Chapter 9 - Five Minutes Too Late
They reached Rose’s school in eleven minutes.
It felt like eleven years.
Police surrounded the building.
Parents crowded behind barricades.
Abigail jumped from the SUV before it fully stopped.
“Rose!”
Simon caught up.
Marcus spoke with an officer.
Then turned.
“She’s safe.”
Abigail nearly collapsed.
“Where?”
“Inside. Tommy too.”
Simon closed his eyes briefly.
Relief lasted three seconds.
Then Marcus added:
“Edward wasn’t here for Rose.”
Simon looked at him.
“He wanted us to think he was.”
A message arrived on Simon’s phone.
A photograph.
Walter Preston tied to a chair.
Again.
Abigail stared.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Even Simon looked momentarily offended by the repetition.
A text appeared beneath it.
BRING MARGARET’S ORIGINAL LEDGER. PIER 19. ALONE.
Abigail looked at Simon.
“No.”
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You’re thinking loudly.”
“I’m going.”
“We’re going.”
“No.”
“Remember our rules?”
“This is different.”
“Everything is different when you want control.”
Simon stared at her.
She stared back.
Marcus sighed.
“I assume I’m driving both of you.”
Pier 19 was abandoned.
Edward stood inside an old shipping terminal with Walter beside him.
This time Walter was not tied.
Abigail stopped.
“Dad?”
Walter looked ashamed.
Edward smiled.
“Families are so predictable.”
Simon understood.
Walter had gone voluntarily.
Again.
“Why?” Abigail whispered.
Walter’s eyes filled.
“He said he’d leave you alone if I gave him the ledger.”
“You believed him?”
“No.”
That surprised her.
Walter suddenly stepped away from Edward.
“I came because I knew he’d bring us all together.”
Edward’s smile disappeared.
Walter opened his jacket.
A recording device was clipped inside.
Marcus smiled from the shadows.
Edward reached for a weapon.
Simon moved first.
He shoved Abigail behind a steel container.
A gunshot cracked through the terminal.
Then another.
Security surged from both entrances.
Edward ran toward the dock.
Simon followed.
“Simon!” Abigail shouted.
Rain had begun outside.
Edward reached the edge of the pier.
There was nowhere left to go.
Simon stopped ten feet away.
Edward pointed the gun at him.
“You always thought you were better than me.”
“No.”
Simon’s voice remained calm.
“I thought my father was.”
Edward’s face twisted.
“He was weak.”
“He trusted you.”
“That was his weakness.”
Behind them, Abigail appeared.
Edward saw her.
His weapon shifted.
Simon moved instantly.
The shot fired.
Abigail screamed.
Simon hit the ground.
For one horrifying second, nobody moved.
Then Simon rolled.
The bullet had torn through his shoulder.
Marcus tackled Edward.
The gun slid across wet concrete.
Abigail reached Simon.
“Look at me.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding!”
“I’ve had worse.”
“Stop trying to sound impressive!”
Despite the pain, he smiled.
She pressed both hands against the wound.
Simon looked at her.
“Abigail.”
“What?”
“If this becomes a dramatic death scene—”
“I swear to God, Simon.”
He laughed once and immediately regretted it.
Police arrested Edward.
Walter stood nearby, crying.
For once, nobody comforted him.
At the hospital, Simon required surgery but was expected to recover fully.
Abigail sat beside his bed when he woke.
“You stayed.”
She glared.
“You were shot.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“Yes, Simon. I stayed.”
His hand found hers.
“Good.”
Walter entered later.
He looked smaller somehow.
“I gave investigators everything.”
Abigail nodded.
“I’m entering long-term treatment tomorrow.”
Another nod.
“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
“No.”
Walter swallowed.
“But maybe someday?”
Abigail looked at him.
“Someday you might earn trust.”
Walter’s eyes filled.
“That’s enough.”
He left.
Simon watched Abigail.
“You’re stronger than I am.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She leaned toward him.
“You got shot yesterday. Don’t become philosophical.”
Simon smiled.
Then his expression softened.
“I love you.”
Abigail froze.
Simon looked equally surprised.
Apparently he had not planned to say it.
“You’re heavily medicated,” she whispered.
“Unfortunately, I’m completely lucid.”
Her eyes filled.
Simon looked nervous.
The feared man of Philadelphia’s waterfront was genuinely nervous.
Abigail kissed him gently.
When she pulled back, she whispered:
“I love the possibility of you too.”
Simon groaned.
“That again?”
She smiled.
“Keep working.”
Outside the room, Marcus heard them laughing.
For the first time in months, there was no emergency waiting.
Edward was in custody.
Armitage was cooperating.
Margaret Preston’s evidence was safe.
But one unfinished piece remained.
May you like
Abigail and Simon had been married because other people manipulated them.
Now they had to decide whether they wanted to stay married when nobody was forcing them.
