Hearths of Fire (31 page)

N
eal had decided
to take a pass by Charlotte’s house on his way to see the sheriff. Armed with the information the old man had told him, Becky Garson was somewhere on that property—most likely in the makeshift church—and the sheriff needed to conduct a legal search as soon as possible. All Neal had wanted to do was ensure himself that Charlotte was all right before he was caught up with all of the bureaucracy of the justice system. It would take a couple of hours before the judge even signed off on something like this. He hadn’t expected to see Garreth Ashe standing on the porch and pounding his fist against the door.

“These fucking people just won’t go away,” Neal muttered under his breath as he pulled his truck to the curb and slammed the gear into park. He didn’t waste time getting out and rushing up the walkway. A cursory glance at the van hadn’t revealed Mandy and Neal wondered where she was. “Ashe, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The young man who looked anything but composed spun on his heel, his dark eyes black with anger and his mouth pulled tight in firm line. The control Garreth usually exhibited was nowhere to be found and Neal tensed for where this situation might lead. It was unfortunate that he was still considered a juvenile. Neal’s hands were tied to a certain extent, but he’d be damned if Garreth was allowed access to Charlotte.

“I need to talk to Mandy.” Garreth’s arms were at his sides, but his hands were curled into fists. Neal took up a position a few steps away so not as to be caught off guard should Garreth come at him. His response answered Neal’s question about Mandy though. “She overheard something that wasn’t true. I need to tell her that.”

“If Mandy wanted to speak with you she’d open the door.” Neal didn’t know what had taken place, but if Mandy was hiding inside, it was for a damned good reason. “There are times it’s best that we give women their space. If she needs to sort through something the best thing for you to do is give her that.”

“But she—”

Garreth’s words were cut off by the siren of a police cruiser, bringing both of their attention to the patrol car that pulled up behind Neal’s truck. It was Deputy Bryan. The man did his job efficiently and Neal conceded that it was probably a good thing he showed up when he did. But that brought to question who had called him.

“Garreth, how long have been here?”

“I just wanted to talk with Mandy,” Garreth said in defense of his actions. Neal cautiously walked around the young man whose eyes were glued to the uniformed officer walking up the lane. He quietly rapped his knuckles on the door and called out Charlotte’s name. Technically he could have used his key but if she’d been defending herself and Mandy, he’d bet all the money in his wallet that she had her dad’s gun in her possession. Garreth started talking with the deputy as Charlotte slowly opened the door. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Char, are you okay?” Neal asked, looking her over from head to toe. She appeared just as beautiful as when he’d left this morning, with the exception of the weapon in her grip. He nodded his head toward it and continued talking in a low voice so the deputy didn’t overhear him. “Go put that in a safe place and then come back out onto the porch while we take care of this. Tell Mandy to stay inside.”

“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?”