Chapter 3 - Someone Inside the HouseBy noon, the Mercer mansion no longer felt lonely.
It felt under siege.
Security guards moved through every hallway. Electronic locks were replaced. Employees were interviewed. Phones were inspected. Every vehicle on the property was searched.
Hannah should have left.
She told herself that repeatedly.
But Noah refused to let go of her hand.
And Gideon did not ask her to stay.
That somehow made staying easier.
He simply arranged for someone from Magnolia Harbor to call and confirm Hannah would not lose her job for missing a shift.
When Hannah found out, she marched into Gideon’s office.
“You called my supervisor?”
“I had Margaret call.”
“That’s not better.”
“You were nearly hypothermic twelve hours ago.”
“I can manage my employment.”
“Your supervisor agreed.”
“My supervisor also thinks microwaved fish is appropriate for a staff break room. Her judgment is questionable.”
Gideon looked up from a stack of reports.
Hannah could have sworn amusement touched his eyes.
Then Daniel entered.
“We located Pierce.”
Gideon stood.
Hannah’s irritation vanished.
“Alive?”
Daniel hesitated.
“No.”
Noah was upstairs with Margaret, thankfully.
Gideon walked toward the windows.
“What happened?”
“Savannah-Chatham police found him beneath an overpass. Single gunshot wound.”
“Execution?”
“Yes.”
“Wallet?”
“Still there.”
“Phone?”
“Missing.”
Gideon’s jaw tightened.
Someone had used Caleb Pierce to get Noah close to the river.
Then silenced him.
Daniel placed a plastic evidence photograph on the desk.
“There was one thing in his pocket.”
Hannah saw the image.
A brass token.
Stamped with a symbol resembling a crown divided by a vertical line.
Gideon went pale.
Not visibly enough for most people to notice.
But Hannah noticed.
“You know it.”
He didn’t answer.
“Gideon.”
Daniel looked at her in surprise.
She had stopped calling him Mr. Mercer without realizing it.
Gideon picked up the photograph.
“My father used that symbol.”
Hannah waited.
“Used it for what?”
“A private organization.”
“Business?”
“No.”
Daniel closed the office door.
Gideon’s expression became cold again.
“My father, Silas Mercer, built the shipping company thirty-eight years ago. Publicly, it transported industrial equipment, imported wine, textiles, building materials.”
“And privately?”
Gideon looked directly at her.
“Things people paid a great deal of money not to have inspected.”
Hannah stared.
“You mean smuggling.”
“Yes.”
“Weapons?”
“Sometimes.”
“Drugs?”
“My father avoided narcotics.”
“How noble.”
Gideon accepted the sarcasm.
“When I took control after his death, I ended all illegal operations.”
Daniel added, “That decision made Mr. Mercer enemies.”
“Apparently.”
Hannah looked at the token.
“So who still uses the symbol?”
“No one should.”
“But someone does.”
Gideon’s eyes darkened.
“Yes.”
That afternoon, Noah finally slept.
Hannah sat beside his bed reading a children’s adventure novel until his breathing deepened.
When she stepped into the hall, she found Gideon leaning against the opposite wall.
“You’re good with him.”
“I like children.”
“He doesn’t like most adults.”
“Maybe most adults ask him too many questions.”
“He barely spoke after his mother died.”
Hannah stopped.
Gideon looked through the open bedroom doorway.
“Rebecca was killed in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry.”
“The police said a truck crossed the center line.”
“But you don’t believe that.”
His gaze shifted toward her.
“What makes you say that?”
“The way you said ‘the police said.’”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Gideon said quietly, “The driver disappeared before trial.”
Hannah’s skin prickled.
“Disappeared?”
“His apartment was empty. Bank account drained. Passport used in Belize two days later. Then nothing.”
“And you think your father’s old enemies were involved?”
“I never proved it.”
Hannah looked toward Noah.
“Does he know?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Gideon nodded.
She expected him to leave.
Instead he remained.
“Why do you work at Magnolia Harbor?”
“I told you.”
“You told me what you do. Not why.”
Hannah leaned against the wall.
“My grandmother had Alzheimer’s.”
Gideon listened.
“My mother left when I was twelve. My father drank himself into an early grave. Grandma raised me. When she began forgetting things, I took care of her until I couldn’t do it alone anymore.”
“How old were you?”
“Nineteen.”
“And after she died?”
“I stayed in care work.”
“Why?”
“Because I remember what it felt like when people talked around her instead of to her.”
Gideon looked at her with an unfamiliar softness.
“You see people.”
“So do you.”
He almost smiled.
“No. I assess them.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is useful.”
“Until you assess the wrong person.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you trusted Caleb Pierce.”
That landed.
Hannah immediately regretted it.
But Gideon only looked toward Noah’s door.
“Yes.”
One word.
Heavy with guilt.
Then an alarm sounded downstairs.
Not loud.
Three sharp electronic tones.
Gideon straightened instantly.
Daniel’s voice came through Gideon’s phone.
“Lock down the second floor.”
“What happened?”
“Kitchen access door opened without authorization.”
Gideon grabbed Hannah’s wrist.
“Inside.”
He pulled her into Noah’s bedroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Protecting my son.”
“And locking me in?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Hannah reached for the door.
Gideon blocked her.
“You jumped into a freezing river once. You do not get to make stupidity a hobby.”
“I work here now?”
“No.”
“Then stop ordering me around.”
Footsteps rushed down the hallway.
Daniel entered.
“False access code. Door never opened.”
Gideon’s shoulders loosened slightly.
“Who entered the code?”
“We’re checking.”
A security officer spoke through Daniel’s radio.
“Director Reed, we have a match.”
Daniel lifted it.
“Go.”
“The code belongs to Margaret Ellis.”
Hannah stared.
“No.”
Gideon went still.
Margaret had worked for the Mercer family for twenty-three years.
She had helped raise Noah.
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Where is she?”
The radio crackled.
“Not in her room.”
Gideon turned toward the bedroom.
Noah’s bed was empty.
For one horrifying second, nobody understood.
Then Hannah saw the open bathroom door.
“Noah?”
No response.
She ran inside.
The bathroom window stood open.
Rain blew through the gap.
Gideon reached it behind her.
There was a narrow service roof below.
And on the white painted sill sat a folded piece of paper.
Gideon picked it up.
Three words were written inside.
SHE TOOK HIM.
Gideon crushed the paper in his fist.
Daniel shouted into his radio.
“Seal every gate! Nobody leaves!”
Hannah looked through the rain.
Then she noticed something.
A tiny red thread caught on the window latch.
Not Margaret’s clothing.
Noah’s blanket.
Hannah leaned outside.
The thread continued along the service roof.
“She didn’t take him.”
Gideon turned.
“What?”
Hannah pointed.
“Noah climbed out himself.”
They raced downstairs.
Behind the greenhouse, they found him crouched beneath a stone bench.
Margaret was beside him.
Her hands were tied.
Duct tape covered her mouth.
Noah was trying to untie her.
Gideon dropped to his knees.
“Noah!”
The boy threw himself into his father’s arms.
Daniel cut Margaret free.
She gasped for air.
“There was a man,” she said. “Security uniform. I thought he was new.”
“Where did he go?” Daniel demanded.
Margaret pointed toward the eastern garden.
“He wanted Noah. I fought him.”
Hannah helped her sit up.
“Did you see his face?”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel took out his phone.
“We’ll show you employee photos.”
Margaret grabbed his arm.
“No need.”
Everyone looked at her.
Her face had drained of color.
“I knew him.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Margaret looked at Gideon with terror.
“Your brother.”
The garden went silent.
Hannah stared at Gideon.
“You have a brother?”
Gideon’s expression became colder than she had ever seen.
“Had.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No, Gideon.”
May you like
Her voice trembled.
“Julian is alive.”
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