Marcus: Officer, get this pry bar off the maintenance rack! Quick!
Officer Miller: Sir, step back! This is a crime scene!
Marcus: My sister is breathing inside that box! Give me the bar!
Marcus ripped the heavy steel bar from the guard's hand and jammed the flat edge between the brass latch of the white casket. He leaned all his weight onto the metal handle, his face turning bright red as he strained against the heavy seal.
CRACK!
The top right latch snapped off, bouncing across the marble steps. The crowd gasped as a sharp hiss of escaping air echoed through the quiet room.
Clara: Lift it! Please, lift the top!
Marcus: Help me! Someone grab the left side!
Two men from the front pew rushed up the steps, grabbing the silver handles. Together, they pulled the heavy lid open, flipping it back on its hinges.
Evelyn: *Gasping*... Mar... cus...
Evelyn lay inside the pink silk lining, her lips blue, her chest heaving violently as she sucked in fresh air. Her fingertips were bleeding from clawing at the wooden interior of the lid.
Marcus: Evelyn! Oh my God, Evelyn! I'm here! You're safe!
Evelyn: Julian... he gave me... the tea...
Marcus: Don't talk, save your strength! Call an ambulance! Now!
The church erupted into chaos. Paramedics who were waiting outside for the transfer van rushed down the aisle with an emergency oxygen tank and a stretcher.
Officer Miller: Ma'am, stay still. We're putting an oxygen mask on you now.
Evelyn: Clara... where is Clara?
Evelyn raised her weak, trembling hand, pointing past the doctors toward the floor where Clara was still sitting in handcuffs.
Marcus: Clara is right here, Evelyn. She saved your life.
Evelyn: He... he took the key... to the safe... behind the painting...
Officer Miller: Sir, we found these items in Julian's coat pocket during the search.
The police officer held up a clear plastic bag containing a small glass vial half-filled with clear liquid, along with a heavy brass key and a handwritten change to Evelyn's final will.
Marcus: The entire estate and her life insurance policy... he transferred everything to his offshore account yesterday morning.
Julian: This is a setup! She was sick! I loved my wife!
Marcus: Shut up, Julian! You're going away for a very long time!
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