Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Box Set

by Willow Rose

  Reading through all the articles, Matt suddenly saw many parallels to the NYX cult and its leader, Christopher Daniels. They too promised their followers a more meaningful life and gained tens of thousands of followers in its peak. Their leader was even invited to speak at universities.

  Matt quickly figured it couldn’t be a coincidence that Lori Moore was killed after criticizing them in her blog. She was a defector. She was dangerous to them. She might have known details about the attacks or their plans, and that was why they got rid of her.

  But what was their aim? A new world order?

  The Japanese cult leader, Shoko Asahara never explained any motive for the attacks, and the media was left to guess why a man like him would do something like this. Maybe there was no reason at all, some wrote, while others speculated that the followers of the cult believed that the end of the world was coming, that another world war was about to begin, and only the cult’s members would survive.

  Was this the same madness?

  Matt wondered about it while turning off his computer and getting ready to leave the station. As he walked out of the building, he felt a small beat of hope. If only he could prove that NYX was behind the murder of Lori Moore, then there was still hope for Eva Rae.

  Chapter 69

  I had dozed off when I woke up to the sound of someone outside the door, trying to get in. I opened my eyes with a deep gasp, then rose to my feet.

  More scrambling behind the door followed.

  I prepared myself for it being Christopher Daniels or one of his goons coming to finish me off. They had no use for me, and no one knew I had ever been here except for Sydney who thought I had left. No one would come looking for me here, and they could just tell Sydney that I had disappeared while trying to find my daughter.

  It was the easiest thing in the world, and they would get away with it in a heartbeat.

  I scanned the cottage for any type of weapon I could use to defend myself, but I knew there was nothing in here. I had searched every corner for anything to help me break out.

  All I had were my fists and my will to live.

  The door squeaked open, and I lifted both my fists in the air, ready to go down fighting when a face peeked inside and signaled for me to be quiet. I almost cried.

  “Sydney?”

  She shushed me, and I let my fists come down as she sneaked inside. “I stole the key from Christopher’s office earlier. I pretended to want to get closer to him and asked to have a personal meeting with him. He said he wants me to join the inner circle and that I will need to come in and have another meeting with him. He then kissed me, and I let him because I wanted him to believe I was all in, that I want to go to the next level, but the fact was, I knew something was off the moment I saw your note. There was no way you’d ever leave me like that. Not after all we had been through. It had to be fake. I remembered that you told me about the woman they kept in the cottage by the end of the property line and thought I’d check it out. While Christopher kissed me, I spotted the keys he had in a cabinet behind his desk. I also saw your purse in there and knew I was right about you still being here. As soon as everyone went to sleep, I snuck back there and found both the keys and your purse.”

  I stared at my sister, mouth gaping. I had to admit I didn’t think she’d ever pull off anything like that.

  She smiled. “I am so glad I did this.”

  “I…I’m so sorry you had to kiss that charlatan,” I said.

  Sydney chuckled. “That’s nothing. I am an actress, remember? I kiss nasty guys all the time and pretend to be in love with them. It’s what I do.”

  “I…I don’t know how to thank you,” I said.

  She looked me in the eyes. “You get out of here, and you find Olivia. That is the best reward I can get.”

  “But what about you?” I asked. “I can’t leave you here. What will they do to you when they find out I’m gone?”

  “You have to. It needs to look like I had nothing to do with it. Besides, my face is too well known out there, and I will get us arrested if I try to run with you. You’re better off without me. For now, at least.”

  “But…?”

  Sydney shook her head. “She’s out there somewhere, Eva Rae. Don’t think of me. I’ll be fine. This is what we came down here for. Go get your daughter and bring her home.”

  Chapter 70

  She had fallen asleep. She never meant to; she really tried to stay awake, but no matter how much she fought her eyelids, they still ended up closing, and soon she was asleep under the bridge while the rain poured down.

  Olivia dreamt about her family. She was with them on the beach, and her dad was there too. She was young, only seven or eight, and Alex hadn’t been born yet. They were building a sandcastle together, and her mom was laughing.

  Olivia opened her eyes with a deep gasp. She could still hear her mother’s happy laughter, but there was also something else. The sound of a car — then the tires screeching as it stopped.

  Olivia spotted the blue van as it opened its doors, and two men jumped out. One of them pointed at her and then they began to run.

  Olivia rose to her feet, her heart hammering in her chest. She stared at the men running toward her, then took off running. She climbed up the slanted side.

  On the plateau above, she found around twenty tents. Someone she had been sitting with below had warned her that those were the sex offenders who had no other place to go after being released from jail. He also told her to stay far away from them.

  One of them was awake and looked at her. He had blankets and lots of plastic bags, even a rug, and a TV. He gave her an indifferent look as she stormed past him. Hearing the men gaining on her, she ran to the end and climbed the grass area and came to a road above. She jumped over the railing, then ran down the road, her perpetrators coming up right behind her. Olivia sobbed, pushing herself forward, tears forcing their way through her chest and into her throat. Cars passed her on the road, but most didn’t see her because of the darkness. One saw her too late and honked loudly. Olivia screamed as she saw the men gaining on her and could hear their footsteps on the asphalt behind her.

  Olivia panted agitatedly and turned left down a smaller street. Soon, she was surrounded by brick buildings and not a streetlight was in sight. Olivia didn’t know if that was bad, or maybe it would work to her advantage. Maybe the perpetrators gave up when they couldn’t see her anymore.

  Unfortunately, she had no such luck. As she turned to look, she spotted them coming up right behind her, and she knew they would soon catch up to her. Quickly, she glanced around her and saw nothing but old flat-roofed buildings. A sign above her said Welcome to Historic Overtown.

  Olivia had learned about this neighborhood and knew it wasn’t somewhere you’d want to be walking through alone at night. She looked behind herself, then realized the men were gaining in on her. She continued ahead, then as she ran past an open door leading into a courtyard, a set of arms reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her inside. Olivia started to scream, but as she looked into the face of the one who had grabbed her and saw the black lipstick, she immediately stopped.

  “Emma?”

  Emma shushed her when the men stopped right outside of her door. Emma then used her fingers to whistle and running out came five big black guys with clubs in their hands. One of them swung his club at one of the men and hit him straight on the shoulder. The man screamed and backed up, and soon both of them were gone, running down the street.

  Chapter 71

  Emma signaled for Olivia to follow her inside, where she sat down on a chair with ripped fabric.

  “Welcome to my home,” Emma said. “Can I get you something to drink? You look hungry; are you hungry?”

  Olivia felt bad for asking Emma for anything since it didn’t look like she had much but still nodded. She was starving and couldn’t remember when she last ate.

  “We have some leftover rice,” Emma said and heated it in the microwave for Olivia. Olivia threw
herself at it and ate it all down to the last grain.

  “Thanks,” she said when she was finally calming down and the adrenalin beginning to wear off.

  “Who were those guys?” Olivia asked.

  “My brother and his friends,” Emma said. “We live here with my grandmother. My parents were both killed back in Haiti. We have to be quiet, so we won’t wake her. My grandmother cleans houses for rich people. She has to get up really early.”

  “How do you afford your school?” Olivia asked, drinking the water Emma had served her.

  “I got lucky. I got a scholarship. My brother isn’t so lucky, and I worry about the friends he hangs out with. Lucky for you, I was out here tonight. My grandmother always throws us out when she goes to bed because she needs the house to be quiet. Normally, I’ll go to bed with her, but I don’t have to get up early tomorrow. School’s out for the rest of the week at least because of what happened, so we were just hanging out when I saw you running down the street.”

  “That was my luck,” Olivia said and looked at the plate, wishing there was more rice.

  “You can sleep with me tonight,” Emma said and grabbed her plate. “Tomorrow, I can take you to a shelter. They have food and a bed for you there. My Grams is going to kill me if she finds you here.”

  “Can I borrow your phone again? I need to call my mom,” Olivia said with a sniffle.

  Emma nodded and handed it to her from her pocket. Olivia fumbled with it nervously, then dialed her mother’s number. She couldn’t wait to hear her voice and speak to her again. It almost brought tears to her eyes.

  One ring, two rings went by.

  Come on, Mom. Pick up. Come on.

  It went to voicemail, and Olivia looked at the screen of Emma’s phone, then tried once more.

  Voicemail again.

  Shoot!

  Olivia tried to remember her sister’s number but couldn’t get the last two numbers right. Maybe she was too tired. Besides, Christine would most definitely be asleep by now. Her phone would be turned off. And she didn’t remember her dad’s cell phone number, nor her grandmother’s.

  Emma looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight.

  “Maybe your mom is sleeping,” she said. “You can try again in the morning.”

  Olivia nodded disappointedly. “Okay. Or maybe I should just turn myself in to the police.”

  Emma turned to look at her. “You can’t do that. They’re searching for everyone involved in the attack. They’ll take you to prison, Olivia.”

  “But… what I did was terrible,” she said heavily. She was thinking about all those people on the train and at the church. There had been so many of them, so many faces. “Maybe I deserve to go to jail.”

  “No. It’ll kill you,” Emma said. “My brother’s best friend went in, and once he came back, he was never the same guy again. Now, he’s one of those crackheads you see lying in the streets, constantly looking for that same high they got the first time they shot up. You don’t want that life, Olivia. The police aren’t going to help you down here. They aren’t your friends. You can’t trust them.”

  Olivia didn’t understand. She had never met anyone who feared the police before. It was so different from what she had known all her life. “But… but my mom is part of the police? I trust her.”

  “Do as you wish,” Emma said, throwing out her arms. “I’m just trying to warn you. Now, let’s get some sleep before Grams wakes up and throws you out.”

  Chapter 72

  “What’s going on?”

  It was the next morning, and Matt had come in a little later, missing the morning briefing. He was holding a Starbucks coffee in his hand when he saw Carter coming toward him, face red in agitation.

  “They raided the NYX headquarters this morning. A judge gave the warrant in the early morning hours,” Carter said. “We need to go. Might wanna finish that coffee in a jiff or bring it with you. We’re going out there.”

  “Why?” Matt asked.

  “They found something that is of interest to us.”

  Matt followed Carter as they walked out to the cruisers in the back, and he got in. Matt took the passenger seat, coffee still in his hand.

  “What did they find?” he said.

  Carter took off and drove into the street in front of the Miami-Dade Police Department, tires screeching on the asphalt, putting on the siren. Matt held on for dear life while Carter rushed through downtown toward Coconut Grove. Carter wasn’t exactly a good driver, and Matt preferred to be the one behind the wheel.

  “Kelly Stone,” he said. “She was found in one of the cottages.”

  Matt almost spat out his coffee. “Eva Rae Thomas’s sister?”

  Carter nodded. “They knew we were searching for her in connection with the murder of Lori Moore, so they called me. They’re taking everyone in for questioning, but she’ll be ours.”

  Matt leaned back in the seat as Miami rushed by his windows. Arresting Kelly Stone would definitely be all over the news and put a dent in her career.

  “But we don’t have anything that places her at the scene of the murder of Lori Moore,” he concluded. “So, technically, we can’t charge her with anything. We don’t have any evidence placing her anywhere near any crime.”

  “True,” Carter said. “But she doesn’t know that. We just need to put enough pressure on her for her to give up her sister. It’s her sister we want.”

  Matt felt his heart drop as they reached Coconut Grove and drove toward the blinking blue and red lights. Patrol cars had blocked the entrance. There was already a crowd outside, and a lot of TV crews. Three news choppers circled the area from above.

  This was going to become a huge story.

  “Lori Moore was a member of the cult too,” Matt said as Carter parked the cruiser.

  Carter looked at him.

  “Defected a year ago. She wrote some pretty nasty articles about the cult afterward on her blog, and they tried to have her shut down, but without luck.”

  They both got out of the car, and walked up the driveway, showed their badges to the officer at the entrance, then continued underneath the crime scene tape.

  “It doesn’t add up,” Matt said. “Why would Eva Rae Thomas murder Lori Moore? She barely knew her.”

  Carter stopped in his tracks. “And how do you know that? If her sister was a member of this cult, chances are Eva Rae was too. I think she plays an even bigger role in this than what we have thought up until now. And I intend to prove it.”

  He nodded toward a Mustang parked in the driveway. The forensic team was all over it, taking samples and removing seats. Matt knew that Stang very well. It was the same that the hotel personnel at the Ritz-Carlton had shown them on the surveillance cameras from their parking lot. It was the one Eva Rae and Sydney had been driving while in Miami. If her sister was still here, then Eva Rae had to be somewhere close.

  Chapter 73

  I entered a small food mart and bought myself a hotdog, then ate it while still in there, enjoying the AC. Sydney had given me my purse with my gun back, along with a handful of cash to help me get by after I left the headquarters. We hugged each other and cried a little when realizing we had no idea when we would ever see one another again, but secretly praying that everything ended well for us.

  Even though we both knew deep down that things weren’t exactly shaping that way.

  As I ate the hotdog, I watched several police cars rush by the windows, and I even heard a chopper. I walked back outside, realizing something big was going on. I had spent the night sleeping on a bench at a bus stop and felt exhausted still. I didn’t dare check into a motel or even a shelter in case anyone turned me in.

  I felt my gun strapped to my ankle and felt certain there was no one who could stop me now. Head bowed and my cap on my head, I rushed in the opposite direction of the patrol cars, then got on a bus and rode it to downtown. I got off close to Our Savior’s Catholic School, where the attack had taken place the day before, and I
approached it cautiously. I kept my distance since there were still several patrol cars present, and a crime scene unit with forensics was working the scene.

  I didn’t really know what I expected to find since I knew my daughter would no longer be here. But I just needed to go to the place where I knew she had been last.

  Where are you now, baby girl?

  Had she been taken in by the police? Had they arrested her? It was very likely.

  I pulled away from the area, then jumped on another bus taking me a couple of stops and got out by the Miami Police Department’s big building on Second Avenue. As the bus left, I stared at the building, my heart beating fast in my chest.

  Was my girl in there somewhere? And if so, then how on Earth would I get to her?

  I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure I dared to follow through with it.

  After minutes of contemplating it, going through it in my mind over and over again, I realized that I couldn’t risk not to do it.

  It was time to get radical.

  Chapter 74

  She had never thought she’d find herself standing in line for a soup kitchen. Olivia tried to blend in while among the homeless men, women, and even families surrounding her. She peered down at her Converse and the shirt and ripped jeans that Emma had given her and thought that if she just kept her head down and her back slumped, then she wasn’t doing too miserably. She actually looked like a homeless person.

  Olivia had tried again that morning to call her mother’s number, right when standing outside the soup kitchen where Emma dropped her off. But once again, she received nothing but the voicemail. Olivia had left a message, telling her that she would be at the soup kitchen and to come find her there. She had then hugged Emma and thanked her for taking care of her and for saving her life, then gotten herself in line. She was starving, and Emma didn’t have any food at her house that she could spare. Plus, her grandmother couldn’t know that Olivia had spent the night there.