Chapter 180: Her Mother's Love, Part 22, Who To Trust?

I'm walking as I talk. Heading along the hall. First stop, the alarm system.

I slam the panic button installed during the renovation. After Michael and Charlotte's last flight through the snow two Christmases ago, we built this house as a fortress.

Everything on automatic, the house goes into lock-down. Motors whirr as metal shutters glide over windows. High-security bolts slam across doors, the sound echoing along the hall. I keep moving, heading for the basement.

Mobile still pressed to my ear, "You think it's Charlotte he wants?" I say. "Or Mitch?"

"If Klempner had Charlotte, Mitch would follow. If she had the balls to go after Conners to rescue him, d'you think she'd hesitate with her own daughter? And yes, I think it's Mitch he's after. You think the timing's a coincidence? Charlotte has just found her mother and suddenly Klempner waltzes out of custody?"