Chapter 23 - The Saltkeeper’s Wharf
The deer path ended abruptly at a rusted chain-link gate overgrown with wild blackberry brambles. My hands were scraped raw, bleeding into the wet mud, but Leo remained quiet, lulled by the rhythm of my pounding stride and shielded from the storm by my coat.
I scrambled over the low stone wall beside the gate, tumbling onto the cracked asphalt of the old saltkeeper's road. Down the slope, half-hidden by a crumbling seawall, stood the rusted corrugated roof of an abandoned bait shop and boat launch.
Tucked behind the rotting wooden dumpster was the faded blue station wagon Ethan had arranged through an offshore alias—a battered vehicle with out-of-state plates and a full tank of fuel.
My shaking fingers dug into the magnetic key box hidden behind the rusted rear bumper. The key turned in the ignition with a wheezing groan, the engine coughing twice before settling into an uneven, rumbling idle. I didn't turn on the headlights. I backed the wagon out into the road using only the faint ambient glow of the rain on the pavement, guiding the wheel by memory until the bait shop vanished behind the trees.
Only when I reached the two-lane state highway did I pull the knob, slicing the darkness with two dim yellow beams.
On the passenger seat, the burner phone Ethan had given me began to vibrate against the plastic tray.
I hit speaker with a trembling thumb.
"Clara?" Ethan’s voice cut through the cabin, breathless and jagged with panic. "Clara, are you there?"
"They found the cottage, Ethan," I choked out, tears finally breaking through the shock. "A woman... she knew my name. She said she was here for Leo’s examination. They broke through the glass."
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There was a terrible, freezing pause on the other end of the line.
"Listen to me very carefully," Ethan said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Do not drive south. The Chicago tribunal was an elaborate distraction. Julian didn't post bail—he was remanded into private medical custody by a federal magistrate with deep ties to the Vane trust. He walked out of the holding facility two hours ago, Clara. He’s traveling with them."
