“Yeah. He’s working with us. The guy I came in with? You must know him?”
“Wow. Yes. Of course I do. I don’t trust him.”
“Dr. Roberts thinks he’s okay. They made me strip as he predicted, so he was wearing the wire…”
Lilah shook her head. “No. Ellie, you need to get out of here right now. I can’t—”
She broke off when the door opened, and the man in question walked in.
“Hey. You two are having a nice conversation, that’s good. So you’re learning all about our family, Ellie. I’m glad.”
Had Joseph lied to them? If that was the case, what would happen? Ellie realized that he was wearing a gun. There was no way Bethany would have let him go in like this, so one of the men must have given it to him.
What was his agenda?
“Now the family’s all complete. Lilly told me that your mother is sick, so I guess she won’t be able to come, but since you’re here…You’re invited, Ellie. I would like you to stay until the wedding.”
“What is going on?” Ellie asked, confused for a moment. “We need to notify…now would be a good time.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Some things are better resolved without outsiders. This won’t keep them away forever, but it buys us some time.” He opened his shirt to reveal the wire was gone.
“Please, don’t panic. No one will get hurt. It was never our intention for anyone to get hurt, but unfortunately, there were a couple of black sheep in the family. They’re taken care of now. We can all get on with our lives, and Lilly—Lilah—and I can finally move forward. Right, love?”
Lilah shook her head. “I’m sorry, Joseph. This will be over in a few hours, either way. I’m not going to marry you.”
He looked shocked, and Ellie questioned the wisdom of Lilah’s words, until she realized how close she was standing to him…and the gun in the holster.
“But…Jeremiah told me he isn’t interested in you, because you’ve been on the outside for too long.”
Ellie, while feeling sick about the implications of his words, focused on the matter at hand, stepping slightly closer while Joseph’s whole attention was on Lilah.
“And I want to be on the outside,” Lilah said. “With you. We don’t need anyone’s permission. Neither of us really wants this lifestyle, so why don’t we just go away?”
“But we can’t. We’d be giving up too much. Can’t you see? Seth, Raphael, they all screwed up. Most of my brothers and cousins are in jail right now. I’m going to be the one to take over, soon. Once we get past Jeremiah, we—”
He spun around, but Ellie was already holding the gun in her hands.
“Where is that wire?”
“Oh, come on, don’t be ridiculous. You know that without me, you’ll never make it out of the house, or this room even. Jeremiah trusts me. He knows about the wire—it’s in his office now. They are preparing a retreat.”
They all heard the first round of gunfire, and then it was returned. Screams ensued. Joseph had kept the FBI waiting for too long. He hadn’t given the sign—now they were coming in.
“You need me,” he insisted.
“Yeah, but it’s too bad you can’t be trusted. It looks like we’re going to be better off without you.”
The door was pushed open, and the man who had previously guarded the door, yelled at Joseph.
“Traitor!” He fired one shot, hitting Joseph, before Ellie pulled the trigger. The man staggered and fell back, clutching his arm. Lilah jumped to the man’s side and picked up his gun.
“Flesh wound,” she said, then she turned to Joseph who lay unmoving on the floor. Ellie noticed the expression on Lilah’s face, something that seemed to go beyond any legitimate emotion either of them should have right now.
Before she could make any decision about what to do next, they heard rapid footsteps in the hallway. Ellie saw two women, most of them barely twenty, with young children. Some of them were crying.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m with the police. The FBI will be here any moment. You’ll be safe.”
She ushered all of them into the room where Lilah, the man’s gun beside her, was still tending to Joseph.
There was still gunfire outside and around the house. “Let’s barricade the door,” Ellie said quickly. “Table, chairs, the dresser. Just to make sure no one comes in that isn’t supposed to.”
The women complied, just one of them stared at the man Ellie had shot. “I need a doctor,” he insisted. “You will all pay for this, and it won’t be pretty.”
Ellie followed the woman’s gaze from the man to the gun at Lilah’s side, and she made the connection right away.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “You want him to go away, not become a martyr.”
The woman looked doubtful, and having learned details about what life was like for women and girls with the Prophets, she could sympathize—but she wanted this woman to be able to heal, not go to prison.
Ariel came to mind, and what she might have endured, had she stayed with the cult a few months longer. A year or two.
“It will be okay,” she whispered, turning the woman by her shoulders so she wouldn’t face the man anymore.
She cast a look over to where Lilah still sat hunched over Joseph, trying to stop the bleeding. Why had he played that game? Maybe some of the details in this case would forever remain a mystery.
* * * *
Biggs sat in the interrogation room, his shoulders slumped, as he related how Cathy had become a member of the Prophets of Better Days. “I didn’t know at first,” he said. “She had some drug problems as a teenager, but had been clean for many years. Cathy was always trying to find herself. When she joined them, I thought they were some sort of New Age kind of cult, and that she’d outgrow it…but then I realized they were violent to the women, brainwashing them. They have many children, but there is no love in those families. All they want is to produce soldiers for a culture war they imagine themselves to be in. If this guy hadn’t told me…”
“What guy?”
Until now, Biggs hadn’t mentioned any sort of accomplice.
“He came to visit Raphael, and we started talking. He had grown up in the cult, but left it as a teenager. He was functioning as some sort of liaison, a consultant to the FBI or something.” He shrugged. “I don’t blame him. I think he had a lot of anger for them too.”
“What’s his name?”
“Joseph. When he told me all the things that were going on in that place, I knew I needed to do something. I couldn’t think straight…”
Son of a bitch. She almost said it out loud, but held back the slur at the last moment. Bethany’s mystery witness had apparently encouraged Biggs into committing a homicide.
“Why don’t you call your lawyer, and we take it from there?” she suggested, getting up. Biggs’ case was pretty much cut and dry, but she didn’t want the instigator to get away, especially if he might be involved with what Bethany and Ellie were doing at the moment.
“That’s an odd moment to leave it,” Valerie Esposito remarked when Jordan exited the room.
“Not at all. This guy, Joseph, that’s the mystery witness. I need to know where Bethany is.”
“If she doesn’t tell you, I guess you have to ask her boss?”
“There’s something else I can try first,” Jordan said.
Sergeant Bristol confirmed that Bethany hadn’t given him many details as to Ellie’s assignment.
“This changes things,” he said. “Let me make a few calls.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Chapter Eighteen
It seemed like an eternity since the agents on the other side of the door had identified themselves, and Ellie, Lilah and their charges could finally start to dismantle their makeshift barricade.
The women left the room with their children. Sarah, who had nearly reached for the gun, turned around and embraced Ellie.
“Thank you,” she whispered before she left with the others.
&nbs
p; Bethany walked inside. Ellie saw that her hair was slightly disheveled, and there was a smear of blood on her face. None of that did impede her, though.
“God, I’m so glad we can finally clean this up. This was the last of it, huh? Welcome home, Agent Strickland. You did an extraordinary job.”
Lilah gave her a distant smile while she was still applying pressure to Joseph’s gunshot wound.
“We have to keep him alive,” she said. “I believe he hasn’t told us the whole story yet.”
A couple of paramedics came inside, taking over for Lilah who got to her feet, her hands wet with blood.
“Ellie did good too.”
For a moment, Ellie had wondered if she, too, deserved some praise, but she’d decided it wasn’t all that important. The emotion in Bethany’s expression was telling—she wasn’t that cold. She truly cared about the young agent.
Ellie followed the two of them at a distance, tired but relieved. She was finally able to answer a question that had been haunting her since the shootout with Seth Deane.
She hadn’t folded under pressure. She had reacted when she had to. Still, Ellie hoped she wouldn’t have to shoot her weapon again for a long time to come.
* * * *
Jordan was standing with Derek and Kate at his desk when Ellie returned to the precinct. She went straight into Jordan’s embrace.
“It’s so good to see you. You have no idea.”
“Same here,” Jordan said.
“I’m sorry. There was no time to—”
“I know. It’s okay. If the FBI pulls you in on a case, you can’t say no. I understand.”
Ellie looked surprised, probably listening for a trace of sarcasm, but there was none. Jordan was happy to see her, no hidden meaning.
“And so, once again, Roberts has a mess to clean up after the fact,” Derek summed up the situation.
“Well, everything is a lot clearer now. Joseph told us that Jeremiah had ordered Raphael to kill Jennifer, and that he’s also responsible for Deborah’s death,” Ellie reminded him.
“Does that mean the end justfies every means?” Derek asked.
“God! I’m so sick of this,” Kate snapped. “Why don’t you ask her out, since you’re so preoccupied with her all the damn time?”
“I’m not—” Derek didn’t have enough time for his defense as Kate jumped to her feet and walked away. After a moment of startled hesitation, he followed her. When Bethany entered the room at the same time Derek left, they didn’t acknowledge each other.
“Are you really not mad at me?” Ellie asked into the resulting silence.
In the past two days, Jordan had struggled to name her feelings. Anger might have been one of them, but it wasn’t directed at Ellie.
“No. I’m the only person she’s mad at,” Bethany, who had overheard her words, said.
That anger wasn’t even directed at her ex.
“I never said that.”
Bethany shrugged. “You didn’t have to. I know you well enough, but that’s okay. I just came to say goodbye. We’ve had some glitches, but this really is the end of the Prophets and their megalomaniac bullshit.”
“You’re leaving?” Ellie asked and then looked a bit self-conscious, as if her reaction was a too happy one.
It was a relief, Jordan admitted. They could put their differences aside to work together, but there would always be tension.
“Yes. I received some stern words, but it wasn’t enough for a change of plans. The Powers That Be are very happy to have one less trigger-happy women-hating bunch to worry about. With the sentences most of them are likely to get, it will be enough for the women to start over.”
When the reaction she got, obviously wasn’t enough, Bethany pulled a chair, sitting across from Jordan.
“We got them all. You can’t tell me it wasn’t worth it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I was well within my competence. Ellie knew the case well enough, and she was someone Lilah would recognize right away.”
“Sergeant Bristol said so, and I suppose your boss would confirm it. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you.” Bethany seemed relieved too. “I couldn’t have done this without you guys, and I’m really grateful. Ellie, good luck on your exam.”
“Thanks.” Ellie waited until Bethany had left, then she said, “Did I miss something?”
Jordan sighed. “No. I swear. We’ve been over this often enough, and yes, I wanted to yell at her, but what good would that do? Bristol signed off on the assignment. I don’t ever want you to be in danger, but I’m not going to stop you from doing your job, from having a career. I promise.” Much to her credit, Ellie didn’t look surprised at all. She just leaned into Jordan.
“I know,” she said.
“And I want to start looking for a place together, but I admit there was no time yet to look for a realtor.”
“That’s because you solved a case within a few hours. Way to go.”
“Well, there has to be something we can still teach you once you move up to our floor,” Jordan teased. “Otherwise, you could just skip the whole exam and everything.”
“I love you, but this talk is going to make you sleep on the couch. I’m nervous enough about it, so no joking.”
“The couch is fine. Not so much privacy, but I’ll show you how I can work with the space.”
Ellie shook her head, laughing. “I’m so glad this is over.”
“Yeah, me too. Let’s go home?”
* * * *
It didn’t look like Kate was going to come home tonight. Maybe they hadn’t even spared that much rational thought, because the couch was right there when they stumbled into the apartment kissing, starting to undress each other.
The celebration ended abruptly when they heard the key in the lock, and Kate walked inside, in a stormy mood.
“What’s wrong with your bedroom?”
A moment later, the bathroom door slammed shut, and Ellie sat up, reality catching up with her. Kate had been morose and tight-lipped for a few days now. Ellie had meant to talk to her, but then they hardly saw each other alone, and there was so much to do…
She slipped her shirt back on.
“Did you talk to her about…the plans?” Jordan asked softly.
“No, not yet. I don’t know what’s going on…but I’ll find out.”
“I can pick you up for breakfast tomorrow,” Jordan suggested, buttoning her shirt.
Ellie stilled her hands. “Wait, you missed one. No, it’s fine, please, stay. I just want to check on her.”
“Okay.”
Ellie gently knocked on the door. At first, there was no answer.
“Kate, come on. Let’s talk.”
“Can’t you just leave me alone for a moment?”
“Please, open the door.”
Kate finally did, but when Ellie stepped inside, she sat back down against the tub.
Ellie sat down in front of her, realizing her friend had been crying.
“Talk to me. I know I haven’t been a good friend lately, but I’m here now. I promise I’ll do better.”
Kate leaned forward, covering her face with her hands.
“It’s not your fault. You’ve had a full plate for some time now.”
Yes, and add to that new moving plans. This was definitely not a good time to reveal them.
“We both have,” Ellie ventured carefully. Life always went on, it had to, and on the surface, they were okay…but she knew Kate was still dealing with nightmares of her own. “You and Derek are all right?”
Kate made a non-committal sound. “We’ve always been as all right as we possibly can be, given the circumstances. I…I miss Jensen.”
“That’s only normal. I’m sure Derek understands.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem, he’s too damn understanding about everything. Oh, no, forget I said that. It’s not fair. I’m not even sure I can look at any of this in a way that’s fair, but Ellie, it’s j
ust too much.”
Ellie scooted closer to embrace her friend.
“I know you were very invested in this case. We all were. Maybe you need a break too.”
Kate sat back, giving her an intent look.
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“A break is not going to do it. I just want it over. I thought I could move on, like everyone else, but it’s not happening. Every day, I’m reminded that it could happen again, to someone I care about. I don’t want to live with that. I don’t want that anymore.”
Ellie needed a few seconds to absorb what Kate was saying. She hadn’t realized how different she and Kate were in that respect. Even with everything that had happened in the past months, leaving the force was nothing that had ever occurred to her as a realistic solution. She was sure Jordan felt the same, even if she did deal in different ways than Ellie.
But maybe, for Kate, it was a decision she needed to make.
“Many of your friends are still going to be cops…and Derek will be,” she reminded her.
“I’m aware of that,” Kate said with a wry laugh. “Maybe I’m just selfish enough, and I’ll be all right if I’m not confronted with the possilibity every day. Maybe I should stop dating cops.”
“What would you like to do instead? Job-wise, I mean?”
“You’re the first I’m telling this, and obviously, I haven’t given a lot of thought to the details yet. But I might go back to school. I used to want to become a lawyer.”
“Are you really sure about this?”
“Leaving? Yes. I think it’s the right choice. But I’m sorry for snapping at you.”
“That’s okay,” Ellie ascertained. “We should have expected you to come home at some point.”
“Well, we’re grown-ups. I could have been less of a bitch. Could you say sorry to Jordan for me? I need to wash my face, and I need some time to figure everything out. Thanks for listening.”
“No problem. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“That’s relative…but I’ll be fine. Go.”
“Okay. And remember I’m here if you need me.”
As she left the bathroom, Ellie remembered she had made that promise to someone else as well, and just as with Kate, she’d been too busy. Tomorrow, she’d redeem herself. Tomorrow, she was going to see Ariel.
Initiations (Carpenter/Harding Book 5) Page 18
