Chapter 25 - The Prison Confession
While Thomas mobilized the mountain convoy, Hank dragged me into the federal field command post set up at the municipal substation.
"Before we breach that mountain, you need to understand what you're walking into," Hank said, slamming a secure video monitor onto the desk. "Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire Henderson just finished an emergency deposition with Evelyn Loomis in federal custody. Claire threatened Evelyn with an immediate transfer to ADX Florence supermax if she didn't disclose Julian’s tactical assets."
Hank hit play on the terminal.
The screen flickered, showing my mother sitting in a stark concrete interrogation cell. She wore a bright orange jumpsuit, her silver hair pulled back severely, her wrists cuffed to the steel table. Despite her confinement, her eyes possessed the same cold, reptilian gleam that had haunted my childhood.
Claire Henderson’s voice came through the speaker: *"Mrs. Loomis, your son Julian has kidnapped your granddaughter Ella. If that child is harmed, you will be indicted as a co-conspirator under federal capital kidnapping statutes. Where is he taking her?"*
Evelyn didn't flinch. In fact, a slow, hideous smile curved her paper-thin lips.
*"Granddaughter?"* Evelyn laughed, a dry, raspy sound that made my skin crawl. *"Ella is Sarah and Arthur’s little legacy. She has Arthur’s stubborn chin and Sarah’s self-righteous morality. She is nothing to me."*
*"Where is Julian?"* Henderson demanded, slamming a fist on the table.
*"Julian is doing what Victor failed to do,"* Evelyn said softly, leaning into the microphone. *"Victor was too sentimental. He tried to win the valley through corporate boardrooms, corrupt judges, and municipal contracts. I told him forty years ago: you don't negotiate with timber people. You burn the forest from the roots."*
Evelyn looked directly into the camera lens, as if she knew I would be watching her from across the state.
*"Heather,"* my mother whispered, her gaze piercing through the digital screen. *"You were always the fool. You thought Arthur was a saint. Arthur knew who Julian was! In 1995, Arthur found the birth certificate in my private drawer. Do you know what your precious father did? He wept! He wept and offered Julian a job because he felt sorry for an illegitimate boy! Arthur made his own murderer."*
*"What is Julian’s target?"* Henderson pressed.
*"The flume,"* Evelyn hissed, her eyes gleaming with psychotic triumph. *"Julian isn't mining the mountain. He placed twenty tons of industrial ammonium nitrate inside the central sluice gates beneath the high trestle. When he blows the flume, three billion gallons of toxic runoff from the old sulfur mines will pour directly down into the preserve, wiping Loomis & Keller off the face of the earth forever. My son is going to bury you, Heather. Just like Victor buried your father."*
The screen went black as Hank shut the laptop.
May you like
"She’s insane," I whispered, the horror constricting my chest. "Julian isn't trying to extract the minerals. He’s going to trigger an environmental holocaust."
"He’s destroying the valley out of spite," Hank confirmed, strapping on a tactical Kevlar vest and handing me an extra ceramic-plate carrier. "If the Vance family can't own the Blue Ridge, Julian is going to ensure no human being can live here for the next century. And he’s holding Ella directly above the detonation point."
