Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Hospital Parking Garage
Down in the subterranean parking garage of the hospital, Daniel Mercer paced beside his black Mercedes-Benz S-Class, his silver hair gleaming under the sodium vapor lights.
Caleb leaned against the hood, tossing a set of brass knuckles casually between his hands.
“Dad, we should just call Uncle Richard,” Caleb sneered. “He’s the senior partner at Mercer, Hayes & Vance. He can file an emergency injunction to get Emma out of there before that idiot doctor files a report.”
Eleanor sat in the passenger seat of the Mercedes, her face pale, shivering in her mink coat.
“Daniel,” Eleanor whispered through the cracked window. “What if Emma talked? You know how she’s been looking at us since she turned seventeen. She’s quiet, but she isn't stupid.”
“Shut up, Eleanor!” Daniel snapped, slamming his fist onto the roof of the car with a violent THUD. “Emma is a seventeen-year-old dependent with zero financial resources, zero witnesses, and zero credibility. She fell down the stairs. That is the family story, and that is what stays on the record.”
Suddenly, the heavy concrete stairwell door swung open.
Walking into the parking garage was Detective Cole Vance of the Special Crimes Division, flanked by four armed county deputies.
Daniel immediately arranged his face into a warm, polite expression, stepping forward with his hand extended.
“Detective! Thank God. My family has been subjected to the most outrageous administrative harassment by an ER physician upstairs. I want to file a formal complaint—”
Detective Vance walked right past Daniel’s outstretched hand.
“Daniel Mercer?” Vance asked coldly.
“Yes, of course. Detective, my daughter suffered a minor household fall—”
“Turn around and place your hands on the hood of the vehicle, Mr. Mercer,” Vance interrupted, his voice dropping into pure, unyielding authority.
Daniel’s jaw dropped. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard the detective,” Deputy Miller said, stepping behind Caleb and snatching the brass knuckles from his fingers with a sharp twist of his wrist. “Hands on the vehicle. Both of you.”
“Do you have any idea who I am?!” Daniel roared, his polished mask completely fracturing. “I am the largest commercial developer in this county! I will have your badges by morning!”
Detective Vance pulled a certified warrant from his inner jacket pocket and slapped it onto the hood of the Mercedes.
“This is an emergency order for the seizure of all electronic devices, home security servers, and personal communication equipment from the residence at 4400 Whispering Pines Lane,” Vance stated. “And this is an emergency protective order signed by Judge Katherine Sullivan barring you, Eleanor Mercer, and Caleb Mercer from coming within one thousand feet of Emma Mercer.”
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“She’s my daughter!” Daniel shrieked, struggling as two deputies forced his arms behind his back.
“And tonight, Mr. Mercer,” Vance whispered, clicking the heavy steel handcuffs around Daniel’s wrists, “she became the state’s primary witness against you.”
