CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

A tall, muscular man holding a weapon and dragging one foot emerged from the front door and into the state police spotlights, like an actor making his entrance onto an elevated stage. As the cops began yelling, “Drop the gun!” Rob shouldered the weapon and pointed it at them. Instantly, his body was jolted by the impact of bullets, his shoulders spasming and twisting. He fell where he stood, the unloaded rifle clattering to the porch.

Benny ran forward, trailed closely by a short, dark-haired female officer in plain clothes. They raced up the stairs and past Rob’s body. Demi turned left into a bedroom as Benny moved right into what looked to be an office.

“Nora!” he shouted, ripping open a closet door.

He sprinted back to the entryway as Demi emerged from the bedroom, silently shaking her head. She turned into a bathroom as Benny ran into the kitchen yelling, “Nora! Nora!”—his voice almost obscuring a distant thumping. He picked up the faint sound and unlatched the door, nearly tearing it from its hinges as he pulled it open to find Nora.

“Demi, I got her!” Benny called as he yanked Nora up the top two stairs, pushing her toward the safety of the kitchen. Then he started down, holding his gun in front of him, calling, “Sophie?” as he went.

Nora went after him. “She’s okay, Benny. Nobody else is down there. She’s okay.”

Benny took no chances. He crept down the stairs in combat position, Nora leaning on his broad back. The little girl was on the couch, mesmerized by her video game, its music filling the headphones.

The movement caught Sophie’s eye and she turned to Benny, her face lighting up just as he slipped his gun hand behind him.

“Benny!” she shouted. “This is the coolest game. You wanna play? Maybe me and you against Mom and Rob?”

Nora rushed past Bennie and scooped Sophie. “Why’re you crying, Mommy?” the little girl asked.

“Oh, I’m just so happy to have us all together,” Nora said, holding the hug.

“Benny,” Demi called from the stairs, “a word?”

He turned and walked halfway up the stairs, stopping when he and Demi were at eye level. “Gotta get Sophie out of here without more trauma,” she said quietly. “This isn’t my crime scene, but I know the state people and they’re good guys. They don’t need Sophie here to interview her—and given that the perp is down hard, I doubt they’ll ever need to talk to her. I’m gonna ask them to cut the lights and cover the body. Then you and Nora take her out to my car. She sees nothing and we’re gone. I can bring Nora back if they want to talk to her here tonight.”

Benny was impressed and it showed on his face. “Outstanding. We’ll wait here for your signal.”

Demi turned and then stopped. “Did you fire outside? I didn’t.”

“No,” Benny said. “Figured the troopers had it. Didn’t make sense for me to be throwing rounds in the Connecticut woods and whatnot.”

“Good,” she answered, “they’ll have less of a problem with us leaving.”

Five minutes later, Demi’s voice carried down into the bunker. “All squared away. Let’s roll.”

“Sophie, it’s time to stop the game,” Nora said calmly as she gently lifted the earphone from one of her daughter’s ears. “We’re going home now. Nana’s waiting for us.”

“Okay, Mommy. I can’t wait to tell Nana about Rob’s cool place.”

Nora lifted Sophie into a blanket, cradling her head against her chest as she followed Benny up the stairs. They walked through the cabin, across the porch—where they passed a lumpy drop cloth—and out into what appeared to be a dark parking lot. Weaving through the cars, they found Demi’s. Nora and Sophie sat in the back for the drive to Westport. Sophie was asleep before they reached the main road out of the woods, her head on her mother’s lap.

Nora spoke just loud enough to be heard above the reassuring hum of the tires on asphalt. “How did you find us?”

Benny turned, checked Sophie, and then whispered his answer. “First, your duress signal was solid. ‘Mr. Smooth’? In my dreams. Second, your mother is the hero of this story. She put some kinda doohickey—”

“Apple AirTag,” Demi whispered.

“Right, AirTag,” Benny echoed quietly. “Somebody gave it to her as a present last Christmas and she didn’t want anybody tracking her. But, rather than pitch it, she put it in one of the little zipper pockets inside Sophie’s backpack. Actually forgot she’d done it, until she remembered in the middle of this shitstorm. Amazing woman. She remembered, got us up on it, and Demi and me and half the state of Connecticut were on the way.”

Teresa was standing on the front steps in Westport, clasping and unclasping her hands.

As Demi’s car came to a slow stop in the driveway, Nora gently slid from under Sophie’s sleeping head and leaped from the car. She ran into her mother’s arms and buried her face in her shoulder. Neither could speak for a few moments until Nora whispered, “You did it. You saved us.”

Teresa Carleton lifted her tear-streaked face to the parked car. “They saved you. All I did was remember the darn AirTag that I didn’t want in the first place. But I heard something on NPR about them being good for finding stuff like kid’s backpacks, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ Then I forgot about it, until I remembered and called Benny.”

“Oh, Mom,” Nora cried into her mother’s sweater. “I’m so grateful for you, for Benny, Demi, everyone.”

Nora gently pushed back from her mother and smiled. “And NPR. Can’t forget them. Come on, let’s get our girl.”

Demi and Benny were out of the car, standing awkwardly on either side. Nora mouthed, Thank you, to Demi across the roof and leaned in the passenger side to gently lift Sophie into her arms. “We’re home, ladybug,” she said quietly. “We’re home.”

“I’m so tired, Mommy,” Sophie answered. “Can we skip books tonight?”

Nora smiled. “Of course.”

As she walked to the front stairs carrying Sophie, Nora glanced back to see her mother hugging Benny. Teresa’s cheek was pressed into his sternum, his chin rested on her head, his thick arms were folded around her. Their eyes were closed. She noticed Demi standing to the side, smiling as she watched Nora and Sophie. Nora smiled back and carried her little girl to bed.