Hearths of Fire (21 page)

“Okay.”

Charlotte’s quick acquiescing told Neal that Garreth’s behavior had rattled her and
a ball of rage started to turn over in his gut. Had he been dealing with a full-grown
man and not a boy, he wouldn’t have hesitated to physically make the statement he
wanted to. Instead he looked deeper into the room and saw Mandy near the kitchen doorway.
She looked like a train wreck, so whatever happened must have been downright unpleasant.
He closed the door so that she wouldn’t be tempted to do something rash.

“Deputy Bryan,” Neal stated, turning to face the deputy who was now being bombarded
with Garreth’s side of the story. “Did Charlotte call for you?”

“Yes, she told Nadine that Mr. Ashe here wouldn’t leave her property when asked.”
Deputy Bryan tilted his head toward the front door, his wide-brimmed hat shadowing
his face. “I’ll have to speak with Charlotte.”

“She’ll be right out,” Neal advised, setting his eyes on Garreth who still looked
like he should be taken down a peg or two. “Garreth, when a woman asks you to leave
her residence the most wise choice is to do so.”

“You don’t understand.” Garreth was shaking his head in frustration as he placed both
hands on his hips. “Mandy overheard something that was taken out of context. I just
need to see her to tell her that.”

“Mr. Ashe, did Charlotte ask you to leave the premises?” Deputy Bryan hung his thumbs
in his gun belt, practically rocking back on his heels.

“Yes, but—”

“Does Mandy
want
to speak with you?”

“No, but she doesn’t understand that—”

“Mr. Bauer is correct in this case,” Deputy Bryan stated, motioning his hand toward
the sidewalk. “You were asked to leave and you didn’t. Please go stand by the cruiser
until I speak with Charlotte.”

Garreth looked like he was going to argue but something made him stop. Neal caught
the quick sideways glance and since he was facing the street, he recognized a shadow
right before it disappeared around the corner. Someone didn’t want Garreth to cause
a scene and Neal knew it had everything to do with not bringing attention to the cult.
What they didn’t know was that he had information that would do exactly that.

Neal heard the door behind him open but he didn’t take his sight off of Garreth as
the boy made his way down the walkway. He felt Charlotte’s hand on his arm and he
automatically tucked her into his side. For someone so petite, she certainly could
hold her own and he was proud of how she’d handled today’s confrontation.

“Deputy, you need to contact the sheriff.” Neal looked down at Charlotte, who’d been
about to tell the deputy what had happened when his words brought her up short. He
wished he’d had a moment to talk to her in private, but there wasn’t time to waste.
“I have it on good authority that Robert and Patricia Ashe abducted Becky and are
holding the girl at their compound.”

*

An hour later
Neal gratefully accepted a cup of coffee that Charlotte had made. Mandy was still
crying off and on as more information had been told to her about the lengths the Ashes
would go to have her amongst their midst. Once the sheriff had arrived with another
deputy, Deputy Bryan had taken Garreth down to the station. They would only be able
to hold him on trespassing and communicating a threat for twenty-four hours, but it
would give the sheriff enough time to get a search warrant and conduct a comprehensive
search for Rebecca Garson on the Ashes to Dirt compound.

“Neal, who told you that Becky was there?” Charlotte whispered, sitting down next
to him at the table. The sheriff had stepped into the living room to take another
call as he requested reinforcement from the state police. The judge was in the process
of signing off on the warrant, so now it was a waiting game. “Is she all right?”

“If I call Garreth, maybe he’ll—”

“You’re not calling anyone, kiddo,” Neal replied, trying to soften his command with
her nickname. Her eyes welled up once more but she would have to grow a backbone right
now as he didn’t have time to sooth her wounded ego. He also didn’t want to let her
out of his sight, just in case she decided to go against his advice. The sheriff walked
back into the room and Neal used it as an excuse to speak with Charlotte alone. “Sheriff,
I’m sure you have additional questions for Mandy. Charlotte and I will be in the living
room if you need us.”

Charlotte didn’t hesitate and picked up her coffee as well, following Neal through
the doorway. He didn’t take a seat on the sofa but instead remained standing and facing
the kitchen so that the table was within eyeshot. When he was certain the sheriff’s
attention was on Mandy, Neal revealed the truth of what had happened this morning.

“You and I both know if I say I was on that property, it’ll throw out any evidence
the authorities might find.” Neal kept his voice low as he continued. “In the basement
of the main house is a map of the town, along with pictures of some townsfolk. Mandy’s
photo was front and center. I snapped a pic and have it on my phone, so I’ll need
you to look at it as soon as the sheriff leaves. I want to know who they are and how
they might be connected to the cult.”

“Of course I will.” Charlotte’s frown had been in place since he’d left this morning.
There was nothing he could say or do to make it vanish either. The rest of the day
would be spent giving whatever assistance he could. “But that doesn’t explain who
this
informant
is. You told the sheriff that someone came up to you in town. Is that true?”

“No, but Sheriff Plinkton doesn’t need to know that. When I was making my way to my
truck I crossed through the west side of the compound. An elderly man was waiting
for me.”

“What?” Charlotte’s surprise was evident but it didn’t come close to what he had felt
upon seeing the man. “From town or Ashes to Dirt?”

“Ashes to Dirt. He’s been a member for a couple of years but he’s afraid to leave.”
Neal took a sip of his coffee when the sheriff turned to look their way. He raised
it in a salute and then relaxed his stance when the man focused his attention back
on Mandy. “He refused to give me his name, but gave two accounts of when he voiced
his disapproval with the turn the Ashe’s belief structure was taking. The first time
they reminded him that he’d given everything he’d owned over to them and there wasn’t
anything to go back to. The second time they gave a veiled threat by recapping an
incident where another member disappeared.”

“Let me guess,” Charlotte murmured, wrapping her arms around her waist. It wasn’t
Neal’s intention to scare her, but if this man was telling the truth, being afraid
wasn’t a bad thing. “Someone else didn’t agree with them after they saw the Ashes
for who they really were and was never seen again.”

“That about sums it up.” Neal could tell from the sheriff’s posture that his questioning
was coming to an end. “This man told me that he saw Robert and Patricia drive through
the compound with a young girl in the back window of their van that matched Becky’s
description on the night she went missing. He said he saw her struggle when they removed
her from the van, but she was taken inside the church so quickly that by the time
he made his way over to the building they’d vanished. He hasn’t seen the girl since.”

“What happens if they don’t find—”

“Time,” Neal warned her as he put a hand on her side to turn her towards the kitchen
where the sheriff had stood up from his seat. He was able to say one more thing before
they walked through the doorway. “Take my phone while I speak to Plinkton. It’s in
my jacket. Print off a copy of the picture I took and write down the names of whom
you recognize. Don’t send it to your phone, as we don’t need it being sent over the
Internet. It could be traced and I want nothing that would set the Ashes free if this
were to go to court.”

Neal continued into the kitchen while Charlotte excused herself to the bathroom. She
was using the guest bathroom on the other side of the house, giving her access to
his coat. Mandy still had no color and he doubted that she would feel like her old
self for quite a while.

“Neal, we appreciate you coming forward with the information.” Sheriff Plinkton set
his hat on his head, adjusting it just so to cover his gray hair. “I need to meet
the state police out at the property. I’ll keep you informed on what we find.”

Neal knew when he was being dismissed, although he didn’t show his irritation in the
slightest. If the sheriff wanted to play things this way, so be it. It would have
been beneficial to be able to see the Ashes’ reactions while all of this went down,
but he had to play with the cards he was dealt. Neal would use the time to find out
who the other people were in the pictures and be one step ahead, ensuring that the
local authorities didn’t fuck this up.

“You do that, Sheriff.” Neal switched the coffee cup in his other hand, offering his
other in thanks. “We’ll be waiting for your call.”

‡

“I
s she asleep?”

Charlotte nodded as she tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. Seeing Mandy’s
hair sprawled out on the pillow, her washed face devoid of make-up, and her hand tucked
in under her cheek reminded Charlotte of when her sister was younger…and still innocent.
Today ripped all of that away and there was nothing to grab onto in order to prevent
it from slipping away forever.

“Yes,” Charlotte answered after clearing her throat and making her way back to the
couch where the pictures he’d taken had been separated into numerous colums. She sat
down beside him, wishing she could curl up in his arms as if today hadn’t happened.
“A part of her feels vindicated that the sheriff didn’t find anything or anyone at
the compound. She is somehow still defending Garreth.”

“That shouldn’t be a surprise. I need to make a trip back there.”

Those words spiked the fear that she had been able to tamp down until now. They hadn’t
discussed what would happen if the police officers didn’t find Becky, but since they
were now presented with the cold hard facts, it had to be discussed. If what Neal’s
informant said was true, Becky
was
somewhere on that property. If the Ashes had no qualms about abducting a teenage
girl, they would not hesitate to try to do the same with Mandy.

“What if they come for Mandy while you’re gone?”

“I’m not going tonight.” Neal rested his elbows on his knees, pressing his fingers
to his chin as he took a moment to think things through. She was glad for the momentary
lapse in the conversation as she did her damnedest to keep her bravado in place. “The
regular cult members aren’t permitted to carry cell phones, but I made this man memorize
my number so that he could call me from town. I’m hoping he figures out a way to do
that soon. There has to be a place they are keeping Becky Garson that the police either
overlooked or that is not on the property.”

“Do you think they’ll come for her?” Charlotte whispered as her mind filled with horrible
images of what could happen to her sister.

“Eventually,” Neal answered, not lying or sugarcoating the truth. His tiger-like green
eyes connected with hers and she saw the predator within. He wanted justice, but he
could be just as patient as the animal when warranted. “I won’t leave you unprotected
though. Let’s just get through this night and we’ll reevaluate in the morning.”

“What about these people?” Charlotte asked, waving her hand to the various pictures
that were scattered on her coffee table. “I identified at least seven of them. Two
who have joined Ashes to Dirt and the others are residents of Hearth, but I saw the
majority of them a few days ago. They have nothing to do with the cult.”

“That we know of,” Neal corrected as he tapped one of the photos with his finger.
“I’ll need you to write on the back of each picture what you know of them. I’ll do
a search online for anything that might stand out in their past or see if they have
any connection with the Ashes.”