Hearths of Fire (30 page)

“Son of a bitch.” Neal’s gut tightened as he took in the information before him. There was a map of Hearth with specific places circled—one of them being Charlotte’s house. He moved the flashlight from one end to the other, finding that there were pictures of townsfolk tacked up on the board. Mandy was at the center along with around ten other people. A couple he knew and others he didn’t. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he snapped a few pictures while his mind tried to connect the dots. “What the fuck are you people doing in our town?”

Shining the small beam on his watch, Neal knew it was time to finish his sweep of the property. There was no sign of Becky and from what he’d gathered, she wouldn’t be in the other housing structures either. That left the church, but would the Ashes really keep her visible in front of the entire congregation? He made his way up the stairs and made sure that everything remained the same before he left, using the back door and ensured that it was locked from behind. It didn’t take long to clear the other buildings and work his way to the end of the property.

Neal had just maneuvered his body through some barbed wire fencing that went the length of the west side of the field when he came up short. An older man wearing all black was leaning against a tree, as if he’d been waiting for Neal this entire time. A quick glance around showed no one else and that the man wasn’t bearing arms, but Neal still placed his hand on his sidearm.

‡

C
harlotte hung up
the phone, having just gotten an update from Pam. The store was operating fine and her friend loved the extra hours, but Charlotte still felt guilty for taking so much time away from what was her livelihood. Technically she could have gone into the shop today, but that wasn’t going to happen after this morning. She refused to believe that Neal wasn’t aware of the returning feelings from so long ago that they were both experiencing. He didn’t seem to be harboring ill will toward her for past decisions, yet he was acting as if this meant nothing but a few nights of sex. They were rediscovering something between them and she wasn’t about to discard that.

Looking at the time display on the microwave, she saw that it was one o’clock in the afternoon and neither Neal nor Mandy had returned. Anxiety was clutching her stomach at the thought that Neal might get caught searching the premises and she couldn’t even wrap her mind around the fact that Mandy was attending whatever services the Ashes were providing. Scenarios were running rampant in Charlotte’s mind and her sitting here would only blow them out of proportion. She’d just made up her mind to take a ride into town when she heard the front door open.

“Mandy?” Charlotte knew it was her sister from the jingle of her keys. “I didn’t expect you back so early.”

Charlotte rose from the table and hadn’t even made it to the doorway of the living room when Mandy appeared, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Her arms were wrapped around her petite waist as she struggled to keep herself together. Fear consumed Charlotte that something had been done physically to her sister, but looking her over produced no evidence. Closing the distance, she wrapped her arms around Mandy while the words came spilling out.

“Did Garreth hurt you? Did the Ashes hurt you?” Charlotte went to pull away so that she could see Mandy’s face, but her sister wouldn’t let go as another sob wracked her body. “Mandy, you need to tell me what happened.”

“Y-you were right,” Mandy cried, shaking her head against Charlotte’s neck. “He d-doesn’t love me. He only p-pretended because he thinks I’m the one his parents want.”

Charlotte was relatively sure she’d never felt such relief wash over her body before and closed her eyes in gratitude that Mandy finally could see through the smoke and mirrors. Charlotte led her back through the doorframe and into the living room, where they sat on the couch. She kept her arm around Mandy, rubbing her arm in consolation, and also resting her chin on her sister’s head.

Mandy’s pain was more than palpable but the only thing Charlotte could do was sit and listen. A good five minutes passed with no words being exchanged. Her emotions needed an outlet and Charlotte needed the time to formulate words that Mandy would be able to hear right now.
I told you so
wasn’t appropriate nor was it warranted.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Charlotte asked, keeping her voice low and soothing. She remembered what she felt like after having left Neal at the altar. Just because she’d been the one to break things off between them didn’t mean she hadn’t been devastated by her decision. A thought crossed her mind. “How did you get home?”

“I took Garreth’s c-car.” Mandy was finally catching her breath and pulled away slightly to lean her head back against the couch as the emotional exhaustion settled into her body. “You were right. You, Neal, my friends…I d-didn’t want to believe you.”

Charlotte turned slightly so that she could put her elbow on the back of the couch and face Mandy. She had cried so hard that she still had tiny hiccups every now and then, as well as her eyes now being bloodshot. Her lashes looked darker in color from the tears that soaked them and she had streaks in her make-up. She was still a beautiful young woman.

“Does Garreth know you left?” Charlotte felt she needed to ask that question, especially if he was going to come knocking on the door. She resisted the urge to call Neal, not knowing if he was still at the compound. She also didn’t want to get into a confrontation with Garreth Ashe. “Did the two of you exchange words?”

“I don’t want to talk to h-him,” Mandy said defensively, shaking her head to back up her statement. She turned to look at Charlotte with pain-filled eyes, but she was slowly gaining back her composure. “The service had ended and I needed to use the restroom. While I was in there two women came in and were talking about how they didn’t think I was the
one
. That the only reason Garreth had chosen me was because of his parents.”

Another round of tears appeared and Mandy covered her face with her palms as if that would keep them at bay. Charlotte considered herself a reasonable woman and had this been any other boy in any other situation, she would have said that gossip wasn’t necessarily the truth. In this case…

“No wonder he didn’t want to make love,” Mandy declared, wiping the tears from her cheeks as she sat up a little straighter. Charlotte would rather not have had
this
particular topic come up in the conversation, but it went hand in hand. “He was only with me because of Mr. and Mrs. Ashe. He wasn’t attracted to me—he didn’t even like me. I was a way to make his parents happy.”

“Mandy, you are a beautiful and intelligent young woman that any man would be proud to have on his arm,” Charlotte assured her, reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind her sister’s ear. How could one be so innocent and naïve? And how did one protect a person like that? “These people know how to manipulate. They know who to target and who is malleable enough to bring into their midst. This has nothing to do with you as a person so much as it does that you share Garreth’s birthday. The Ashes have twisted that in their minds to mean something and they did everything they could to influence you.”

“What do our birthdays have anything to do with this?” Mandy pulled her feet up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her legs as if that would ward off what Charlotte was about to confess. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Honey, I’ve told you all along that something wasn’t right with whatever goes on within the confines of that compound.” Charlotte rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. She and Mandy would both need some ibuprofen by the time the day was through. “The night before Becky went missing she told me that she’d overheard Garreth talking about a ritual on Halloween night. When Neal and I visited with Robert and Patricia, they mentioned that the two of you were destined to be together.”

“I didn’t think Becky heard it correctly.” Anger laced Mandy’s tone. Charlotte took a steadying breath, knowing that Mandy’s emotions were all over the place. It wouldn’t do to get into an argument over past mistakes. “But you still don’t think Garreth had anything to do with Becky going missing, do you? Just because he wants to please his parents doesn’t mean he’d hurt someone.”

Charlotte gritted her teeth together, doing her best not to yell at Mandy and make the situation worse. Even when Mandy’s heart was breaking in two she still defended Garreth. Her reaction told Charlotte that it would take something as little as an apology for Garreth to bring her back into their fold. Charlotte worded her next question carefully.

“If Becky had convinced you of what she overheard, would that have made a difference?” Charlotte could see the doubt that crossed her sister’s pale features and decided to keep going with this direction. “We’ve all been telling you something is terribly wrong with Garreth and his family. Members have been loitering around the town…just standing there and watching. They’ve been watching the
house
, Mandy. There was no point in telling you anything because you would have just come up with an excuse. Do I think the Ashes are responsible for Becky’s disappearance? Yes, I do. I think they didn’t want her going to the sheriff or convincing you of breaking things off with their son. Do I think Garreth knows about it? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t have any evidence. What I do know is that—”

The sound of a car door slamming had both of them turning to look out the window. Garreth was using one of the Ashes to Dirt’s vans that they would herd people into town with every now and then. The anger on his face was evident through the sheer curtains but before he could even step a foot on the sidewalk leading up to the house, Charlotte quickly ran to the kitchen to obtain the weapon that Neal had left her with this morning. Her father had been a deer hunter, like most of the men in this town, and had shown her at a young age how to use a rifle. Neal had given her the rundown on Dad’s old Remington Sportsman 78 this morning. He had said that the .308 cartridge was enough to stop any man dead in his tracks. Aim, press the safety forward, and squeeze the trigger.

“What the hell are you doing?” Mandy asked in alarm, standing at the sight of the deadly firearm.

“He’s not coming in here, Mandy.” Charlotte went to the door and saw that her sister hadn’t locked it when she’d come in earlier. Charlotte swiftly turned the deadbolt at the exact moment Garreth’s feet landed on the porch. The heavy pounding of his fist against the door reverberated through the living room, even taking Mandy by surprise. Charlotte lifted one eyebrow in question and Mandy nodded slightly in agreement with how Charlotte wanted to handle this situation. “Go to the kitchen.”

“Mandy, I know you’re in there,” Garreth yelled through the door, banging once more. “Mandy!”

“She doesn’t want to speak to you right now, Garreth,” Charlotte said loudly, ensuring that her firm words carried through the wood. She kept the weapon pointed down at her side. “She’ll call you when she’s ready to talk.”

“I want to talk to her now. I don’t know what Mandy thinks she overheard, but it’s wrong.”

Charlotte wasn’t going to go into the fact that his declaration made no sense at all since it would only antagonize him further. Her number one priority was getting Garreth to leave the property and if he didn’t do that in ten seconds, she was calling the sheriff.

“You need to give her time, Garreth.” Charlotte mentally counted down the seconds. “Go back home and Mandy will call you when she’s had time to think things through.”

“Open the damned door, you bitch.” Garreth hit the door so hard with his fist that Charlotte jumped back, not sure that the hinges would hold. She reached over to the side table for the phone and punched in the necessary numbers without once sparing a glance Mandy’s way. “You’ve tried to keep us apart from the beginning.”

“Nadine, it’s Charlotte Whitefall. I need you to send the sheriff to my house. Garreth Ashe won’t leave my property.” Charlotte listened as the older woman said she’d have a deputy there in two minutes. Hanging up and tossing the landline phone onto the couch, she raised her voice. “Garreth, the police are on their way. I suggest you leave before you get arrested.”

“Charlotte,” Mandy whispered, pointing toward the window and through the sheer curtains with a trembling finger. “Neal is here. I-I know what Garreth is doing is wrong…but please don’t let Neal hurt him.”

‡