Someone had knocked her out and brought her … here.
But where was here?
She glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.
She appeared to be in an old house with dark wood paneling.
As she took another breath, the scent of smoke became stronger. Was something … on fire?
At a sound behind her, she craned her neck and gasped. Barnabas knelt in front of an old fireplace nursing a fire.
She struggled against the ropes holding her down, but it was no use. She was tied up tight.
“I see you’re awake now.” Barnabas stepped from the shadows.
Barnabas …
Cassidy coughed. “Why are you doing this, Barnabas?”
“Because I know you’re going to keep pushing and pushing, and you’ll ruin everything. I can’t let you do that. I vowed to be a protector.”
“A protector of what?”
“A protector of The Way.”
She struggled again, desperate to get away. “Barnabas, there are other means to protect The Way. You don’t need to hold me captive.”
“Maybe. But I think Gilead will be pleased with this. Maybe he’ll even accept me back to the compound.”
“Gilead put you up to this?”
A strange smile crossed his face. He was high, she realized. Had he taken some flakka?
“No, of course not. He would never do that. But he says those who don’t believe are an abomination. You’re not a believer.”
So people did take that verse from the book of Makir seriously.
“Did you park in that driveway just to get my attention?” Cassidy asked.
“I figured you’d head to the compound. I also knew you’d pass that house and my vehicle. I knew it was the only way to get your attention. And it worked. Forgive me, but I had to remedy this situation. I couldn’t let you ruin everything.”
“Barnabas, you really need to think this through.” The flames behind her grew. She could hear them. Feel them.
He put the end of a stick in the fire and watched it light. He gently drew it out and said, “Oh, I’ve been thinking. A lot. And this is the only way.”
“Is that what you said when you killed Al?” She struggled, trying to jerk her hands free, even if it required pulling off half her skin.
“He wanted to spread lies about us. He wanted to leave. He could have ruined everything.”
“So you hung him with a noose and tried to make it look like suicide? Then you put him in the ocean, hoping he’d wash out to sea, never to be seen again?” There were holes in his story. Like why hadn’t he taken the noose? Why had he left it?
“I didn’t kill him. I just reminded him what a wretched person he was. How much he’d messed up. How even his own family no longer liked him.” He held the burning stick near old, dusty curtains. Not quite touching them, just watching the flames flickering closely.
“And he took his own life.” Cassidy’s stomach squeezed with disgust. He’d coerced this man into committing suicide.
Hoping to distract him, she blurted, “Why did you put him in the ocean?”
“He told me once that he’d always wanted to be buried at sea. So I thought I’d help him.” The curtains burst into flame in a macabre dance.
“What about the scars on his back?” The fire felt so hot that Cassidy nearly thought her hair was on fire. But it wasn’t. Not yet.
She knew an old house like this would burn quickly, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she had.
Certainly by now someone had seen the flames in the window. They would call the fire department, and help would be on the way.
Almost as if Barnabas could read her mind, he smiled again. “We’re pretty secluded out here. It’s going to take a while for anyone to notice this.”
Cassidy lifted a prayer, unsure how exactly she was going to get out of this situation alive.
Ty didn’t recognize the number on his cell phone, but he answered anyway. If someone was calling him at three in the morning, it had to be important.
“Ty? This is Dane. Is the chief with you?”
Ty’s back went straight. “No, she said she was with you.”
“We’d planned on meeting at Gilead’s Cove, but she called and said she saw Barnabas’s car at a house she passed by. She told me she’d wait for me there. But when I pulled up, her SUV had been parked in the driveway, but the chief was nowhere to be found.”
Worry surged through Ty. Something was wrong. Majorly wrong. “Did you check the surrounding houses?”
“I did. I didn’t see her.”
“I’m going to call Mac, get him to help. We’ve got to find her, Dane.”
“What can I do?”
“Call Rebecca Jarvis. I need to know about any other properties the gang at Gilead’s Cove own. She should have those addresses. You’re going to have to wake her up, but tell her it’s official police business.”
“Will do.”
Ty lowered the phone and lifted a prayer. This wasn’t good. If someone from Gilead’s Cove got their hands on Cassidy … he didn’t want to think about what could happen. He couldn’t let his thoughts go there now.
Wasting no more time, he called Mac and then Wes, who promised to let the rest of the gang know what was going on.
The list of houses Dane would get from Rebecca was their best option. Otherwise, Ty would head to the Gilead’s Cove compound himself—and he’d make no apologies about it.
Ten minutes later, Dane called back. He had the list of four houses, and they decided that Ty, Dane, Mac, and Leggott would divide and conquer. They’d split into pairs and take two houses each.
They searched each of those properties but found nothing. No Cassidy.
Ty’s worry grew.
Ty and Dane went back to the driveway of the house where Cassidy’s SUV had been left to regroup. Ty was trying to gather his thoughts when his phone rang again. It was Rebecca.
“This could be nothing, but there’s one other property these guys have looked at,” Rebecca said. “I would have told you about it earlier, but I didn’t know. My husband actually heard about the deal through some of his fishing buddies. Anyway, the transaction hasn’t closed yet, but they did put a contract on this property.”
“What’s the address?”
Ty put his truck into Drive and took off down the road. The address wasn’t far away. If he remembered correctly, this house sat farther off the main road and out of sight, thanks to a line of trees.
If they didn’t find Cassidy there … he had no idea where to search next.
As he pulled up, Ty sucked in a breath.
This was the house … and it was on fire.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Barnabas, you’ve got to let me go or we’re both going to die.” Sweat poured down Cassidy’s face, and her breaths were labored. The fire had moved from the curtains to the wall. The paneling steadily burned and smoke clouded the room.
“I’m ready to die. Are you?” He said the words calmly, evenly, like he’d already thought about it. A lot. Too much.
Another pulse of fear went through her, and she coughed violently. “Am I ready? Yes. Do I want to? No. Why do you want to, Barnabas?”
“I’m probably going to go to jail anyway.”
She shook her head, desperate to get through to him. “Not necessarily. You didn’t kill Al. You only moved his body.”
“The law isn’t on my side. You want to bring us down. Gilead told us.”
Her fear turned into anger. “Gilead doesn’t always tell the truth.”
Barnabas raised his chin in disagreement. “Gilead is the best thing to happen to me.”
“Al didn’t think so.”
“Al became disillusioned. He thought we were giving Gilead too much power.” He hacked as the air in the room grew hazy, and he sank to his knees, away from the smoke.
Now she was getting somewhere. She leaned forward to escape the worst of the smoke that pooled on the ceiling.
She only hoped she didn’t die before she could share what she’d finally learned. “What caused the change?”
“He wanted to leave. To go back to his wife and kids. Gilead told him he couldn’t. That he’d pledged his loyalty to The Cause.”
It sounded downright creepy to Cassidy. She coughed again before asking, “Was Gilead going to kill him?”
“Gilead? No, he wouldn’t do something like that.”
More sweat poured down her, and the heat was almost unbearable. She glanced up. The fire climbed inexorably to the ceiling. This whole place would come down soon.
“Barnabas, we’ve got to get out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He’d given up, hadn’t he? He was done. He didn’t care anymore. How was she going to get through to him? “Barnabas, the house is going to be consumed in a minute. There will be no going back.”
“I know.”
Another chill went through her, despite the heat. How would she get out of this one? She had no idea. The ropes pulled too tight. The fire licked too close. Help seemed too far away.
Just as the thoughts pummeled her, she heard a crash.
Was that the door?
Barnabas’s eyes widened. He’d heard it too.
He stood and, instead of running toward the sound, he darted toward the back of the house. Another door slammed.
Had Barnabas … had he just locked himself in a back bedroom?
Cassidy’s gaze jerked to the side before a coughing fit captured her. She toppled the chair over so she was lying on the floor, where she could breathe easier. She wouldn’t be able to fight this much longer. Soon the smoke would claim her.
But as she pulled her eyes back open, a figure came into view.
Ty.
He was here.
Or was she seeing things?
He rushed toward her and worked the ropes behind her, the smoke already causing him to cough. “I’ve got you, Cassidy. It’s going to be okay.”
She couldn’t respond, only cough. Try to stay alert. Pray that Ty didn’t get injured while trying to save her.
A moment later, her hands were free. Ty gathered her in his arms and bolted toward the door.
“Barnabas,” she finally croaked.
“What?”
“Barnabas … went … to … the …back.”
“Barnabas is still here?”
She nodded.
“I’ll go find him,” someone else said.
Dane, Cassidy realized. Dane was here also.
In the distance, she thought she heard sirens over the roar of the fire.
Flames were everywhere. On all the walls. The ceiling. Licking at the floor.
“No,” Cassidy rasped. “Wait for the fire trucks. You won’t come back out alive.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting to remain lucid. Ty’s strong arms held her, carried her, just like they’d done so many times before.
They didn’t have much time.
A beam fell in front of them.
Ty skirted around it and dashed through the doorway.
The next instant, they were outside.
Cassidy gulped in deep breaths of fresh air. She could breathe again. The air was still smoky, but nothing like inside.
Ty didn’t stop walking until he was at his truck. He laid her inside on the seat and then peered at her, brushing her hair back from her face. “An ambulance will be here soon.”
She nodded toward the house, wishing his words made her feel better. But there was still so much on the line here.
Wait. Where was …
“Dane,” she muttered.
Ty glanced back. He must have gone inside anyway.
Neither said anything. Cassidy and Ty both knew the whole place would be destroyed soon. If Dane didn’t get out within the next few minutes with Barnabas …
Just then, someone staggered from the front door.
Dane.
But he was alone.
He jerked down a T-shirt he’d tied over his mouth and bent over, coughing. Then he staggered toward them.
“I found Barnabas,” he started, more coughs wracking his body. “But when he saw me, he ran into a bathroom. Locked the door. I couldn’t get to him. I don’t think he wanted me to.”
He didn’t. But Cassidy couldn’t say the words out loud. Not now. Right now, she needed some water.
But, as she looked up, the entire house collapsed with the fire.
It was too late for Barnabas, she realized. And that was exactly what he’d wanted.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Four hours later, the sun had risen. Cassidy had a blanket around her and coffee in hand. She’d already been given oxygen and breathed easier. She’d promised the medics she’d go to the clinic for her lungs to be checked out, but she wasn’t ready to leave the scene yet.
The same couldn’t be said for Barnabas. Firefighters had found his body in the bathroom, just as Dane had said they would.
He’d wanted to die today.
“So do you have enough to arrest Anthony Gilead?” Ty asked, leaning next to her against the back of his ash-covered truck.
Cassidy frowned, wishing she had a different answer. “No, I don’t. Besides, anything Barnabas told me went with him to the grave. I have nothing to help me move forward in a legal case.”
“Do you believe what Barnabas told you? That Al hung himself, and all Barnabas did was bury his body at sea, just like Al had wanted.”
Cassidy couldn’t stop thinking about it herself. “I called Trisha while you were talking to the firefighters. Trisha confirmed that Al had said that before, so Barnabas could have been telling the truth. But the man taunted Al, telling him things that drove him to kill himself. He may not have put the noose around his neck, but he was still guilty, as far as I’m concerned.”
Ty frowned as he stared at the remains of the house in the distance, and a moment of silence washed between them.
“I’d like to say this is finally over, but I don’t know if it is,” Ty said.
“I feel the same way.” Cassidy pulled the blanket closer and followed Ty’s gaze. Two firetrucks were here. Locals had come out to see what the commotion was. Mac had shown up to keep tabs on the town.
She still had Kaleb in custody, but she was doubtful the charges would stick. He would be a great source of information, but the look in his eyes clearly showed intelligence. He wouldn’t be as easy as Barnabas had been to pry answers from.
Cassidy also needed to figure out where this other entrance and exit from Gilead’s Cove was. Leggott said no one had come or gone from the compound as he watched this evening. That meant there was more to the place than Cassidy had assumed.
Dane stepped up to her just then, embers of tonight’s tragedy staining his new police uniform. He was lucky to have gotten out of that house alive. They all were.
“You okay, Chief?” he asked.
She nodded. “I am. You’ve had an exciting first day.”
His lip curled in a half-smile. “Yes, I have.”
“Thank you for all you’ve done so far. We’re happy to have you on board here in Lantern Beach.”
“Of course. It looks like it’s not going to be such a boring place to work, after all.”
“No, it’s not.” Especially not with Gilead’s Cove still as a part of this town.
Cassidy’s phone rang, and she glanced down at the screen. Her stomach clenched. It was her mom.
“I should probably take this,” she said.
But she didn’t bother to move away from Ty. Anything she had to say, he could hear.
“The press conference is later this morning,” her mom started. “I haven’t been able to sleep all night, so I wanted to give you a call first thing. What did you decide?”
Cassidy swallowed hard before saying, “I can’t do it, Mom. I’m sorry. But my life is here.”
Ty wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and Cassidy leaned into his strength.
“I w
as afraid you’d say that,” her mom said. “I’m … I’m disappointed.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. But that isn’t the life for me.”
“It could be! Please. Reconsider.”
But there was no way Cassidy could go back.
Her mom went on to say there would be a press conference in four hours to tell people what had happened to Cassidy’s father. They expected stock in the company to drop. The way her mom talked, the company would never recover.
But Apple had remained strong after Steve Jobs died. Alpha Tech would find the right leader. It would just take time. And that leader wasn’t Cassidy. She was still struggling to find her footing and manage a small police department.
With her father’s company? The world would be watching. Investors would be watching.
It wasn’t the life she wanted for herself.
That company … it might be her Gilead. Her pressure point. The thing that pushed her to be and do things she didn’t want.
No, Cassidy was her own person and had to make her own choices.
An invisible weight pressed on her as she hung up.
Ty kissed her forehead. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She stared out over the house still, her soul feeling restless. “I just have to figure out what to do now.”
Who was Anthony Gilead really? What exactly was he planning? Was he connected to Ty’s past somehow? And what about the bone Carter Denver’s dog had found?
The questions still swirled in her head. She may have wrapped up one mystery, but she still wasn’t at peace.
“This town needs you, Cassidy,” Ty said. “And so do I.”
Cassidy didn’t want to let anyone down. But . . . “Anthony Gilead . . . Gilead’s Cove . . . they’re both different than DH-7. Sometimes I feel out of my element. I’m not sure how to protect Lantern Beach from these people. That scares me.”
“You just wait for them to mess up.”
That was right. Because they would mess up. And when they did, Cassidy would be there to catch them.
Coming in February: Attempt to Locate
On the Lookout Page 17