“Of course. I’ll make the call momentarily.” He paused, giving her a smile. “Most people are averse to being responsible for the death of others. I’m sure he’ll at least appreciate an array of choices.”
Posey smiled.
“You’ll run this operation someday, Posey. How do you feel about that?”
“I feel equipped.”
Her father chuckled. “Indeed. Even more equipped than me, perhaps.”
Her frown returned. “Anton won’t be pleased.” Her brother, Anton, expected to take over the family business. As the only boy, he thought it was his right. He believed Posey was a freak. Worthless and plain weird. And he never missed an opportunity to say as much.
Maybe she was. But regardless, she couldn’t be anyone else.
Her father sighed. “Nothing will please Anton. Anton isn’t the type to ever be satisfied with anything. He’s my son but he’s ... too rash and self-involved to successfully run a business like ours. No, Posey. You are my choice. You will be my legacy. Now, please excuse me while I make this call.”
“Yes, Father.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rex handed Cami a cup of coffee, and she gave him a grateful smile. “You okay?” he mouthed, and she gave him a small nod.
The police had arrived directly after his call, and they’d been questioning them for an hour now. Cami looked tired but intent on doing all she could to help the authorities untangle what had happened and how Cyrus Sanders had ended up in a locked room in a rental cabin in the woods.
Andwhy no one had reported him missing in four days.
When Rex had first called, two squad cars had arrived, quickly joined by more as he told the story of how he and Cami had come to be in Big Sur. Then a couple of detectives arrived, and they’d separated him and Cami as they questioned them and sent officers out to the cabin. As far as Rex knew, the authorities were currently attempting to trace who the property belonged to and how they could be contacted for questioning.
The police insisted on taking Cyrus to the hospital to be thoroughly evaluated, and though it was obvious Cami struggled with allowing the child out of her sight, a female officer volunteered to go with him and stay by his side. Cami had relented, though she likely knew it wasn’t really up to her anyway.
Cami took a sip of the hot liquid, and Detective Mauro, a gruff-looking man who was surprisingly soft spoken, glanced down at his phone when a text came in. “No luck with that room,” he told them,obviously referring to the virtual room on the dark web where the video of Cyrus had been. Rex had known that would be the case. It was the whole point of the dark web—you could put up and take down whatever you wanted, and it couldn’t be traced back to you or recovered.
“Tell me again about the person on the phone,” the detective said to Cami. Rex sat down next to her. They’d gone over this, but he knew that it was just protocol. They wanted to make sure her story didn’t change and she hadn’t forgotten anything.
Cami sighed but didn’t argue. She obviously understood their strategy too. “I’m almost certain it was a female, and her voice was altered to sound like one of those windup dolls. High pitched and sped up.” She pressed her lips together and looked off to the side, obviously thinking. “There is one thing that I forgot to mention. I heard this ... I don’t know, it was like a wheezy sound in the background. I remember picturing Darth Vader on the line. That exaggerated breathing, like through a mask.” She shook her head. “I know that doesn’t make sense, but ...”
“Not now,” Detective Mauro said as he jotted in his notepad. “But again, every small detail matters. And that might help us at some point.”
Cami fiddled with a thread on the couch cushion. The younger detective by the name of Graf, who’d been there earlier, came back in the house and sat next to his coworker. “I talked to my captain,” he said, and Cami met his eyes. “We could charge you, you know. With not reporting a kidnapping.”
“Not under California law,” Rex said. He’d looked this topic up as Cami had slept on his shoulder on the airplane. “If you’re not the legal parent of the child, you’re not obligated to do anything.” And even if Cami was Cyrus’s biological mother, she currently had no parental rights in the eyes of the law.
Cami turned a widened gaze on him, obviously astonished at California’s lax laws regarding compelling the reporting of crimes against minors. But in this case, it was to their benefit.
“This started in Virginia,” Detective Mauro said.
“It doesn’t seem like the best use of resources, considering the crime,” Rex said. “And also, Cami was warned not to go to the authorities. She obviously approached this wisely. Cyrus Sanders is alive and well, thanks to her.”
“And you,” Cami said, reaching her hand out and taking his for a moment before letting go.
“You,” Detective Graf repeated, “caused a man to fall off a cliff to his death.”
“Cyrus’s life was in imminent danger,” Rex said. “And so was mine. That man had a loaded weapon, and I did not. He’d already fired many shots.”
“That’s what the kid says too.” The detective sat back in his chair. “And the shell casings back up your story. A team has already recovered the body and the weapon.” He paused, his eyes focused on Cami. “As far as the kid being okay despite you not contacting the police immediately, I don’t work on an ‘end justifies the means’ basis. This could have turned tragic at any moment.”
“I’d say it already has,” Rex said. It pissed him off that they were treating her like a criminal when she’d been wringing her hands and bending over backward since her phone first dinged and she learned that a boy was in trouble. “So instead of lecturing us, maybe find who scooped a kid up and put him behind bars. Find out who his deadbeat foster parents are and charge them.”
Detective Graf’s lips thinned, but neither he nor Detective Mauro seemed like unreasonable guys to Rex. They’d allowed them to remain in the house as they were questioned instead of dragging them to the police station, where they’d sit in a cold room under bright lights. Rex’s assumption about the detectives’ decency was further confirmed when the men glanced at each other and then Detective Graf sighed and turned back to Cami. “We could charge you, but we’re not going to. You called us the moment Cyrus was safe, and you’ve cooperated. Also, I looked you up. I’d heard about the crime committed against your family when it happened. A real tragedy. I’m sorry for what you experienced.”
