Deadly Deception (SCVC Taskforce)

by Evans, Misty

  Jacob did know about Kristine. “He needs to stay on his goddamn meds. I thought you were taking care of that.”

  “I am, I am.” The soft sounds of Melanie moving around the office filtered through the door. “Oh, my, you’re so tense. Why don’t you take off your shirt and let me rub this new lavender and eucalyptus lotion Belinda made into your shoulders? Here…” More shifting around. “Smell it. Isn’t it divine? We want to introduce a whole line of this scent for the holidays. To combat holiday stress and all.”

  Jacob didn’t reply. At least not verbally. But he must have grabbed Melanie…she giggled, then sighed. A moment later, she moaned.

  Uh, yeah. So don’t need to hear this.

  Anita was right. There was more going on between these two than Ronni had been led to believe.

  One of the nail techs emerged from the storage room door behind Ronni, carrying a plastic container of nail polishes and talking on her cell phone. She was speaking Chinese and completely ignored Ronni as she passed her in the hall.

  Storage room. Now or never.

  Checking that the coast was clear, Ronni tiptoed down the tiled hallway and slipped inside.

  The room was little more than an oversized closet. One wall had shelves filled with various supplies. Another held a small inventory of organic products from the farm—essential oils and lotions Melanie sold in the shop.

  In the far corner sat a mop bucket and janitorial items next to an old washer and dryer set. The dryer was running, a load of towels spinning manically.

  Ronni quickly worked her way around the room, looking for hidden doors or a safe.

  Nothing.

  Hands on her hips, she stared sullenly at the towels flipping around. Her gaze traveled upward. A drop ceiling. Perfect place to hide small stuff without much weight, but not guns and teargas grenades. Should check it anyway…

  The door banged open behind her and she swung around. Tried not to visibly gulp.

  Jacob stood in the doorway, a murderous scowl on his face, and Melanie looking over his shoulder.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” Jacob demanded.

  He would have been scarier if the smell of lavender didn’t engulf him.

  The dryer chose that moment to finish, sounding a flat, annoying buzz that grated on Ronni’s tight nerves. “I was waiting for the towels to finish. One of the gals needed a few but she didn’t want to wait for them.” She sniffed the air. “What is that smell? Is that lavender?”

  Melanie beamed, brushing Jacob aside and heading for the dryer. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  For the next several minutes, Melanie and Ronni folded towels under Jacob’s solemn gaze. Melanie told Ronni all about the new stress relief products she and Belinda were working on.

  Melanie wrapped up her business afterwards, and Jacob followed them home to the farm. Disappointment at not finding any evidence at the salon ate at Ronni.

  Maybe there isn’t any evidence. Maybe my brother is not a criminal. Maybe Thomas and I should call it quits and go home now.

  Then what? She’d failed at this mission. Dupé wouldn’t offer her another.

  She’d been so sure Melanie was hiding the money, the drugs, or even the guns in the salon, but for whom? Jacob? Adam? Her conversation with Jacob hadn’t given Ronni any clues.

  Once home, Ronni followed Melanie up the front steps. Jacob wandered off toward the men’s quarters, throwing one last glare over his shoulder at Ronni. What had he caught Thomas doing? How was she going to get in touch with her partner tonight?

  I can’t call it quits. Not yet.

  “The part for the oven came!” Melanie lifted a box left by the front door. “I sure hope Thomas can fix it.”

  Ronni opened the door for Melanie and helped her bring the box inside. The damn stove might buy her a few more hours. “I’m sure he can work on it tomorrow.”

  “Why not tonight?”

  They headed for the kitchen. “I didn’t think you’d want him messing around in the kitchen, spreading parts and dirt everywhere, while we prepare dinner.”

  Melanie placed the box on the kitchen table, a small frown on her lips. “You’re probably right. It can wait until tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow. Thomas might not want to stay, but Ronni did. She’d take one more lap around the farm tonight, double check any place she could think of. She’d stay off Jacob’s radar the best she could and see if she could turn the tables on him. Shadow him and find out what he was up to.

  Come tomorrow, if she hadn’t heard or seen anything suspicious, she’d send Thomas on his way. But she was staying. There was something going on here, regardless of the lack of criminal enterprise, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to find out what it was.

  From the corner of her eye, Ronni saw Kristine’s daughter appear in the doorway. Melanie spotted her at the same time.

  “What are you doing in here, Paige?” Melanie asked her. “Where’s your momma?”

  The girl shrugged. “Adam locked himself inside the chapel, so we can’t have bible study and my daddy said it’s because he’s sinned and feels guilty. Is he in trouble with God now?”

  Ronni shot a look at Melanie. The woman gave the girl one of her charming fake smiles and hustled her toward the back door. “Of course not. God must be speaking to him, that’s all. You run along, now. I’m sure your daddy and the others are looking for you.”

  “Daddy’s looking for Jacob.”

  “If you hurry, you can catch Jacob headed for the men’s quarters and tell him.”

  The girl looked back at Ronni. “Momma won’t come out of her room.”

  Her sad, slightly confused countenance tugged at Ronni’s heart and her memories. “She’ll be all right, sweetie.”

  Liar. Why did adults always do that? Tell kids things would be all right when they wouldn’t be?

  Melanie waved the girl out the door and started putting things away, not meeting Ronni’s eyes.

  Ronni washed her hands in the sink and gathered plates for dinner. Looked like it might be a quiet one again. “Should we check on Adam?”

  “Jacob will take care of him.” She ducked her head in the refrigerator. “He’ll be fine.”

  Kids weren’t the only ones adults lied to. “What about Kristine?”

  “She’ll come down for dinner if she’s hungry.”

  Avoidance. Redirection. But was Melanie evading the truth for Ronni’s benefit or her own?

  “If it’s okay with you, I’ll make myself a snack and take it to my room tonight.” Ronni faked a yawn. “I’m going to turn in early.”

  Melanie’s head came up. True concern etched her features. “You do look tired. A little extra shut eye would do you good.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Ronni stood at her bedroom window, watching out through the lacey curtains. Her sandwich sat untouched on the nightstand. Jacob entered the house and she heard him climb the stairs, Melanie on his heels. From the sounds of it, they entered Adam’s bedroom, stayed inside for a minute, and left. Jacob exited the house and headed for the chapel, a bottled water in one hand.

  Melanie followed shortly after, taking the same path. Ronni ran down the stairs and followed her, sticking to the evening shadows.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Adam’s mind raced. Where are you, God? Why are you silent? Show me the way. Please, show me the way.

  He bowed his head. The wood of the dais bit into his knees where he knelt. The pulpit stood before him…a cross. My load to bear. My load to bear. My load to…

  “Adam?”

  Jacob’s voice was harsh, condescending.

  “Leave me be.”

  “You’ve been out here for hours. You haven’t eaten. You haven’t slept.” He held out a hand and a bottle of water. “I’ve brought you a pill. Take it.”

  “No.” He’d already taken a pill. It hadn’t worked. The demons were closing in. “God is punishing me.”

  “Adam, you’re l
osing your shit. We can’t afford that. Take the goddamn pill.”

  Anger shot from his burning knees up into his stomach. He jumped up, ignoring the fact his feet were asleep. “They’re hunting me. Don’t you understand? Me.” His finger shook as he pointed. “Not you. I’ve sinned. The flames are licking at my feet.”

  “No one is hunting you.” Jacob was a steel force. Unmovable. Impenetrable. “The FBI is, however, planting evidence against you. That’s why your sister is here. Not to investigate the farm, but to blackmail you.”

  A new anger surged. His entire body vibrated. “What?”

  “I warned you this would happen.”

  The FBI! Jacob! Kristine! They were all after him. All after him.

  My burden to bear. “Not my sister. She wouldn’t betray me.”

  “What is going on in here?” Melanie appeared and brushed past Jacob. She looked Adam over from head to foot and took the bottle of water from Jacob. Her brows creased in concern. “Adam, you’re sick.”

  She unscrewed the lid on the water, held it to his lips. “Drink this.” As he took a sip, the water a cool trickle down his parched throat, she stroked his hair, matted with sweat from his brow. “There, now. Isn’t that better?”

  Melanie was always there to take care of him. Not like Jacob who pushed and prodded and demanded he take his medicine when it did no good. She encouraged him to focus on his calling while she ran the farm.

  “God is silent.”

  Her face grew solemn. “You’ve sinned.”

  “What have I done?”

  Jacob handed her the pill. “You’ve allowed the enemy to enter our camp.”

  Melanie waved Jacob off, pushed the pill into Adam’s hand. “Perhaps impregnating Kristine has angered God.”

  Kristine. My burden to bear. “I didn’t.”

  “Of course, you did.” She stroked his hair. Her eyes were so lovely. Such a deep blue. “Don’t you remember? You saw her in a vision. She was the one.”

  “A vision?”

  “That’s what you said.”

  “I don’t remember. Maybe…” He’d only had visions a few times since he was young, but they’d always caused huge problems for him. Why can’t I tell the truth from the lies?

  My burden to bear.

  Please, God. Show me the truth!

  “Maybe the vision was untrue. Maybe Kristine angered God and I had a false vision about her to lead me astray.”

  Melanie continued stroking his hair. A new light entered her face. “Well, then, we can’t have that, can we? If Kristine has led you astray from God’s word, she’s a vice.” Melanie’s hand was soft and soothing on the back of his neck. “Perhaps she’s an agent of the devil!”

  Kristine, an agent of the devil? Leading him to sin, to be cut off from God? “That slut. That whore.” God had tested him and he’d failed. “Evict her from the house!”

  Melanie nodded, her thin lips lifting slightly. “Jacob will take care of it. Once she’s gone, I’m sure God will be happy again. He’ll send you a new vision.”

  Adam shoved her hand with the pill away. “No more. I can’t take any more.”

  “Shh. It’s okay. Jacob will take care of Kristine right now, won’t you, Jacob?”

  Jacob huffed. “What about the FBI? They’re our real problem.”

  Melanie gave Adam one last pat and whisked away from him. She took Jacob by the arm and propelled him toward the door. Adam wasn’t sure, but he thought she said, “One traitor at a time.”

  She turned back, waiting until Jacob left to say, “Don’t worry, Adam. Everything will work out fine, you’ll see. Stay here until I come to get you, okay?”

  Adam sunk to his knees and began to pray.

  Ronni waited until Melanie was out of sight. Jacob had left first, heading toward the men’s quarters. Melanie had come out seconds later, heading for the house.

  Adam remained in the chapel.

  A group of women who’d been in town selling products and taking orders at a local farmer’s market returned. Two groups who’d covered the sector farther north were still absent. The returning women carried empty baskets and wore tired smiles as they passed Ronni, casting glances at the chapel, but not stopping. Ronni snuck around back, tested the doorknob. Not locked. She opened it and went inside.

  Adam paced the platform, the loud thud-thud-thud of his shoes sounding dead and lifeless. The man, himself, looked weighed down. He was sweating, breathing hard. His eyes were red-ringed as though he’d been crying.

  “There is a Judas among us,” he said. His gaze was locked on the platform floor as he paced. “God is testing me.”

  Was he talking to her? She didn’t think he’d noticed her standing in the shadows. Maybe he was talking to himself. If she stayed quiet…

  He stopped, his gaze snapping up to meet hers. His pupils were dilated. “A Judas. Here. After all I’ve done for my flock, one has betrayed me.”

  A flashback of Daniel played in her memory. A man at the Wrightsville compound had “betrayed” Daniel, or so he’d believed. They’d had a falling out, and the man and his wife had left Mount Royal. “Who?”

  Adam turned, swayed on his feet, shuffled back across the platform. “Someone I trusted. Someone I cared for.”

  Melanie? Jacob?

  Her?

  “Everyone here loves you,” Ronni cajoled. “No one would betray your trust.”

  “Not true!” He rounded on her, pointing a finger at her face. “I opened my heart and loved them. Welcomed them into my home and offered them refuge here. And for that, they have betrayed me.” He clutched a handful of his shirt over his chest. “They’ve stuck a dagger in my heart!”

  Paranoia or truth?

  I welcome my enemies as well as my friends.

  Was this simply an episode brought on by his condition? Or was he calling out Thomas and her?

  A chill of fear slid down her spine. “What has this person done to betray you?”

  Tears leaked out the corners of his eyes. He lowered his finger, dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling. “I tried. Tried to forgive everyone. Tried to do what God asked.” He blew out a deep breath, walked to the pulpit and knelt, bowing his head. “Why have You forsaken me, oh Lord? Why?”

  She was losing him. There was no way to tell who the Judas was. Or if this was just a delusion caused by his disorder. “Tell me who betrayed you and I’ll take care of it.”

  He cried softly against the pulpit. “God will take care of her.”

  Her. Fear lodged in her throat, tight and hot. There were nearly seventy women at the farm. He could have been talking about any of them. Somehow she knew he wasn’t.

  “I would never betray you, Adam.”

  Her nose had to be growing from all the lies she was telling today. Lying to a perp was one thing. Lying to her little brother, another.

  Adam seemed to have tuned her out, rocking back and forth on his knees. “My burden to bear,” he whispered. “My burden to bear.”

  The big sister in her hated seeing him in such emotional pain, but there was nothing she could do.

  Find Thomas, her instincts warned. If Adam believed Ronni was the Judas in his midst, Jacob might be gunning for her and Thomas both.

  It was time to go, no matter how much she wanted to stay.

  “You can’t save them all,” Celina had once told her. Logically, Ronni accepted that. All agents did. But this time…

  The heat and humidity inside the chapel hit her like a freight train. She had to get out. Get some fresh air.

  She hustled for the door, ran outside. Bending at the waist, she drew in several unsteady breaths. She started for the house, stopped, and headed the other direction, not sure where to find Thomas, but needing to clear her head.

  The sun was low in the sky, throwing peach-colored rays over the fields. The honey house beckoned to the north. The orchard, quiet and peaceful, to the south. Emotions continued to rage unchecked inside her. Adam’s bipolar condition complicated t
hings, but she was still certain he was innocent. I have to save him. Again.

  First, she had to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid in his current state. Adam needed help. A psychiatric hospital where they would stabilize him and keep him from harming himself or someone else until they got him stabilized on his meds. After she brought her partner up to date about everything she’d learned that day, she’d use the house phone and make a few calls to get Adam help.

  Ronni had just taken a step toward the men’s quarters when a scream from the house echoed over the farm. As she ran in that direction, others emerged from various places, shouting questions and following her. “What is it?” they asked.

  She shook her head, kept going. Once there, she found Melanie on the front porch, sobbing.

  “Kristine…” She gulped, pointing behind her as Ronni climbed the front steps. “Kristine is…is dead.”

  Shocked murmurs rippled through the gathering crowd. Jacob came up behind Ronni. “What are you talking about, Melanie?”

  Her frantic eyes went to him, and her hands shook as she smoothed the skirt of her dress. “She’s dead. In her room. There’s blood…everywhere. I think she’s been shot.”

  Goose flesh rose on Ronni’s arms. As Jacob told the crowd to stay back and ushered Melanie inside, Ronni looked over her shoulder. Thomas stood at the back of the group.

  Kristine. Dead.

  Why didn’t I hear a gun shot?

  Immediately, Ronni looked for Lance in the faces surrounding the porch, he was absent.

  The two people she trusted least on the farm were alone with the body, Adam was losing his grip on reality, and Lance had disappeared.

  She motioned at Thomas. He pushed through the crowd, climbed the stairs, and nodded at her. Together, they went inside.

  Chapter Thirty

  Inside the house, Thomas grabbed Ronni’s hand and pulled her toward the den.

  “Hey,” she said, resisting. “We need to get upstairs.”

  Wrapping an arm around her waist, he forced her into the room and shut the door behind them. “I need to tell you something first.”