Chapter 4 - Running Blind
I drove for three hours until we crossed the state line.
I found a cheap, rundown motel on the side of the highway and paid for a room in cash.
Lily sat quietly on the edge of the lumpy bed, still wearing the ridiculous, glittering costume they had forced on her.
I went into the bathroom, grabbed a warm, wet towel, and gently wiped the heavy makeup off my daughter's face.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she cried softly. "Grandma said you would hate me if I told you the secret."
"I could never hate you, Lily, you did exactly the right thing by telling me," I promised, kissing her forehead.
I needed a plan.
I couldn't go to the local police because Sarah had warned me about Evelyn's powerful clients.
If the police chief was one of them, handing Lily over would be a death sentence.
I needed someone completely outside the system, someone I could trust with my life.
I went to the motel lobby and used the greasy payphone to call my old college roommate, Mark.
Mark was a former military intelligence officer who now worked as a private investigator in Chicago.
"I need your help, man, and I need it right now," I said as soon as he answered.
I quickly explained the nightmare I had just uncovered.
May you like
"Give me your exact location," Mark replied immediately, not asking a single unnecessary question.
"I'll be there in four hours, keep the door locked and the lights off."
