Firefighters waved for Pickett to stop. Ladders were lowered and crews cleared off the dirt, revealing a casket with chains sealing the lid. Industrial bolt cutters and other high-powered rescue tools were passed to the firefighters, who immediately opened the lid and looked down.
Vanessa Page was inside, barely conscious.
She offered a weak smile.
Firefighters transferred her to a spine board, secured an oxygen mask to her face and initiated a flow stream before they hefted her from her grave to hurry her toward the open clamshell doors of the waiting medical helicopter.
* * *
Kate jumped from Sal’s SUV before he brought it to a stop and flew to the police line where other news people were gathered, recording events as they unfolded. News camera operators zoomed in tight on Vanessa’s rescue.
“She’s alive!” one of them shouted.
Unable to bear it, Kate lifted the tape and, before state troopers and deputies could react, ran to Vanessa.
Kate’s heart was nearly bursting as she ran over the rugged terrain to the clearing as rescuers carrying Vanessa neared the helicopter. The deafening beating of the rotors made it impossible to hear but couldn’t stop her from screaming Vanessa’s name.
The men carrying her were stunned when Kate appeared, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“I’m her sister! I’m her family!” Then taking Vanessa’s hand and shouting to her, “I’m your sister! Kate! I’m your family! You’re not alone anymore!” Kate squeezed Vanessa’s hand and then she felt her squeeze back, so hard.
They found each other’s eyes and peace in the roaring chaos.
Strong hands gripped Kate’s shoulders as deputies and troopers pulled her back and paramedics secured Vanessa, closed the chopper’s door and lifted off. Its blinking lights disappeared into the night.
As they escorted Kate back to the tape, she explained over and over who she was and why she did what she did.
“I’m her sister! I have to be with her!”
“We know who you are, Kate,” one of the troopers said. “They’re going to Viola in Newark. We’ll take you there now so you can be with her.”
At the tape, nearly fifty reporters and photographers blocked the path to the police vehicles. They jostled amid the crush as the pack demanded Kate give a statement.
She agreed.
Amid the glare and subdued confusion Kate battled to collect herself, with adrenaline coursing through her and her heart racing.
“I thank God, and everyone else who helped, that we found my sister alive. To the families who’ve lost loved ones in this horrible nightmare, you have our prayers. To Sorin Zurrn, it’s over for you because my sister fought back and stopped you. You lose. It’s time to surrender.”
CHAPTER 68
Newark, New Jersey
When Kate arrived at Viola Memorial Hospital, they wouldn’t let her see Vanessa.
“She’s been sedated,” the doctor told her in the emergency reception area. “She’s asleep.”
“How is she?”
“In some shock, malnourished, dehydrated, but her signs are good—she needs rest.” He uncollared his stethoscope. “She asked about you.”
Kate’s heart lifted.
“I have to be at her side. I don’t want to leave her alone.”
The doctor’s focus shifted to survey the people who’d gathered behind Kate—the FBI agents, state police, senior hospital administration.
“We have an active investigation,” one of the agents said. “We’re attempting to locate a dangerous fugitive. Your patient is our witness and we need to talk to her.”
“Yes, I respect that, but I think in this case allowing a family member to be in the room may prove beneficial to her recovery,” the doctor said.
“As long as one of our people remains present at all times,” the agent said. “And, a police officer remains posted outside the door.”
First, they took Kate to an office where she signed papers for Vanessa. Then she called home.
“You found her! Thank heaven! It’s wonderful news!” Nancy said through tears as Kate told her that she’d be spending the night at the hospital and asked her to get Grace off to school in the morning. Nancy said that with two NYPD officers in the building and more on the street, she felt safe, “even with that monster on the loose!”
Kate then contacted Chuck to give him an update and a quote for Newslead’s story. News outlets were requesting interviews, he said. Kate gave him a statement thanking everyone while pleading for privacy and time so that she and her sister could reconcile their lives.
* * *
A nurse took Kate to an elevator.
When it stopped, the nurse’s soft-soled shoes squeaked as they walked along the polished floor. Kate noticed the antiseptic smell in the hallway, then saw the Newark police officer in a chair outside Vanessa’s room.
The officer nodded.
“You may go in if you like.” The nurse smiled, pushing the door open.
Kate froze.
Is it really over? Twenty lost years compressed into this moment. The sister I’ve carried alive in my heart for two decades is now a few feet from me!
She took a deep breath and entered, absorbing the soft, calming light, the hum and tick of the room’s air system. The FBI agent in a chair at the foot of the bed indicated the empty chair next to Vanessa.
Kate studied her sister as if gazing upon a miracle.
An IV was attached to one arm. An air tube looped under her nose. There were small bloodied scratches on her cheeks and forehead, and her long hair shot out on the pillow in an unkempt panic. Underneath it all, Kate saw a dignified, enduring beauty in the woman she had become.
And as she looked at her, anger bubbled in her gut at all that Zurrn had stolen from Vanessa—her milestones, the things she’d missed. Her first kiss, high school, her first boyfriend, her prom, college, birthdays, Christmas, her sense of family.
Family.
Suddenly memories blazed before Kate like a shooting star, brilliant images of them together as children, up until the horrible crash that tore them apart. She gasped, exploding in heaving sobs she fought to subdue as she reached for her sister’s hand, slowly, painstakingly entwining her fingers with hers, and held tight.
Kate fell asleep in the
