Chapter 9 - WHAT PENNY SAW
Kendrick carried Penny upstairs instead of leaving immediately.
Pier 19 could wait five minutes.
His daughter couldn't.
They sat in Celeste's old reading room.
Evelyn knelt beside Penny.
Titan rested at the girl's feet.
Kendrick tried to control his voice.
"Sweetheart, I need you to tell me what you remember."
Penny shook her head.
"Nobody's angry."
Her eyes moved toward Evelyn.
Evelyn smiled gently.
"You don't have to say everything."
Penny touched her hand.
"You found me."
"Yes."
Kendrick looked at Evelyn.
She nodded.
"No more lies."
Three years earlier, Evelyn had been watching Samuel Cross.
She had finally begun to suspect he wasn't telling her everything.
That night she followed him to Westchester.
Samuel met Barrett.
Then Barrett's SUV followed Celeste's car.
Evelyn followed them both.
Barrett's men forced Celeste from the road.
Evelyn stopped farther back.
By the time she reached the wreck, the shooters had fled.
Celeste was dying.
Penny had crawled from the vehicle.
Titan was injured but alive.
"I pulled Penny away because the gas tank was leaking."
Evelyn's voice shook.
"Celeste was trapped."
Kendrick looked at the floor.
"Did she say anything?"
Evelyn had withheld this for three years.
She couldn't anymore.
"She did."
Kendrick looked up.
"She said, 'Tell Kendrick I was right about Barrett.'"
His face broke.
Evelyn continued softly.
"Then she said, 'Take care of my baby.'"
Penny began crying.
Kendrick pulled her close.
Evelyn wiped her own tears.
"I carried Penny toward the highway. Titan followed us. I called 911 from a burner phone."
"Why leave?"
"Because I saw Samuel's car come back."
Kendrick stared.
"I thought he was looking for me. I was afraid if I stayed, Penny would become leverage."
"So you left her beneath the overpass."
"With my coat. Titan wouldn't leave her."
Penny whispered:
"You sang."
Evelyn nodded.
"You were scared."
"Mommy was sleeping."
Evelyn's eyes closed.
"Yes."
Penny looked at Kendrick.
"Uncle Barrett made Mommy sleep."
Kendrick's hand shook.
"He told the man to bump our car."
There it was.
The witness Barrett had feared for three years.
Not Evelyn.
Penny.
Kendrick kissed his daughter's forehead.
"You did nothing wrong."
Penny whispered:
"I didn't tell because he said he'd hurt you."
Kendrick's eyes filled.
"He can't hurt me."
Penny looked toward the doorway.
Her face suddenly went pale.
Titan jumped up.
A figure stood in the hall.
Gun raised.
Samuel Cross.
"Actually," Samuel said, "Barrett can."
Kendrick reached for his weapon.
"Don't."
Samuel aimed at Penny.
Evelyn stepped in front of her.
"Samuel."
His eyes flickered.
"You always were stubborn, Evie."
"You said Barrett has Lucas."
"He does."
"Take us to him."
Samuel laughed sadly.
"You don't understand what you're walking into."
"Then explain."
"Barrett doesn't want Kendrick dead."
Kendrick's eyes narrowed.
"What does he want?"
"Your chair."
Samuel looked at Evelyn.
"And he needs you blamed for the murders that put him there."
Sirens suddenly screamed through the building.
Samuel looked toward the windows.
Blue lights flooded the street below.
Dozens of police vehicles surrounded Ashford Tower.
Kendrick's phone rang.
His security chief answered downstairs.
Then his voice came through the radio.
"Boss... NYPD has warrants."
"For what?"
The answer stunned the room.
"The murder of Celeste Ashford."
Samuel lowered his gun.
He looked at Kendrick.
May you like
"Barrett just framed you for killing your own wife."
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