by Blake Pierce
“My partner is at the station with her right now to prevent that exact thing.”
“Thank you…”
She paused here, starting to get choked up.
“And you honestly have no idea who is killing these young women?” Mackenzie asked.
“No. It could be anyone. Marshall has many men beneath him that do his bidding. Bob Barton is one of them. And I would not put it past him to kill someone.”
“But he was occupied at the police station when Shanda was killed,” Amy said. “It’s not him.”
“I really have no idea. When I get back I can maybe do some digging. Try to have casual conversations with the men to find out where some of them have been lately…find out who has been off the Community grounds. That sort of thing.”
“That would be helpful,” Mackenzie said. “But again, we don’t have much time. I fear once my partner and I are pulled off of this, the case is going to peter out and be forgotten.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“That depends. Would you be willing to wear a wire?”
Lilith’s eyes grew wide for a moment. She chewed the idea over for a moment but ended up shaking her head. Mackenzie was not all that surprised, but it was still irritating.
“I can’t risk that,” Lilith said. “It’s just too dangerous. You have to understand. If I get found out, he’ll have me killed. And then there will be no one left to help these poor girls escape.”
“Okay, let’s try a second approach then,” Mackenzie said. “When we leave here, you come with us. Come back to the police station and tell them everything you know. After you tell it all, we can keep you safe. And if there’s enough in what you have to say, we can get the authority to raid the Community.”
“You don’t think I’ve thought of that before? That I haven’t fantasized about it, even? But do you know it comes down to in the end? It comes down to a middle-aged woman sounding angry and depressed because she made the choice to be involved in a group like that. It will be my word against almost everyone else’s in the Community. My life would be over, even if I did manage to pick up the pieces and live a normal life. And again, without any hard proof, that leaves all of those poor girls with no way to escape.”
“I don’t…”
Mackenzie stopped herself short before the entire comment came out of her mouth. She’d nearly said I don’t understand. But the hell of it was, she thought she did. These women were terrified. They’d been brought up in terror, had it drilled into them, and then were abused as a reinforcement of that terror. Of course they were afraid to go public. It was yet another tactic it seemed Marshall Cole had carefully planted in place.
These women were already risking so much just being here, meeting with one another with her in tow. As an agent, it was beyond frustrating to see their pain yet not have them helping as much as she would like. But as a woman and a mother, she fully understood it.
Still, it did not make the fact that she would be heading back to DC tomorrow without closing the case any easier.
“I’m very sorry,” Lilith said. “I have to go. If I’m not back in about an hour, someone might notice. And if Marshall arrives and he realizes I’m missing, he may ask more questions than usual.”
“I understand,” Mackenzie said. “But please, would you just think about it?”
Lilith only nodded as she fought back tears. She rolled up her window and quickly backed out of the parking spot.
Amy was also stifling back sobs as she started the car again. She looked earnestly over to Mackenzie. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
“You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I need to apologize to you. Maybe an agent worth a damn would have been able to find the killer without relying on the help of traumatized women.”
“You did everything you could. But it’s like I’ve been saying this entire time: the Community is untouchable.”
Mackenzie had scoffed at the very notion of this yesterday. But now, as Amy pulled out and headed back toward Fellsburg, Mackenzie was starting to believe it herself.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Mackenzie was fine up until the moment she walked back into the Fellsburg PD. Something about the lights or the busyness of the place made her realize just how tired she was. She went back to the office she and Ellington had been using and found it empty. Amy tagged along behind her like a beaten puppy.
“Agent White? You think it would be okay if I went back to that holding cell? I’d really like some sleep.”
Same here, girl, she thought.
“Sure. First, let’s find Agent Ellington and Jane D—I mean, Ruth.”
“You know…I really had no clue she was his daughter. And Lilith never told me, either. I guess she thought it would put more pressure on me to make sure she made it through alive.”
“It’s okay,” Mackenzie said. “This whole thing is screwed.”
They found Ellington and Ruth in the back of the building. Ruth was doing exactly what Amy wanted to do and what Mackenzie planned to do as soon as she could. She was sleeping on the same cot Amy had used last night. Ellington was sitting on a chair, speaking in quiet tones with Burke.
“Everything okay?” Mackenzie asked.
“Yeah,” Ellington said. “But we may have some bad news.”
“What’s that?”
“The officer that took Cole back to the Community…we had him sort of wait things out. We asked him to stay parked at the end of that road and wait to see what happened. He called us twenty minutes ago. Marshall Cole just left the Community.”
“Lilith…” Amy said.
“Who?” Burke asked.
“The First Wife,” Mackenzie answered. “Amy can fill you in. Do we know where he’s going?”
“Common sense would say he’s coming back here for his so-called daughter,” Ellington answered, hitching a thumb to the holding cell behind him.
“He’s not wasting any time,” Mackenzie said. She sighed deeply and looked at Amy. “You understand that if she is indeed his daughter, we can’t keep her. We can file complaints with the state and try to get child protective services involved but that’s going to take several days to get passed, if not weeks.”
“So what do we do?”
Before anyone could answer, a panicked-looking officer came in through the single door that led to the holding cells. “Sheriff, just a heads-up: Marshall Cole just got here. He’s got a lawyer with him and a folder with some papers.”
Amy leaned against the bars of the holding cell, slapping at them. “Ruth…wake up. Come on, quickly.”
Ruth roused a bit. When her sleepy eyes fell on the FBI agents, they went wide. She sat up and took a moment to get her bearings straight. “What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Is he your father?” Amy asked.
“No! What?...I don’t understand.”
“Stop,” Amy said. “No lies. If he’s your father tell us now. He’s here and he’s going to take you back unless you say something to prevent it.”
Ruth looked trapped. The sadness that slowly crept into her face told them everything they needed to know, confirming Lilith’s side of the story.
“He is, isn’t he?” Mackenzie asked.
Weeping, Ruth nodded. “Yes. But he doesn’t even care. He has ten kids and only pays attention to the boys. The only time he…”
“What?” Ellington asked. “Tell us anything that might make him look bad and we can keep this up for a while. You can stay here and—”
“No. I can’t.”
“Why not?” Mackenzie asked, fishing for anything. “Tell us anything, and—”
“Chill, Mac,” Ellington said.
“What?”
“Just…trust me. Lay off and come out into the hall to talk with me for a s—”
The door was opened again. This time, a man in a suit came in ahead of an indignant Marshall Cole. He surveyed the room as if he were looking at ants and trying to figure out which one he’d
be stomping first.
Finally, his eyes settled on Ruth. A sneer crossed his face as he stormed toward the cell. “You have her locked up like some common criminal, I see! Get her out this moment.”
“She’s not locked in,” Burke said. “In fact, she asked to go in there to rest.”
“Yes,” Ellington said. “She was so tired from all the running. And do you know why she was running, Mr. Cole?”
“Watch your words carefully, Agent.”
“She was running from you,” Amy said.
“Nonsense.” He opened the cell door and stood aside to allow his daughter to come out. “Ruth, you can set this straight. Were you trying to run away from the Community?”
She didn’t answer at first, and Mackenzie dared to hope the girl was coming around—that she might help nail this asshole after all. But after about five seconds, she shook her head. He then motioned for her to come out and she did as instructed.
“What’s this?” Mackenzie asked, plucking the folder from the hands of the suited man.
“Proof of birth,” the lawyer said.
“Ah, but I thought birthdays weren’t celebrated at the community.”
“Births are,” Cole said. “But the tradition of observing birthdays is not. It is selfish and teaches entitlement.”
Mackenzie looked the documents over. From what she could tell, they were legit. It seemed the birth had occurred on the Community grounds but Ruth was then taken to a doctor at three days old for a check-up of sorts. Sure enough, Marshall Cole was listed as father, but the mother was listed only as Mother.
“So she bears your child but gets no mention on the records?” Mackenzie asked. “Man, you just hate women, huh?”
“Keep it up,” Cole said. “I beg you…go where you know you want to. By the way, shouldn’t the two of you be on the way home?”
Mackenzie felt Ellington gently tugging at her pinky. She looked to him and saw him give the slightest shake of the head. There was a steely look in his eyes, like he might be hiding something. She fought every instinct in her to fight what was happening and to trust her partner and husband instead.
Amy, however, showed no such restraint.
“Sheriff, you can’t let this happen! Ruth! Tell them! Tell them what goes on there!”
But Ruth’s head was lowered in shame and fear. When her father placed his arm around her shoulder, she cringed but said nothing.
Then, surprising everyone in the room, Amy took a striding step toward Cole and pummeled his back with her fists. “You let her go, you son of a bitch!”
Burke pulled her away, giving Cole a deadly look. Cole wheeled around on both of them with violence in his stare. But then he seemed to remember where he was and that his lawyer was in his company.
“You’ll be glad to know I am not pressing charges against you, Ms. Campbell.”
“Against me?” Amy screamed, incredulous. “What for?”
“For attempting to kidnap my daughter.”
“You’re insane,” Amy spat. “You’re a fucking maniac and I hope I get to watch you die one day.”
“Charming. I’m so glad my daughter won’t have to be around such influences.”
And with that, Cole, his lawyer, and Ruth left the holding cell area. The door clanged shut behind them and right away Amy turned to the FBI agents.
“How could you let that happen?” she roared.
Burke held up a finger, a motion that irritated Mackenzie. She looked to Ellington, who was watching Burke closely. Burke looked through the small glass window in the door for a moment before turning to them.
“We’re good,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” Ellington said, taking Mackenzie’s hands. “We just didn’t have time to tell you. About three minutes before you came in, we finished setting Ruth up with a wire. It took some convincing, but she agreed. And I couldn’t say anything in front of Amy because we were afraid Amy’s reaction might make her change her mind. I almost called to tell you, but I figured we’d stand a better chance getting her to go along with it if we made it seem like not that big of a deal.”
Mackenzie hated to feel out of the loop, but the small sense of victory that swept through her made it better.
“Wait,” Amy said. “So Ruth is wearing a wire? What exactly does that mean?”
“It means that anything Cole says around her, we’re going to hear it,” Burke said. He was opening the door and quickly ushering them all out into the station. Near the middle of the hallway, there was a single officer standing with another door already opened. He was a tall and young-looking man who looked both excited and dutiful as Burke led them into the room.
“Agents, this is our communications specialist and sometimes-IT guy, Officer Stevens.”
“We’re already up and running,” Stevens said. “They’ve been in the car for about fifteen seconds.”
The room was built to be a large office, but the only furniture was a small standing desk in the back corner and a large conference-style table against the opposite wall. It was here that the communications systems was set up. It was rather simple, actually; a laptop, some sort of AV box Mackenzie was not familiar with, and a small receiver showing a series of digital numbers and waves indicating the pitch and tone of the audio.
Stevens went to the AV box and adjusted the volume. He set aside a pair of headphones he had apparently been wearing to get the set-up running.
When Cole’s voice came to them, it was soft and almost apologetic. “…and I know there are things you may not understand about why we live our lives the way we do,” he was saying. “We can talk about that, you know. If you want I can let you speak with Lilith. I know some of the other girls have found her helpful.”
Amy let out a little gasp as she heard Cole mention the name of her insider. Mackenzie found it unsettling, too. It made her wonder just how much Cole knew about how Lilith was helping.
“I know it might be hard to hear,” Mackenzie told Amy. “But even the slightest hint that he knows about the killings, and we not only find the killer, but we bring Marshall Cole down, too.”
Amy nodded her understanding and leaned against the wall, listening. But other than the quiet and muffled sniffs and sobs from Ruth, there was no noise within the car. Mackenzie tried to imagine what it must be like within the car in that moment—Ruth, scared of her father and probably all kinds of paranoid because she was wearing the wire. And then there was Marshall Cole, thinking he had won.
“Amy, look…I think you being here is only going to make it more stressful on you,” Ellington said. “Maybe you should go home and get some sleep.”
“He’s right,” Mackenzie said. “But I swear, we’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything.”
She gave them both a perplexed look. “Are you crazy? You got Cole and you got Burton, but the killer was never caught. And he killed Shanda…and that means he knows where I live. There’s no way I’m going back home until the killer has been caught.”
Mackenzie wanted to argue against this and tell her they’d post an officer by her house. But she knew Amy had a point; she’d never be able to properly rest anywhere, let alone the house her friend had been killed in, until the killer was caught.
“That’s fine, then,” Burke said. “You’re welcome to the cot in the holding cell.”
Amy nodded to the audio equipment, still picking up nothing more than the hum of Cole’s vehicle and the occasional sniffle from Ruth.
As they listened to the silence, a thought slowly occurred to Mackenzie. It was based on the brief exchange they’d just shared with Amy. They had known ever since Shanda’s murder that neither Cole not Barton was the killer. However, whoever had been directing it all seemed to have known when and where the girls were meeting. She had assumed, after learning about Lilith, that someone must have been on to her.
But what if it was simpler than that? After all, it seemed the killer (or the one directing the killing) knew every detail—even where Amy lived.
Had they all been so absolutely blinded by their distaste for Marshall Cole that every single one of them had looked past what might be the most sensible answer?
What if Bob Burton had been sent to distract them? What if his appearance at the scene of Ruth’s rescue had been a distraction so the real killer could make it to Amy’s house to kill Shanda and, presumably, Amy if she had been there?
The silence was broken as Cole spoke up again. “You’ll be okay,” he said. “You’ll see. Soon enough, you will be free of the doubts and fear that caused you to stray. We’re almost home.”
The comment was chilling. And it seemed to push Mackenzie’s growing theory along a bit faster.
“Sheriff Burke, Officer Stevens, can you stay here with Amy?”
“Of course,” Burke said. “Why? Where are you going?”
She looked to Ellington and said: “I know who the killer is. And if that comment Cole just made is any indication, I don’t think we have much time.”
“Then I guess we’d better haul ass then,” Ellington said.
As they made their way out the door, Mackenzie heard one last comment from Cole come through the wire.
“And here we are, my love. Home sweet home, right?”
His daughter responded with a little moan that pushed Mackenzie straight out of the room.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Having shared her theory with Ellington while she sped north, she was certain she was right. Sometimes it took speaking something out to loud to understand just how much weight it carried. And although Ellington seemed skeptical at first, understanding dawned in his eyes as she neared the end of it.
“If you’re right, that means…”
“It means I was blinded by an absolute hatred of Marshall Cole. And I think he planned on it. I think he’s been using little set-ups like this ever since the Community started. He can hide behind his religious freedom, but deep down he’s a master manipulator, too.”
“I want to catch the killer as badly as you do,” Ellington said. “But I have to admit, there’s a little part of me that hopes you’re wrong about this.”