Hearths of Fire (26 page)

“And you have no idea who might have made such an accusation against us?” Robert asked,
leaning back against the cushioned booth as if he was now taking control of the conversation.
“I would like to know who harbors ill will toward us.”

“No idea, really.” Neal finished his coffee and pushed it off to the side, as he must
have seen Sally bringing their dinner plate to the table. The Ashes had already eaten,
but if they continued to sit with her and Neal she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to
swallow any of the food she’d ordered. “I do have a few questions for you though.”

Charlotte tensed and remained so while Sally quietly placed their dinners in front
of them. It was as if the waitress understood this was an unusual conversation. As
a matter of fact, Thelma had just walked in and took one of the center tables looking
a little rattled. For the older woman to be speechless, well, it was a feat. It wasn’t
that Neal wasn’t speaking normally, it was just that the diner had become rather quiet
and their conversation carried throughout the small café.

“Word around town is that you have a special service at your church occurring on Halloween.
I’ll assume you understand how the various churches around these parts might get a
tad nervous about such things. What kind of church has a service on All Hallows’ Eve?”
Neal spread a napkin in his lap and picked up his fork, only taking time to glance
at Robert and Patricia once before digging into his food. Charlotte forced herself
to do the same, although stopped short of putting anything into her mouth. She admitted
that Neal was handling this well. He didn’t quite come out and say that Becky had
already spoken to them about some ritual they were performing next Sunday, but he’d
worked it so that the Ashes knew that the town was aware of something taking place.
“Could that have sparked someone calling in and saying that Becky was at your compound?”

Charlotte became mesmerized as Neal continued to connect the dots without truly revealing
where he’d come by these bits of information. He was damn good at his job and she
could see why this Catori Starr had wanted him for her team. He was cool under pressure,
nothing seemed to rattle him, and he was confident in his abilities to see this through.
His outlook rubbed off and Charlotte found she could finally take a bite of the dinner
she’d ordered.

“The services that we hold for our members are private and yes, we do have one planned
on the evening of Halloween.” Patricia sat down her water glass carefully, as if she
didn’t want it to make a sound when it came into contact with the table. “It’s to
celebrate our son’s eighteenth birthday. I don’t see how that could offend the churches
in the area. Doesn’t everyone celebrate the day their child was born?”

“Well, some churches consider All Hallows’ Eve to be a day of fasting or used in other
manners to remember the passing of family members in the past year. You know how the
movie industry can blow things out of proportion from traditional visits to the graveyard.
Next thing you get are zombies wandering around.” Neal continued to eat while discussing
this and Charlotte looked around the diner for anyone who might be offended. She had
quite a few friends who were Wiccan, as well as Lutheran, Catholic, Protestant and
so forth. She understood that Neal was trying to rile the Ashes up in order to get
them to slip with some information that would be useful when he and the team entered
their compound. “I mean, it’s not like you sacrifice live animals or anything.”

Charlotte had managed a few bites before Neal had brought up that visual and she found
herself putting her fork down. Using the napkin to wipe her mouth, she tried her best
not to make a facial expression of disgust. She’d been looking down at her plate when
he’d brought up the topic of sacrifices and by the time she’d zeroed in on the reactions
of the Ashes, both of them had schooled their features.

“How is everything?” Sally asked, appearing out of nowhere. Charlotte sat back and
nodded, unable to speak from the lump in her throat. Neal looked up at the waitress
and smiled, chewing what was left in his mouth as he nodded his answer. “Any refills
for you?”

The question was directed at the Ashes, since Sally was currently filling up Neal’s
mug with the fresh coffee from the pot in her hand. Charlotte’s soda still sat in
front of her, barely touched. Robert and Patricia both turned her down, although Robert
did ask for their check. Sally used her free hand to pull the ticket out of her apron
and lay it on the table.

“Thank you for joining us,” Robert stated as he stood and allowed Patricia to follow.
There was no common courtesy from him to assist his wife. His eyes were locked onto
Neal. “We appreciate that there are no hard feelings in regards to Garreth’s behavior.
As I said, I’m sure once he and Mandy discuss what took place all will go back to
normal.”

Neal didn’t bother to reply, although Patricia and Robert technically didn’t give
him the chance. The couple walked up to the counter, paid their bill, and left. Charlotte
watched as they walked down the street, wondering where their van was parked. She
finally looked over at Neal, who was also watching the Ashes’ departure as he used
the napkin to wipe his mouth.

“Thelma is about to come over and see what we were discussing with the Ashes,” Neal
murmured as he leaned in and placed a kiss on Charlotte’s forehead. She wasn’t sure
if that was due to their relationship or a cover-up to keep talking, but she didn’t
pull away. “Tell her that Mandy is still at the house, despondent over what has taken
place. I have to use the restroom.”

With that, Neal was gone. Charlotte was pretty sure he didn’t need to use the restroom
and that he was somehow sneaking off to either follow the Ashes or do something in
which he needed a distraction. It sure as hell worked, because Thelma sidled right
on up to the booth after Neal meandered toward the back of the café where Charlotte
knew there was a back entrance. She’d said she would be an asset to him and she damn
well would prove it. If he needed these ten minutes she would provide it to him. With
that decision made, Charlotte pasted on a smile and offered for Thelma to sit down
and keep her company for a minute. The older woman wasted no time in asking about
the Ashes, Garreth, and Mandy. It was going to be a long, uncomfortable ten minutes
and Neal had better make this worth her while.

‡

N
eal was running
on two hours of sleep out of too many days to count. It was going on twenty-three
hundred and he was expecting the team to show up one by one within the next thirty
minutes. As predicted, each member had shown up in town on various modes of transportation.
By the time Neal and Charlotte had left the festival, which during the week didn’t
have as much traffic flow, he’d spotted Stick, Starr, and Trigger—Diesel by his side.
He didn’t doubt the others were around but keeping a low profile.

“So where was the van that Robert and Patricia drive? And why do you think they were
attending the festival anyway?” Charlotte was preparing a second carafe of coffee.
She hadn’t blinked twice when Neal had told her how many members of his team would
be making an appearance. The mugs were now in place in the center of the table, along
with a couple soda cans for Stick. “Their property had just been searched the night
before. I wouldn’t think they would make such a public appearance.”

“That’s exactly why they attended the festival tonight—to show the town they weren’t
offended or fazed by what took place.” Neal pulled out a chair and took a seat, immediately
wishing he hadn’t. One, an image of what they must have looked like earlier this morning
burned into his mind. Two, the exhaustion he’d been holding at bay seemed to crash
over him. He rubbed his eyes, telling himself that he could make it for another couple
of hours…that’s how long the team would probably need to get debriefed. “I’m just
wondering where Garreth was today. He wasn’t at school and he certainly wasn’t at
the festival this evening.”

“Do you think they told him to stay at the compound after what took place yesterday?”

Neal didn’t answer Charlotte as he heard the telltale click of the back door. He stood
and drew his weapon simultaneously, indicating to Charlotte to stay where she was
at the counter. He’d already closed all the blinds in the house, including the one
over the sink, and had informed his team members to enter through the back door. One
could never be too careful though, so he sidled up to the rarely used back door and
listened for the three taps they’d all agreed upon. Sure enough, three delicate taps
came before the door opened. Starr made an appearance, giving Neal’s weapon a courtesy
glance. He didn’t need to ask her if she’d been spotted. She was no stranger to tradecraft
and she always kept her head on a swivel, which meant she was damn good at her job.

“You have two cult members patrolling the immediate area and keeping an eye on the
house. It might take a few minutes before the others arrive.” Starr was wearing a
black insulated coat that didn’t hinder access to her sidearm and actually aided its
concealment since she had it in a shoulder holster. Her long black hair was pulled
back at the nape of her neck, accentuating her Native American heritage. The intensity
within her dark brown eyes gave way to the seriousness of the situation. “We all covered
the dossiers during our flight. I’ll give you credit for finding us a domestic mission,
although I’m sure this wasn’t what you had in mind. By the way, you look like shit.
When was the last time you actually slept?”

Neal cracked a smile, although his exhaustion had kept it to a minimum. Leave to Starr
to tell the truth…she certainly cut through the bullshit. Neal lifted a hand, gesturing
to where Charlotte stood in the kitchen. The two women couldn’t have been more different
than day and night. That opinion covered their physical appearances to their personalities.

“Charlotte Whitefall, this is my boss, Catori Starr.”

“Thank you for coming,” Charlotte stated, stepping forward and offering her hand.
Starr accepted the greeting and turned into someone that Neal had yet to encounter.

“Ms. Whitefall, I’m sorry we had to meet under these conditions.” Starr’s face had
softened and left Neal speechless. It wasn’t that he thought of her as a heartless
bitch, just a woman who knew how to ride a man’s ass…figuratively, of course. “We’ll
do everything we can to locate your sister’s friend and either shut down this cult
or at least get the majority of them out of the area.”

“I appreciate everything that you’re doing.” Charlotte gave in to her basic impulse
and drew Starr to her, giving her a hug that wasn’t an uncommon gesture in the Midwest.
Starr looked a little taken aback, but surprisingly went with it and patted Charlotte’s
back gingerly. “I can only imagine how long your flight was, including the drive into
town. I made fresh coffee if you’d like some.”

Before Neal could contribute to the conversation, the signature three taps sounded
and in walked Trigger with Diesel by his side. Trigger had already asked for permission
to bring the dog and Charlotte was overjoyed at the prospect of having an animal in
the house. It would also keep her occupied while the team discussed options for the
upcoming mission.

“Doc, damn if we don’t owe you one,” Trigger said, crossing the threshold and giving
the command that Diesel could enter the premises. He slapped Neal on the back in a
hearty thank you. “That block training was starting to bore even Diesel to sleep.”

“That block training will one day save your ass.” Starr tossed the comment over her
shoulder as she had taken a seat at the table and had a mug of coffee in her hands.
Her right brow was arched high in a
challenge me and see what happens
way. Trigger just flashed her a smile and patted Diesel on the head, which Neal knew
would irritate Starr. “SITREP?”

“Two men who—incredibly—seem to be totally devoid of any type of training,” Trigger
responded, walking farther into the room as he ran a hand through his shaggy black
hair. Neal was surprised that Starr hadn’t ordered him to get a haircut, but then
again, they weren’t technically in the military. “Amateurs. Charlotte, I presume?”

Neal didn’t like how Trigger’s Mississippi accent got a little stronger when he introduced
himself to Charlotte. It was an absurd reaction and Neal chalked it up to not enough
sleep. He did manage another grin when Charlotte bypassed Trigger totally and doted
on Diesel as if he were the only animal on the planet. Neal didn’t miss Starr’s smirk
either.

“You are such a handsome boy,” Charlotte crooned, kneeling down and stroking her hands
over Diesel’s fur. The dog tilted his head and looked up at Trigger as if to rub in
the fact that he was getting more attention than his owner. Trigger shrugged and then
went over to join Starr at the table. “Help yourself to some coffee, John.”