Chapter 3 - The Midnight Courier
The wait in the diner felt like an eternity as the clock ticked toward midnight.
Every time the door opened, Gwen flinched, expecting one of Mitchell’s men to walk in.
Detective Miller was in constant contact with his team back in the city.
“We have units moving into position around Pine Ridge,” Miller whispered.
“But we can’t move in until he actually attempts to destroy the evidence or leave with it.”
“If we jump too early, he’ll claim it was all a misunderstanding.”
Gwen looked at the tablet screen again. The man in the house was checking his watch.
He looked bored, scrolling through his own phone while sitting in their living room.
It was a haunting sight—the desecration of her home by a stranger waiting for a death notice.
“I need to call him,” Gwen said suddenly.
Patricia shook her head. “No, that’s too risky. You’ll tip him off.”
“If I don’t call him, he’ll know something is wrong when the hospital doesn't contact him,” Gwen argued.
“I need to be the one to deliver the ‘news’ that I’m awake and ‘fine’.”
“I want to hear the fear in his voice when he realizes I’m not dead.”
Gwen took Chloe’s phone and dialed Mitchell’s private number.
It rang three times before he picked up.
“Chloe?” he asked, his voice sounding forced and tight. “Any news?”
“It’s not Chloe, Mitchell,” Gwen said, her voice like ice.
There was a long, suffocating silence on the other end of the line.
“Gwen? Honey? Thank God. Chloe said you collapsed... I’ve been worried sick.”
“I’m sure you have,” Gwen replied, her eyes fixed on the man on the tablet screen.
“The doctors say it was just stress. A temporary lapse. I’m actually headed home now.”
“Home? To the city house?” Mitchell asked, his voice rising in pitch.
“No, I thought the mountain air would be better for me. I’m going to Pine Ridge.”
On the screen, the man in the house sat bolt upright as his own phone buzzed.
Mitchell was likely texting him a frantic warning.
“Gwen, no! Don't go there,” Mitchell shouted. “The... the heater is broken! I forgot to tell you.”
“There’s a gas leak. I called a repairman. It’s dangerous.”
“A gas leak?” Gwen mocked. “Is that what you’re calling it now?”
“Mitchell, I know about the suitcase. I know about the Panama accounts.”
The silence that followed was different this time. It was heavy, dark, and final.
The facade of the loving husband vanished in an instant.
“You should have stayed in the hospital, Gwen,” Mitchell said, his voice dropping to a low snarl.
“You always had to look behind the curtain, didn't you? Always too curious for your own good.”
“Where is the suitcase, Gwen? Tell me you didn't touch it.”
“It’s exactly where you told Chloe to put it,” Gwen lied. “And the police are watching your man right now.”
On the screen, the man in the house panicked. He grabbed the suitcase and headed for the door.
“Go! Go! Go!” Miller shouted into his radio.
The night outside the Pine Ridge house exploded into blue and red lights.
The man ran out the back door, straight into the arms of a waiting SWAT team.
He was tackled into the dirt, the suitcase flying from his hands.
“We have the suspect in custody,” a voice crackled over Miller’s radio.
“And we have the suitcase. It’s secure.”
Gwen heard Mitchell’s breath hitch on the phone.
“You think this is over?” Mitchell hissed. “I’m in San Jose. I have the keys to everything.”
“By the time you get a warrant for my offshore accounts, they’ll be empty.”
“You’ll be left with a bankrupt company and a mountain of debt.”
“I may not be able to put you in jail tonight, but I’ll make sure you starve.”
“You forgot one thing, Mitchell,” Gwen said, a small smile playing on her lips.
“You gave me your passwords years ago when you wanted to ‘help’ me with my taxes.”
“And I changed them ten minutes ago while I was waiting for my coffee.”
“You’re not going to Cabo. You’re going to be stuck in that airport with no money and no friends.”
Mitchell let out a scream of pure rage, a sound that Gwen would cherish for years.
Then she hung up the phone.
The diner was quiet. Chloe was looking at her mother with newfound awe.
“Is it really over?” Chloe asked softly.
“Not yet,” Patricia said. “Now we have to catch a flight to San Jose.”
“The FBI wants to meet him on the tarmac before he can find a way out.”
Gwen stood up, her legs feeling strong for the first time in weeks.
She looked at the empty enchilada plate on the table and felt a sudden, sharp hunger.
“Let’s go,” she said. “I have a husband to divorce and a legacy to save.”
They walked out of the diner, the cool night air feeling like a blessing.
The mountains were still dark, but the stars were finally beginning to show.
May you like
The chase was on, and for the first time in her life, Gwen was the one in pursuit.
***
