer.
Rory: Arch. Don’t trust anyone. They killed my dad. Mrs Shell has the documents you need. She’ll make sure the PM gets it notarized. If they threaten you, let them know we will appoint another caretaker and we will send what we have to the press. But we need an escape plan.
Archer: I will be deleting these texts as soon as we're done. I will send the numbers of your burner phones to a man called Tex, he’ll be in touch. Do not share those numbers with each other or anyone else. Don’t worry about me. I have enough on them to stay alive.
That surprised me. My threat was flimsy, but it could buy us some time. A breath of relief left me. Archer could take care of himself.
My duffle bag pinged in quick succession to each of my sisters.
I dug into the bag and pulled out the burner phone.
Unknown: Tex here. Get to LEX.
The abbreviation for Blue Grass Airport.
Each of my sisters got the same message. And then each of us got directions on where to park
I dropped my phone in the same trash can as them before I hugged my sisters. Something told me we wouldn’t have time once we arrived at the airport.
I looked at each of them. “See you on the other side of this.”
With tears streaming down my cheeks I climbed into my car and headed west. Once we took the turnoff to the airport, we each headed in different directions. Two men waited for me as I arrived at the spot Tex’s directions led me to.
The bigger of the two men held out his hand. “Name’s Christopher Powers. Friends call me Abe, and this is Wolf.” The other man gave me a curt nod. “We’ll be escorting you for the rest of your journey.”
“Hello.” I gave them each a skeptical glance, assessing them from head to toe. They didn’t look like serial killers. They both had the same posture as Archer. The one he returned from bootcamp with. “Where are we going?”
“We’re headed west, we’ll talk more on the plane.” He took my duffle bag and led the way, Wolf trailed behind. “We’ve got you, Rory. Just Breathe, you’ll be safe soon.”