An hour and a half later, Melissa sat with Detectives Hall and Marino in the back of an unmarked van across the street from the Riverhead Sunshine Motel. Melissa had finally convinced them that they needed her at the scene. She was, after all, the one who had set this plan in motion with texts sent from Brian Bloom’s phone. If everything went according to plan, all of the adults in Riley’s life would be spending the night in a jail cell—except for her.
She was the one who had scrambled onto the slippery rock beach to secure Bloom’s gun. Recalling her one training session years ago at an NYPD shooting range, she had aimed the gun directly at Charlie from a safe distance while Mike called 911. Detectives Hall and Marino arrived only minutes behind the responding patrol officers. By that time, they were aware of the information she had left for them at the station about Charlie Miller. They had also spoken to the woman in the park, who came forward after recognizing Riley on the news. And the Connecticut State Police reported that they believed Riley had been held at a rental house in West Cornwall, but that it appeared the occupants of the house had left with her. The homeowner believed the renter had been driving a small white sedan.
Melissa found herself wondering whether the departure from the house had been planned all along, or was a panicked response to Melissa’s growing suspicions about her husband. She took a small amount of pleasure, imagining the three of them scrambling to cover their bases as she continued to peel away the layers of their lies.
She kept her eyes on the door to Room 106, looking away occasionally to search for any cars turning off the main road toward the motel parking lot. The police had already confirmed with the front desk that a Charlie Miller had rented two rooms for the night using his driver’s license and credit card. The other name on the booking was Rachel Miller, but the clerk had not required the second guest to show identification.
Melissa had been using Bloom’s cell phone to continue his text message threads. When his sister asked if he was finished yet, she had replied, “Yes, all done.” She had led both of Bloom’s accomplices to believe that a large group of high school kids had begun to gather by the inlet for a bonfire party, so he was walking back to town along the shore to avoid contact with them. He promised to text his location when he was ready for a ride. In the meantime, the person who had called Bloom right before he tried to kill Melissa said that she was almost to the motel, where she would drop off Riley before meeting Bloom at his destination. She ended with the message I love you so much, followed by a heart emoji.
“Heads-up,” Detective Hall said as a set of headlights turned toward them from the main road. As the car passed their van, Melissa could see it was a small, nondescript white sedan. She sucked in her breath as she made out a small silhouette in a car seat in the back. That had to be Riley. They were here. Her hopes escalated as the car turned again into the motel parking lot.
It was time. She looked to the detectives for confirmation, and they both nodded.
She tapped her own phone screen to make the call, leaving her phone on speaker. She thought she saw the faint glow of a screen in the rental car before there was an answer on the other end of the line. “Oh, thank God, Melissa, I was hoping you’d call. Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Did you get my text?” Melissa asked frantically. “Did you call the police?”
There was a long pause, followed by a weak explanation that her phone reception was bad and that she hadn’t heard what Melissa just said. Melissa pressed her eyes closed. Some part of her wanted to believe there might be an explanation, but she was certain now.
“I asked whether you called the police like we discussed.”
“Yes, I called them as soon as I got that weird message, but when they went to the diner, they couldn’t find you or Charlie.”
“Charlie got into the truck with a gun and forced me to drive to the beach. He threw me off a rocky ledge into these huge waves. He obviously left me to die, but I held on to a piece of driftwood and managed to make it to shore.”
“Melissa, are you there? I can’t hear you.” Detectives Hall and Marino shared an eye roll. She was such an effortless liar. “I’m going to hang up and try to call you right back. Wherever you are, stay safe and stay put. I’ll come get you.”
Immediately after she disconnected, Brian Bloom’s phone began to ring. They waited in silence. The ringing stopped and then started again. Then a third call also failed to connect.
“That’s it,” Melissa whispered, wishing her friend could hear her. “It’s all falling apart now, isn’t it?”
Bloom’s phone lit up with a new message. Call me ASAP. It’s not done.
She typed three questions marks as Brian Bloom’s reply and hit Send.
The next message read, She just called me. She’s alive. Melissa held the screen up for the detectives. “Is that enough?”
Hall flashed a thumbs-up, and Marino used his radio to give the order. “Wait until she’s out of the vehicle,” he commanded. “And remember, there’s a child in the back seat. Take all precautions.”
Melissa felt the crush of betrayal as the driver’s side door of the white sedan opened and Katie stepped out.
It happened quickly. As Hall and Marino jumped from the rear exit of the van, two marked patrol cars that had been parked behind the motel pulled around on both sides of the building and flanked Katie as she was walking around the front end of her car toward the passenger side. She immediately raised both hands in the air. Melissa could not make out the words that the officers were yelling, but she saw Katie drop to her knees on the concrete and then lie flat on the ground with her hands behind her back. She swallowed as she watched the handcuffs snap closed.
The door to Room 106 swung open and then began to close immediately. Hall made it there in time to force her shoulder through the entryway, halting the swing of the door and pulling the room’s occupant outside.
The detectives struggled to handcuff Rebecca Bloom as she tried to tear away from their grasp. Even at this distance, Melissa could make out the anguish in her face as she screamed toward the parking lot. Riley! She was yelling for her daughter.
Melissa reached for the van door, ignoring the officer in the front seat who ordered her to stay put. She jumped out and started running across the street toward the motel. She made it to the rear of the white rental car before one of the uniformed officers stepped in front of her. Over his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of Katie, her eyes narrowed into a heated glare, her lips pursed defiantly.
“How could you do this?” she cried out.
Even with an officer kneeling over her, Katie managed to turn her face away.
Beyond the parking lot, Rebecca Bloom was no longer resisting Hall and Marino. Melissa could tell that Rebecca was saying something to the detectives, who then stepped with her into Room 106 and closed the door. The shoulder-mounted radio of the officer next to her beeped, and then she heard Detective Marino’s voice. “The mom doesn’t want her kid to see her in cuffs. That’s the girl’s stepmother at the vehicle now. Let her take the child back to our van.”
Melissa’s hand trembled with anticipation as she reached for the back door. Riley’s sleepy eyes gazed up at her. “Missa! Where’s Katie?”
From Riley’s vantage point, she had probably seen Katie stop with her hands in the air, but could not see her now on the ground in front of the car.
“She’s helping the police do an important job, sweetie.” She unbuckled Riley from the car seat and took a deep breath as Riley wrapped her arms around Melissa’s neck to accept a lift. Her hair was warm and damp from the heat of the car and smelled like baby shampoo. Melissa shielded Riley’s eyes with one hand as she carried her away from the chaos behind them. “Do you want to go see a secret police van? It’s plain on the outside but filled with all kinds of cool stuff on the inside.”
Riley’s eyes lit up and a wide smile broke out across her face. She was such a curious child.
“And then afterward, guess who we can go see? Grand-Nan!”
“In her new house?” Riley asked.
“That’s right. And I haven’t seen you for two whole days. Where have you been?”
“With Mommy. We took the car on a boat, and I played turtle. There’s a house way out in the woods. And then Katie came to babysit.”
“You remember her, right?” Melissa asked. “My friend, Katie? You’ve met her a few times, plus she was at the wedding.”
A haze of confusion crossed Riley’s face. “Yeah. She made me a special cupcake. I didn’t know Katie knew Mommy. I thought Katie was your friend.”
Melissa bit her lip. “So did I. Now, are you ready to see the secret van?”
“I missed you, Missa.” Riley held her pudgy hand to her mouth and blew a perfect kiss.
“I missed you, too, Riley.”