Chapter 3 - The Search in the Woods
The police perimeter was established within twenty minutes. Red and blue lights flashed against the snow-covered pine trees outside our windows, casting erratic shadows across the living room walls. More officers arrived, bringing thermal imaging gear and tracking dogs.
Daniel paced back and forth across the hardwood floor, his boots clicking rhythmically in the quiet house. Every time the front door opened, he flinched, hoping for news about Emma, dreading news about his father.
“She’s asking for you,” Daniel said suddenly, stopping his pacing to look at me. His voice cracked. “The hospital called while you were talking to Officer Miller. The burns are severe, Sarah. Second-degree chemical burns across both cheeks and her jawline. They’re keeping her overnight for observation to make sure it didn’t get into her eyes.”
My heart ached with a sharp, physical pain. “I’m going to go to her as soon as the police release me from questioning,” I said firmly. “I’m not leaving her side again.”
Before Daniel could reply, Officer Miller stepped back into the living room from the kitchen, shaking his head. “The K-9 unit picked up a scent leading down toward the old maintenance shed in the ravine, but it stops abruptly near the creek. It looks like he might have had a vehicle waiting on the old logging road behind the property line.”
“A vehicle?” I asked, stepping forward. “How could he have a vehicle out there? That road has been gated for years.”
“The lock on the gate was cut, Mrs. Pierce,” Miller replied grimly. “Fresh bolt-cutter marks. Your father-in-law didn’t just wander off; he planned an exit strategy.”
The realization hit me hard. Richard hadn’t acted out of a sudden, blind rage. Every piece of this horrific puzzle had been laid out with cold, calculated precision. He expected the gift to hospitalize Emma, he expected the fallout, and he had arranged a clean getaway before anyone even realized what he had done.
“He planned this for weeks,” I whispered, staring down at the silver wrapping paper still scattered across the rug. “He wanted to destroy our family because I stood up to him.”
“We’re pulling his financial records and tracking his cell phone ping,” Officer Miller said, walking toward the front door. “If he used a card or a burner phone, we’ll find him. In the meantime, I’m leaving an officer stationed outside your house for your protection. Do not touch anything else in the kitchen or the living room.”
As the police officers stepped back out into the freezing morning air, Daniel walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. For the first time since the horror began, he didn’t defend his father. He didn’t make excuses about Richard’s age or his temperament.
“I was blind, Sarah,” Daniel whispered against my hair, his voice heavy with guilt. “I kept telling you to give him another chance, to let things go. I thought he was just an old man stuck in his ways. I never thought... I never dreamed he would hurt Emma.”
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“We have to focus on our daughter now,” I said, resting my cheek against his chest. “When I get to the hospital, I want to make sure she knows none of this is her fault. She thought she was opening a present from her grandfather.”
“We’ll make him pay for this, Sarah,” Daniel said, his voice dropping into a low, hard tone I had never heard from him before. “Every last bit of it.”
