CHAPTER THREE
The vehicle containing the teenagers drew to a halt outside Lester's address only a few moments after the two squad cars. Harry registered their presence. "Wait out here,"he told them before he and the other officers raced into the house.
Ethan waited exactly ten seconds before charging in after them.
Emma turned to the others. "Wait here,"she told them before dashing after him.
Jordan and Laurel looked like they were about to follow but Mads stepped in front of them. "Let them handle it."
Inside, Lester was sat in a chair, surrounded by police officers. "What gives?"he demanded.
"What did you do to my brother?"Ethan snarled, lunging forward as if to attack him. Emma took hold of him, waiting for his anger to subside.
"911 call made from your phone,"Harry told Lester. "You want to deny you made it?"
"All this is about a hoax call?"Lester demanded.
"No, all this is about you shooting the officer who answered it."
"What?" Lester shook his head in astonishment. "I ain't shot no cop. Why would I do that?"
"Because of Thayer,"Ethan snapped.
"Thayer? I haven't spoken to that loon in nearly two years. Anyway, how would I know Dan Whitehorse would be the one to respond?"
"Police scanner,"Harry replied. "If you had one of those, you could find out the locations of all the officers and pick an address that's nearest to Officer Whitehorse."
Lester gestured around the house. "Feel free to search for a police scanner."
"We are doing. That's what the warrant was for."
"Harry." The officer who had brought him the report earlier appeared carrying a bag full of money. "Found this stuffed in his closet."
"How much do we have here?"Harry asked triumphantly, sifting through the bag.
"Four thousand dollars,"Lester admitted. All eyes were on him now. "Okay, I admit it. I got a call from this guy. Not Thayer, someone older. Offered me four thousand to make the phone call. I wasn't going to pass that up, was I?"
"Four thousand?"Harry asked. "To make a phone call?" Lester shrugged. "I think you're lying. I think you're protecting Thayer and I think you had to do a lot more to get this money. I think you got it for shooting Officer Whitehorse."
"No!"Lester insisted. "All I did was make a phone call!"
Harry looked at him sceptically. "Lester Marcus, I'm arresting you on suspicion of attempted murder." He gestured to one of the other officers. "Read him his rights."
Dan slowly opened his eyes and took in the girl sitting next to him. "Sutton?" He looked around the hospital room. "What happened?"
Sutton leaned over him. "You've been shot,"she said quietly.
Dan tried to sit up and winced. "That would explain the pain. How bad is it?"
"They said you've got a bit of muscle damage. It'll take time to heal. You might need some rehab to get the full use of the shoulder back." She bit her lip nervously. "When I got the call saying you'd been shot, it brought back everything that happened to Dad. I don't think I could bear it if…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying this, I shouldn't even be here…" She made for the door.
"Sutton, wait!"Dan called. Sutton stopped in the doorway and turned to face him. "I've missed you,"he told her. "You were a big part of my life for a long time and I don't want us to be enemies. Can't we at least be friends?"
Sutton nodded slowly. "I'd like that."
At that moment, Emma and Ethan appeared in the doorway next to her. Ethan took in his brother's conscious state. "Good to see you looking a bit more alert."
"Alert enough to keep an eye on you,"Dan answered. "Have you been running around looking for trouble again?"
"To be fair, we did have Harry with us."
"He just arrested Lester Mason,"Emma explained.
"Lester?"Sutton asked. "He was behind all this?"
"Well, not behind it exactly but he was the one doing it all."
"Thayer was paying him,"Ethan added.
Sutton mused the matter over. "Okay, that kind of makes sense. So how do we feel about this?"
Emma let out a deep sigh. "Just relieved,"she answered. "After everything that's happened, all those people we suspected – Caroline, Graham, Peter – it looks like it's finally over."
"And we can look forward to happier things,"Dan concluded. "Like the fact that, unless I'm mistaken, you two are getting married in a couple of days."
Ethan grinned. "Yeah. Nice to be able to focus on that without this hanging over our heads."
At that moment, in a darkened cellar, a black-gloved hand hovered over a photograph pinned to the wall: The photograph of the four Mercer women, the one Kristin had noticed missing from the house. Already, crosses had been marked above the heads of Emma and Laurel. Now, a third cross was added over the head of Sutton. The pen hovered over Emma for a moment, as though the person holding it was contemplating their next move. Then the person moved away, leaving the photograph as the only evidence of the danger they were all still in.
End of Episode Seven