Chapter 5 - Unmasking the Vipers
The next afternoon, the wrought-iron gates of the Bayside Heights mansion were flanked by two county sheriff cruisers. I stood on the grand front lawn, accompanied by Marcus and three uniform deputies, watching as Gertrude and Prudence frantically dragged expensive designer suitcases out onto the driveway.
"Arthur! You can't do this to your own mother!" Gertrude screamed, her expensive silk scarf fluttering in the wind. "We have nowhere to go! All our accounts are frozen! I can't even buy groceries!"
"You should try rinsing some old rice, mother," I said coldly, crossing my arms. "I hear it cuts down on the sour taste."
Gertrude flinched as if I had struck her across the face.
Prudence marched up to me, her eyes flashing with venomous arrogance. "You think you're so smart, Arthur? This house is legally under our management! We built a high-society network here! You're just a dirty construction worker who spent five years digging holes in the desert! You're nothing without us!"
"Actually, Miss Mercer," one of the sheriff's deputies stepped forward, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his belt. "We're not just here to enforce the eviction. We have a felony warrant issued by the state prosecutor's office for identity theft, grand larceny, and grand-scale financial fraud."
Prudence’s jaw dropped. The designer suitcase slipped from her fingers, bursting open on the concrete driveway to reveal stacks of stolen cash and expensive jewelry. "Warrant? No! Mom, do something!"
"Gertrude Mercer and Prudence Mercer, you are under arrest," the deputy announced, grabbing Prudence's wrists and ratcheting the handcuffs tight.
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Gertrude began to wail, dropping to her knees on the manicured lawn as the second deputy secured her hands behind her back. "Arthur, please! Have mercy! I'm your mother! Blood is thicker than water!"
"My blood is inside that hotel room, recovering from malnutrition," I said, turning my back on them as they were loaded into the rear of the police cruisers. "Take them away."
