by Lori Ryan
It helped a little. And while she showered, she got an idea. Back in front of her computer twenty minutes later, she googled the church and looked for people who had left it. People who might have a story to tell, who might be able to give her some insight into what was really happening behind those doors.
She found a woman in Nevada who blogged about women’s rights and political activism, but also mentioned her mother had left the church when she was a young girl. The woman’s mother had died four years ago, but she could see what the woman remembered.
Eve got the woman’s number and picked up the phone to dial.
“Shelly Stamp?” Eve asked and then identified herself and explained why she was calling, that she was looking for information on the church.
“I don’t know how much I can tell you. I was only three when my mom got us out of there, so I don’t remember anything.”
“Did your mom tell you about the church? Is there anything she might have talked about that could give us some idea of what’s happening in the compound?”
That’s how Eve had started to think about it. It was a compound. They were walled in and protective, as much as they tried to pretend otherwise. Any information they’d given her had been on the surface level only. And her gut said it was all a façade.
The woman paused, then offered, “She was afraid of them, I can tell you that much. It’s why she moved us away from there. She didn’t talk about them much but sometimes she would mention how it was normal until the 1980s. Then it started getting really strict and strange. The women in the church had always been subservient to the men, but they started things like a bleeding house where women went when they menstruated. They were seen as dirty.”
Eve could hear the bite in the woman’s tone. It’s no wonder she was an advocate for women’s rights.
“My mom thought there might have been wife sharing going on, but she wasn’t sure. It was enough for her to leave, though.”
Eve scribbled notes as the woman talked. “Can you think of anything else? Anyone in particular she mentioned?”
“She talked once about the reverend’s wife. Grace or Faith or something like that. All the women went into confinement when they were pregnant. They went into it for like the last four weeks or something, like being pregnant was some shameful thing like with the bleeding house. But the reverend’s wife took it to the extreme. She went into confinement for almost her entire pregnancy every time she had a kid.”
“Do you know of anyone else who left the church who might be able to talk with me?” Eve asked.
“A woman reached out to me once. She said she’d left and was looking for other people from the church to talk to. Honestly, I didn’t reply to her email. I knew my mom wouldn’t have wanted to relive what she saw happening there and I didn’t have anything to say to the woman. I mean, I wasn’t really a part of it, you know?”
Eve didn’t answer the question directly. “Do you still have the email from her? Could you reach out to her and get her my contact information? I really need to try to get as much information as possible.”
She didn’t say that she thought the church was involved in a missing persons case. She was treading on dangerous ground with the mayor trying to pull her off the case and her ignoring him.
Eve gave the woman her contact information to pass along to the other church member and ended the call.
She stared down at her notes. Bleeding houses and confinement? What the hell century were they living in at the church.
The phone call had confirmed Eve’s suspicions. What she’d been allowed to see over there, what the public was allowed to see, was nothing like what was happening behind that fence. Nothing at all.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Eve got the invitation from Kemal but Glenn seemed to know she was coming when she showed up for dinner.
“Antoine, take Eve’s coat for her,” he said over his shoulder to the young boy who stood behind him.
“Hello, Antoine,” Eve said, handing over her coat. She had secured her firearm in her trunk and removed her shoulder holster. Now she probably looked like anyone in a suit instead of the cop she was.
“Ma’am,” he said as he took her coat and ran off with it.
“Kemal’s stopping by the community center when he finishes with work, but he’ll be back soon. Get you a drink?” Glenn moved into the house and Eve followed.
Antoine came through the living room as she and Glenn were walking back to the kitchen. He flopped onto the couch on his stomach, reaching for the remote.
“Uh-uh, little man. We have company. Come in the kitchen and help with the cooking.”
If Antoine grumbled about it, she didn’t hear it. Within minutes, Antoine had been put to work. He seemed to know his way around the kitchen as well as his grandfather did. Eve was impressed.
“Eve, will you grab the chicken out of the oven. I set it in there to keep it warm earlier.”
“I need to come here more often. I usually open a can of tuna for dinner.” When she pulled open the oven, the smell of fried chicken hit her full force.
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Kemal said, walking into the room with a smile. He was in a suit, tie hanging loose around his neck and his eyes flashed as he winked at her.
“Wash up first, son,” Glenn said pointing to the door and Eve couldn’t help but grin at the way Glenn still bossed his full-grown son like he was ten.
Kemal winked at her, stole a roll from the basket on the counter, earning a look from his dad, before heading out the door. She heard his heavy steps on the stairs and heard a door shut upstairs.
And then damn if she wasn’t thinking about him stripping out of his clothes. Hell, she put the chicken down on a trivet and then turned back to the oven and took a little longer than needed to push the rack back in and close it. She was really working on cooling herself down and clearing the images of a very naked Kemal out of her head.
“Antoine, see what Ms. Eve wants to drink.”
Eve turned and found Antoine behind her waiting for her drink order with a pad and pencil like a waiter.
She couldn’t stop her laugh, even though it brought a scowl to his face.
“Sorry,” she offered. “I just didn’t know I was going to be waited on.” She went and sat at the table on the other side of the kitchen. “It’s kind of nice.”
Now Antoine grinned at her so she played along. “What are my choices?”
He looked up, squinting at the ceiling. “Water, milk…” He turned to Glenn and stage whispered. “What else we got, Pops?”
The skin around Glenn’s eyes crinkled in smile. “What else do we have?”
“I just asked you that.”
Eve had to push her hand to her mouth to stifle the laugh at that one as Glenn rolled his eyes. Kemal came in and took in the scene before carrying the plated chicken and rolls to the dinner table.
She was glad to see Antoine looked happy with them. It had to be hard knowing his mom was in rehab. She wondered if he saw his dad in prison or how long he’d known him before his arrest.
Glenn shook his head at Antoine. “We have beer or orange juice.”
Antoine turned back with his pad and pencil. “Ma’am, we have water, milk, beer, or juice, although I’m going to need to see some ID for that beer.”
Eve just about lost it at that one, but fished out her wallet and ID. “I’ll do the beer, please.”
Lord, she could use it.
Antoine made a show of studying her license before handing it back, but Kemal intercepted it and looked at the picture.
“All buttoned up,” he said.
She looked at the picture when he handed it back. She’d gone after work one day to get it and hadn’t taken her hair down. He was right. It was tucked up in her bun, the same way it was now.
Kemal leaned over, whispering in her ear. “I like unbuttoning you. Making you lose that just-so look. Making you scream.”
She shushed him and glanced at Gle
nn and Antoine, feeling heat burn over her cheeks. They were busy with Glenn helping Antoine pull a beer free from a six pack for her, but she had a feeling Glenn hadn’t missed a bit of what was going on with her and Kemal.
“Behave,” she hissed.
Kemal shook his head, eyes flashing and smile firmly in place. “Now, why would I want to do that?”
Why, indeed, she thought?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Eve wasn’t sure how they ended up in bed later. She’d left his house after dinner, very much alone. One minute, she was getting ready to shower and go to bed and the next, Kemal was at her place helping her with that shower.
And this time, he’d spent the night. She was late now, which wasn’t a shock given the added time they’d taken in getting out of bed. Still, she had to admit, she liked the seemingly permanent smile that she wore as she locked her car.
But damn, it turned to a flush of embarrassment when she saw Sevier and Cantu grinning at her as they walked to their own unit two spots over. How the hell had they read what she’d been thinking about on her face?
Oh who was she kidding. Those men had their fair share of interpreting a woman’s expression. She just wasn’t used to being looked at as a woman. She was their captain. She shook her head at her men and headed around the building toward the front steps.
Her mortification deepened when she saw Glenn was sitting on the bench outside the entrance to the building. She was sure if Glenn realized Kemal hadn’t come home the night before, he would put two and two together and guess he’d spent the night with her. Not that it should matter. They were consenting adults.
Still, would Glenn tell her he didn’t approve? That he didn’t think it was a good idea for her to date his son?
She waited for him to look up at her approach but he didn’t, and a slow sensation of unease washed over her.
“Glenn,” Eve called out as she came close.
He did raise his head then, and his skin had taken on a gray pallor. He looked horrible. His hand clutched at his chest and Eve moved into action, waving down an officer who was coming out of the building and instructing him to call for an ambulance.
She sat next to Glenn and took his wrist in her hand, feeling for his pulse even as she knew her own heart rate had kicked into high gear. This couldn’t be happening. Not now when he seemed to be doing so well with getting himself out of the house. He seemed like maybe he was getting back into life again. This couldn’t be happening now.
“Don’t feel so good,” he said and the words were a hell of a lot weaker than she’d have liked.
Eve put her hand to his chest, fighting the panic rising up in her. She was trained for this but it was so much harder to stay calm in an emergency when it was your own loved ones involved. “Does it hurt? Can you show me where the pain is, Glenn?”
He nodded and pointed directly over his heart.
Eve remembered from her training that a heart attack was usually associated with general, all over pain. It wasn’t typically something that could be pinpointed with a finger. She hoped that was a good sign, but she didn’t know for sure.
“They’re on their way, Captain,” the officer said and Eve knew he meant the EMTs. Thankfully, the fire department wasn’t far so the ambulance should be there soon.
Another officer came out of the building carrying one of the portable defibrillators but Eve shook her head and he settled nearby with it, waiting to see if they’d need it.
The next few minutes were some of the longest of Eve’s life. She held Glenn’s hand and talked to him, telling him the ambulance was on its way and that she’d call Kemal and follow behind him as soon as they got him loaded up. Her heart raced and she felt sick. Felt out of control because she couldn’t stop what was happening.
She’d lost her own dad to a heart attack six years ago. She didn’t want to lose Glenn. Didn’t want Kemal to have to go through that pain. Not after he’d lost his mom.
“Hurts like hell,” he wheezed out between what looked like painful breaths.
Eve loosened the tie Glenn was wearing and undid a few buttons on his shirt.
“Better?”
He gave a jerky nod.
“Kemal.”
Eve nodded. “I’ll call him. He’ll meet us at the hospital.”
And then the EMTs were there, moving in and taking over as Eve looked on, feeling helpless. She usually gained a sense of control at a scene by taking over and running things. It helped to get her through things when everything seemed out of control. But here, she was one of the helpless followers as the EMTs quickly triaged and then loaded Glenn into the ambulance.
Eve ran to her car, dialing Kemal as she did, knowing this was going to be one of the worst calls of her life. She had no information for Kemal other than to tell him where they were taking Glenn and to say she’d meet him there. There was nothing she could tell him to reassure him that his father would be okay, that everything would be okay.
There was nothing she could do to reassure herself of that either.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kemal’s eyes looked wild when he entered the waiting room. Eve moved to his side and put her arms around him. He hugged her briefly, but pulled back, his body stiff.
“Where is he? Have they said anything yet?”
Eve shook her head. “Nothing yet. They took him back for tests.”
She looked to Antoine who stood hovering behind Kemal, a look of utter despair on his small features. The boy looked younger than he was and Eve knew this had to be his worst nightmare. His life had been filled with upheaval. Glenn was one of the people the boy could count on to be there for him and now it looked like Glenn might be ripped out of his life.
Eve looked back to Kemal and found him watching her, his face a careful mask.
“Thank you, Eve. We’ll let you know when we get some news.”
Eve almost did a double take at that. “You’ll let me know?”
Kemal put a hand on Antoine’s shoulder and led him around Eve to the line of chairs against the wall.
“Kemal,” she said, but she didn’t get out more than that.
“We don’t need you here, Eve. Thank you for getting him here.”
The dismissal was clear but Eve wasn’t about to walk away.
“Kemal, let me help.” She wanted to say more. She wanted to say that she wanted to be there for him. For Glenn and for Antoine. But she could see he was shutting her out.
Her words made him turn and she stepped back at the anger that lit his eyes.
“You’ve helped enough, Eve. You were so damned sure you knew what was right for him. You didn’t think there was anyone who might know better. So you pulled him into your case and dragged him back to a job his body can’t handle anymore.”
He was shouting now and all Eve could do was stand there and let him get it out.
Kemal pointed toward the hallway behind them. “You had to do things your way and now he’s in the hospital! I don’t know if my dad is going to live or die. So I think you’ve helped all you’re going to, Eve. We don’t need you here.”
A uniformed security guard entered and took in the scene. “Is everything alright here, ma’am?”
Eve saw the anger in Kemal crank up and knew she needed to end this now before it escalated.
She met the guard’s eyes. “We’re fine, thank you.” She turned back to Kemal but didn’t say anything more. There wasn’t anything she could say.
She wanted to tell him she loved Glenn, too. That she wanted to stay as much for herself as she did for Kemal. That she was scared.
He’d already turned to Antoine, one arm around his nephew’s shoulders as they turned away from Eve. Eve felt the guard’s eyes on her as she turned and walked away.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Eve didn’t feel at all like going to work the next day, but she didn’t have a choice. Kemal had sent her a one-line text the night before letting her know Glenn hadn’t had a heart attack. It had been somethi
ng called Pericarditis likely caused by a viral infection.
Eve had called the hospital and talked to one of the ER nurses she knew to get the rundown on what that meant. Apparently the lining of the heart can become inflamed causing severe pain that can look like a heart attack to a lay person.
The diagnosis of viral infection likely meant they hadn’t been able to pinpoint an exact cause but her friend told her they would treat such a condition with an anti-inflammatory and monitor the patient. Eve planned to go to the hospital to see Glenn in a few hours. With any luck, she’d miss Kemal and wouldn’t have to fight her way into his father’s room.
Her heart ached at the reminder that Kemal didn’t want to see her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to care for him in the last weeks. What she’d thought would be nothing more than a fling had somehow become a lot more to her, even if it didn’t seem to have gone any further for him.
Still, she wasn’t willing to lose Glenn in her life, so she’d have to suck it up and see his son from time-to-time, even if it hurt like hell.
Eve tossed her empty coffee cup in the trash and clicked open her inbox, planning a quick scan before starting the unit’s roll call, the start of shift meeting for her department. One email caught her eye immediately.
It was from a former member of the church who had heard Eve was looking to talk to church members through the online blogger.
Eve sent a quick email back to the woman and then picked up her phone, planning to call Glenn. She wanted him with her on this interview since he’d been poring through the cases and knew Samantha Greer’s case better than any of the cops on her team right now.
It took only a second to realize her mistake. Her friend had assured her the Pericarditis wasn’t related to his consulting on cases for her, but she had to admit, she still wondered if she’d had something to do with this. If there wasn’t a hint of truth to Kemal’s theory. Maybe if she hadn’t pushed Glenn to work this case, he would have been able to fight the virus.