Page 14 of Not Our Daughter

“Mom, I’m shakingso much. You have to tell me what’s going on!”

“I will. But not now. Come on!”

Jade hurried down the stairs. Lisa ushered her daughter forward, through the kitchen, and toward the garage. Jade paused a moment to look down at her smashed-up phone.

“Mom, my phone—”

“You’ll get a new phone soon.”

Lisa snagged her purse from a counter in the mudroom, grabbed her car keys from a hook on the wall. She hit the garage door opener as they stepped into the garage. She could now hear police sirens nottoo far off. She stood still a second, listening. It sounded like multiple sirens. Could the police be going after Cole right now? Were they coming to the house? Or was it possibly unrelated to their situation? She felt her new burner phone buzz in her back jean pocket and quickly pulled it out. Her heart dropped. The text message from Cole answered her question and sent a chill straight through her. She swiftly dropped into the front seat of her green Subaru Outback.

Jade got into the passenger seat. “Mom, is that the police?”

“Yes,” Lisa admitted, starting the car.

“Are they coming here?”

“Yes, baby. Hold on!”

Lisa shifted into reverse and punched the gas down. The Subaru’s tires squealed on the concrete, rocketing backward, throwing her daughter forward into the dashboard. The car sped in reverse all the way into the street, where Lisa yanked the wheel to the right. The quickest way out of the neighborhood was behind her. But that was also, most likely, the way the police were approaching their house. So she decided to take one of the back ways out. Thinking quickly, Lisa pressed the garage door opener on her visor, sending the garage door toward the concrete, hoping it might delay the police a few extra minutes if they thought they were still inside the house. She punched the gas again.

At the next street, Lisa tugged the wheel left, causing the tires to spin like crazy on the asphalt. She then stopped and took one final peek back at their home. A place where they’d created so many family memories. The only home Jade had ever really known. When she hit the gas again, she knew it would be gone from their lives forever. Along with everything inside it. More tears hit her cheeks. The police were now on their street. Multiple vehicles. An army. Lisa pressed the gas down, said another prayer, and sped forward.

God, please help us!

Eleven

Five minutes earlier

Cole’s eyes were locked on his rearview mirror. He’d had to wait inside his truck for only two minutes before he’d noticed the same black Ford Taurus from the grocery store pull onto his street and settle along the curb a few houses down. Then Cole had calmly driven off, making sure he was followed. He had to do whatever it took to get Lisa and Jade away from the house—even if it meant risking his own freedom. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Did the FBI agent suspect Cole had intentionally flattened his back tire? If so, would the guy immediately pull him over? Or was the agent still in watch mode only?

Cole was ready to punch down the gas pedal and go on a high-speed chase. But nothing happened. The agent trailed at a safe distance. Cole exhaled. It appeared he was still only under surveillance. Which was good. He desperately wanted Lisa and Jade to have a drama-free getaway. Of course, he knew a lot of the drama would depend on how his daughter handled the shocking news they were leaving town—forever.

Cole drove the speed limit down Main Street, which was lined with various restaurants, retail stores, shopping centers, and ski- and bike-rental establishments. It was a summer Saturday night, so Winter Park was still hopping with energy. As he got closer to the center oftown, he noticed cars parked up and down both sides of the street in every available parking spot. He remembered there was a concert going on at the outdoor amphitheater in Hideaway Park. He rolled down his window and could hear the music pumping. Old-school classic rock. People were out on the sidewalks in droves, carrying camping chairs and packing beer coolers. Cole hadn’t been sure up to this point how he was going to evade the FBI agent, but seeing the concert crowd gave him an idea. He pulled into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant called Volario’s and parked his truck. A quick peek over his shoulder showed the black Taurus also entering the parking lot behind him.

Cole checked his watch. If all went well at home, Lisa and Jade should be leaving the house soon. He kept hoping to get the text from her that they were in the clear. But nothing yet. He got out of his truck and began casually walking with another group of people toward Hideaway Park. The music was really jamming now. He paused with the rest of the group to allow traffic to clear on Main Street. As he did, he cast another quick glance behind him. The FBI agent was also out of his car, on the move, and headed in his direction. Perfect. Cole walked across the street with the other concertgoers, hopped up on a park path, and navigated his way through a playground and skate park area until he reached the hillside amphitheater on the other side. The crowd grew thick. Probably more than a thousand people.

It was time to get himself lost. He began to briskly weave in and out of the crowd, ducking low at times, zigzagging back and forth. He snagged a black baseball cap he spotted sitting in someone’s unattended camping chair, tugged it on his head, and pulled it down low. Cole was halfway through the concertgoers when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A uniformed police officer stood just ahead of him at twenty feet, arms crossed, monitoring the people and not the stage. Maybe thirty years old. Tall and muscular. Mustache. Cole quickly spun around when the officer glanced over in his direction. The sight of a cop jarred him. While the officer was likely simply working security for the concert, Cole didn’t want to be anywhere near the police right now.He quickly cut a different path away from the officer and walked even faster, threading the crowd.

The summer concert series was a popular event in these parts. People drove in from all the neighboring towns. His own family had been regular attendees over the years. The band members up on the stage looked to all be in their fifties. But they were rocking out like they were still in their twenties. And people in the crowd were hooting, hollering, drinking heavily, and singing along. Cole hurried around them, making his way across the grass hill, before stopping and looking back. His eyes bounced across the hundreds of faces directly behind him. He didn’t spot the FBI agent anywhere. Had he already lost him?

He kept going, pushing all the way through the remainder of the crowd, until he reached a sidewalk on the amphitheater’s other side. Then he began circling the sidewalk around the outside of the park, trying to quickly make his way back to his truck before the FBI agent decided to return to his own vehicle. If Cole got there first, he’d have a clean getaway. Hands in pockets, he tried to walk as casually as possible along the crowded sidewalk, even though everything inside him wanted to make a dead sprint for it. But that would only draw unwanted attention. The band finished a song, everyone cheered, and then the lead singer started talking to the crowd about something silly, when a sudden loud wailing noise off to the left made everyone turn and stare back toward Main Street.

Cole stopped, stiffened. Police sirens. Several of them, all going off at once, as if the police were beginning to put on their own special concert. Cole knew the Fraser Winter Park Police Station was only a couple of blocks up the road from the city park. The sirens were now drawing closer. Could they possibly be coming for him? Had the FBI agent called for reinforcements? Was the whole block about to be surrounded by police?

He started to frantically look around for his best escape. But then the police vehicles—all black-and-white four-wheel-drive Tahoes—raced past the park without stopping. He counted. One. Two. Three.Four. Five of them. Probably the entire police force. He cursed. They clearly weren’t coming for him. Which meant they were headed somewhere else. That thought sent panic straight through him. He had to presume the worst. He pulled out his burner phone. Still no text from his wife. He quickly typed out his own message:Get out now! Police are coming!He stared at his phone screen, hoping to get an immediate reply from Lisa. But nothing. Then his focus was drawn away from the phone by someone shouting his name directly up the sidewalk ahead of him. And it wasn’t a friendly shout.

“Stop right there, Mr. Shipley! Don’t move!”

Cole looked up, froze. Thirty feet ahead of him was the same uniformed police officer he’d spotted earlier. In one hand, the cop held his phone, and his eyes bounced back and forth between Cole and the device. Was he looking at a photo of Cole? In his other hand, the officer held out his gun and pointed it in his direction. Other startled people walking next to Cole also froze on the sidewalk. The cop had called him directly by name. Which meant the FBI must’ve sent something out to local enforcement. Every police officer in the area probably had his photo right now. Things had just escalated. The officer, now talking into his shoulder radio, began a slow walk toward him. Cole was at a decision point. Did he stay put and deal with the ramifications? Or did he risk being shot and run like hell? He doubted the officer would pull the trigger with so many people around. And staying put pretty much guaranteed he’d never see his family again.

Cole chose the latter, spun around, and took off running.

He ducked his head low, just in case. As expected, he heard no gunfire. But he did hear the cop cursing loudly for him to stop while chasing after him. Cole raced across a side street, up onto another sidewalk, and began to cut a path behind the Winter Park Visitor Center and other adjacent buildings. Spotting a narrow alley between two buildings up ahead, Cole took a right at full speed. When he did, his running shoe caught a serious pothole and sent him flying face-first onto the pavement. His ball cap flew off, and he felt his chin hit the surface ashe skidded to a stop. He quickly pushed himself up, took a big step forward, and then his left knee buckled on him. This sent him straight to the ground again, where he landed hard on both knees. He’d suffered a knee injury on the soccer team back in high school, and every once in a while, it still randomly acted up on him.

But this was the absolute worst timing possible.

He again pushed himself up and tried to take off running, but it was too late. The cop tackled him from behind. Cole went down with the officer on top of him. He tried to fight back, but the cop was stronger. He stopped resisting altogether when the officer stuck his gun so forcefully into Cole’s back he thought it might puncture the skin beneath his T-shirt.

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