Chapter 6
The vibrant, beautiful colors of the stained glass threw a mosaic of light across Ryan’s tailored suit, but there was nothing beautiful about the dead, calculating stare in his eyes. He stepped closer, his physical presence looming over Sarah and Emma, cutting off their path to the main double doors of the chapel.
"It was just a video of Daniel," Sarah lied smoothly, though her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She kept her voice steady, drawing on a reservoir of strength she didn't know she possessed. "From our vacation last year. Emma wanted to see his face."
"Give me the phone, Sarah," Ryan demanded, extending his hand. His American accent was clipped, devoid of any warmth. "The police are going to confiscate all devices as evidence anyway. Let me hold onto it for you."
"I think I’ll keep it," Sarah replied, taking a deliberate step backward, pulling Emma firmly behind her legs. "It’s all I have left of him."
"I wasn't asking," Ryan hissed, dropping the facade. He lunged forward, reaching for Emma’s small, glittery purse.
"Back off!" Sarah yelled, shoving Ryan hard in the chest with both hands.
The sudden shout drew the attention of the police officer at the front of the room. "Hey! What's going on back there?" the officer called out, his hand instinctively dropping to his sidearm.
Ryan immediately raised his hands, pasting a look of apologetic concern onto his rosy, fair face. "Nothing, Officer! Just trying to comfort my sister-in-law. The shock is making her a bit hysterical."
"I am not hysterical," Sarah said loudly, ensuring her voice carried across the echoing hall. She pointed directly at Ryan, then at Charles and Margaret, who had stopped their arguing to glare at her. "Keep them away from me and my daughter."
The officer, sensing the escalating danger, pointed a stern finger at Ryan. "Sir, I need you to go stand by the front pews with your parents. Right now. Do not approach the widow again."
Ryan’s jaw clenched tightly. He shot Sarah a look of pure, unadulterated venom before turning on his heel and marching back toward the front of the chapel.
"Mommy," Emma whimpered, her small voice trembling. "Uncle Ryan is scary."
"I know, baby," Sarah whispered, kneeling quickly to be at eye level with her daughter. "We're going to leave very soon. You just have to be brave for five more minutes. Can you do that for me?"
Emma nodded, wiping a tear from her rosy cheek.
At the front of the room, the heavy wooden doors of the chapel swung open. Three more uniformed police officers and a pair of paramedics rushed into the bright sunlight of the room. The cavalry had arrived.
The lead paramedic immediately attended to Arthur Pendelton, who was still sitting in the silk-lined coffin, shivering despite the warmth of the day.
"Ma'am," the first officer said, approaching Sarah with a small notebook in hand. "I need to get a statement from you. You said you received a text message about the body?"
Sarah looked at the officer, then past him to where Charles, Margaret, and Ryan were currently being corralled by the newly arrived cops. They were cornered, but they were rich, powerful, and desperate. Daniel's warning echoed in her mind: Don't trust the police either. She had no idea how deep the corruption ran.
"Yes," Sarah lied smoothly, showing the officer her own phone with the strange text message, carefully keeping Daniel's actual phone hidden in Emma's purse. "An unknown number texted me. That's when I demanded they open the casket."
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The officer frowned, jotting down the number. "We'll trace it. Are you and your daughter alright to head down to the precinct to make a formal statement?"
"We'll follow right behind you," Sarah promised, her mind racing. She needed a distraction. She needed a way out of this bright, terrible room before the Vance family realized she knew everything.
