CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
5:00 p.m.
Emmy
Three men in the house. Two shots —Emmy screamed these words into the receiver, and an eternity passed while she waited, helpless. She looked up at the house. She had to go in. Had to see what had happened. Max was inside.
Two shots.
The wail of a siren sailed over the trees, and an ambulance sped into the driveway, spraying gravel behind it. Then it seemed every emergency vehicle in the area trailed behind the ambulance, cars flying under her father’s old willow tree, officers jumping from their cars, guns drawn. A mass of bodies dressed in black moved across the driveway, the world bathed in oscillating blue and red. Her heart thudded in her ears as she watched her father’s castle burst alive with chaos and light.
One of the officers pulled Emmy to the other side of his car and knelt on the gravel beside the guesthouse.
Then she saw him; Andrew came outside, hands above his head as instructed, and a half dozen men ran past him into the house. At the bottom of the steps Andrew allowed the officers to pat him down, and Emmy bolted toward him. Andrew was pale, his body trembling, his shirt soaked with blood, and when her eyes met his face, she knew.
Three men. Two shots.
“Max—” It was all she could say before Andrew pulled her to his body.
“Andrew—” the officer who had grabbed her started.
“Officer Grace.” Andrew panted, holding his palms out. “Jake. It’s me, Andrew. Nick’s friend.” He knew the officer. “I have her now. But it’s Nick.” He waved at the house. “He did this. And I need to get to the hospital as soon as possible. The boy inside, he’s my son.”
A scratchy voice blared from the officer’s radio.
Andrew faced Emmy. “Emmy, get in my car. I need to talk to the police.”
She shook her head, still clutching him. “Is Max—tell me!”
“They’re going to take him to the hospital. Get in the car. I don’t want you to see this.”
The hospital. A swell of hope: at the hospital there was help. Emmy climbed into the passenger seat, her breath ragged, the passage of time unreadable as she struggled to catch a glimpse of what was going on, yet terrified of what might be revealed through the pane of glass. Andrew spoke to a cluster of officers and motioned to Emmy inside his car, his movements erratic, panicked. A swell of nausea roiled, and she fought it; she didn’t have time to get sick. Whatever Andrew had said, it worked. He jogged toward the car and jumped into the driver’s seat just as the ambulance roared onto Ocean Avenue.
“They’re coming to the hospital with us. We may not have much time.” Andrew’s voice wobbled, and he sped down the driveway and turned onto the road without looking in either direction. He flew around the blind corners. A police car trailed behind them.
The flashing lights of the ambulance disappeared into the distance. “Fuck!” Andrew shouted, startling her. Emmy’s eyes scanned the road ahead. Every second that passed was a waste.
Andrew’s knuckles were white on the wheel. “I need you to call Kathryn.”
“I can’t.” She almost couldn’t get the words out.
“Listen. She’s on her way here, but I need you to tell her to meet us at Boca General. I don’t want her going to that house.”
Emmy imagined Kathryn coming onto the scene, seeing the flashing lights as she approached. Her worst nightmare. Andrew took his eyes off the road and turned to her. “Please,” he begged.
Emmy nodded, her phone clutched in her hand. In the intersection ahead, the light flicked from yellow to red. Andrew slammed his brakes, and the tires skidded on the pavement, his arm shooting protectively in front of Emmy as they were both thrown forward in their seats. The car came to a stop, just short of the intersection, and he drew his hand back and slapped it on the steering wheel. “Fuck. Fuck! ”
Seconds dragged on for an eternity.
“Come on!” he shouted.
“Can I ask a question?”
Andrew turned to her, his face sweaty and pale.
“That other man—he’s dead, isn’t he?”
The fear in Andrew’s face, which had not changed since he’d come out of the house, answered for him. “Yes.”
“OhmyGod,” she cried.
The light switched green, and Andrew floored the car through the intersection.