Chapter 5 - The Arrest of David Parker
The downtown headquarters of Apex Financial was a towering monolith of glass and polished steel, reflecting the gray afternoon sky.
I sat in the back of an unmarked police cruiser parked across the street, watching through tinted windows as two uniformed officers walked briskly through the revolving glass doors.
Detective Hayes had allowed me to come along, knowing that after three hundred and twelve days of psychological torture, I needed to see the architecture of my nightmare collapse with my own eyes.
Ten minutes later, the glass doors pushed open again.
There was David.
He still wore his custom-tailored charcoal suit, his silver-streaked hair neatly combed, his posture rigid and dignified. He was talking smoothly to the officer on his right, wearing that familiar, patronizing smile he always used when he thought he was the smartest person in the room.
Then, he noticed the police cruiser. He noticed me sitting in the back seat.
His stride faltered. The polished corporate mask cracked, revealing a flash of genuine panic behind his eyes.
The officers guided him toward the rear door of the squad car, pressing his head down as they folded him into the back. As they drove him away to the precinct, I didn't feel joy. I didn't feel triumphant vindication.
May you like
I just felt an overwhelming, bone-deep exhaustion, followed by a sudden, fierce surge of hope.
My baby is coming home.
