Chapter 5 - The Bailout
The phone in Nora’s temporary hotel room rang at 11:45 PM. She was sitting on the edge of the mattress, watching Maya sleep peacefully in the adjacent double bed, her luggage stacked neatly by the door for their 6:00 AM flight out of the state.
She checked the caller ID. It was Deputy Miller. When she answered, his voice was heavy, stripped of its usual reassuring warmth.
"Nora, listen to me carefully," Miller said. "You need to wake Maya up, get your bags, and come down to the hotel lobby right now. I have two deputies waiting outside your door to escort you to the airport early."
Nora’s heart dropped into her stomach. "Sam, what’s wrong? Why are we leaving now?"
"Your father posted bail an hour ago," Miller said grimly. "We didn't see it coming. His lawyer found a private bail bond company out of Chicago willing to put up the property collateral for the two million. Arthur and Grant walked out of the county jail at eleven o'clock."
"How is that possible?" Nora whispered, her hand tightening around the receiver until her knuckles ached. "Judge Holloway signed a permanent protective order! You have the video of the car! You have the ledger!"
"The protective order means they get arrested if they come near you, Nora, but it doesn't strip them of their constitutional right to pre-trial bail on the criminal charges until the district attorney files the indictment," Miller explained, his tone urgent. "The FBI white-collar division is already drafting arrest warrants for the financial fraud based on the ledger you found, but federal warrants take hours to process through the magistrate. Right now, Arthur and Grant are out on the street, and they know the feds are coming for them by morning."
A cold sweat broke out across Nora’s forehead. Arthur knew the ledger was gone from the safe. He knew that by sunrise, his bank accounts would be frozen and he would be facing federal RICO and grand larceny charges that carried mandatory life sentences for a man his age. A man like Arthur Vance, stripped of his reputation, his money, and his control, had nothing left to lose.
"Where are they now?" Nora asked.
"We sent a patrol unit to the mountain house, but it’s empty," Miller replied. "Their cell phones are turned off. That’s why I want you out of that hotel and inside the secure terminal at the airport immediately. They might try to intercept you before you leave the state."
"I'm waking Maya up right now," Nora said, hanging up the phone.
She turned to the bed and gently shook her daughter’s shoulder. "Maya, sweetie, wake up. We have to go to the airport early. Put your shoes on."
As Maya rubbed her sleepy eyes, sitting up in her pajamas, three sharp, heavy knocks echoed against the hotel room door.
Nora froze. Deputy Miller had said his officers were waiting outside the room, but they hadn't announced themselves over the phone. She walked slowly toward the door, her heart hammering against her ribs, and peered through the brass peephole.
May you like
Standing in the dimly lit hallway, dressed in a dark rain jacket with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, was her brother, Grant.
"Open the door, Nora," Grant’s voice bled through the wood, low and raspy. "I know you're in there. The desk clerk was very helpful when I showed him a fifty-dollar bill. We just want the ledger back, and we’ll let you and the kid walk to the airport."
