Still, she didn’t need to be deprogrammed by anyone. Her break with anything to do with Samuel and his messages and his way of life had happened in a single heart-stopping instant.
“So, what are you doing here? Why were you hiding out in the woods looking for the safe house?” Micah asked.
Olivia’s heart began to beat an unsteady rhythm as she remembered what had happened, what she’d seen two nights before. “I worked at the Community Center as a secretary. That day Sam had been fussy so I’d kept him with me at work. Samuel never minded if I needed to have him with me. As usual Ethan, my three-year-old, had gone to the Cold Plains Day Care.”
She took a sip of her coffee, hoping the warmth would heat the icy chill that had suddenly gripped her heart. “I worked a little later than usual, so it was dark when I finally left the Community Center. The day care wasn’t far away and I took off walking, knowing that Ethan would be eager to see me and his little brother after such a long day.”
Emotion once again pressed tight in her chest, rising up the back of her throat, but she swallowed hard, needing to get through this before she allowed herself to completely fall apart.
She took another sip of the strong coffee as Micah and June waited patiently for her to continue. She set the cup back on the table, aware that her fingers were trembling.
“There was an alley adjacent to the street,” she continued. “I saw Samuel and another man standing there talking and I didn’t really think too much about it. They didn’t look angry or upset, but as the man turned to leave, Samuel pulled a gun and shot him in the back of his head. There was no sound. He must have used a silencer, but as the man fell to the ground, I ran.”
She had run like the wind, with panic stealing away all rational thought. Get away. Get away, that had been her only thought. She’d dashed away, praying that Samuel hadn’t seen her, fearing not just for her own life but for Sam’s life, too.
“Did Samuel see you?” Micah asked as he leaned forward.
A trembling began in the very center of her very soul. “I don’t know. I didn’t stick around to find out. I just ran, with no thought, with no particular plan in mind. I’d heard rumors that there was a safe house someplace up the mountain but I had no idea how difficult it might be to find. I went for Ethan, but the day care was dark, empty, and I didn’t have time to locate him. I was afraid that if Samuel had seen me, I’d never make it to my son. And I’d be putting Sam in danger, as well.”
“You need to give this information to Hawk,” Micah said. “An eyewitness account to murder is just what we need to get Samuel into custody.”
“Who is Hawk?” Olivia asked.
“Hawk Bledsoe. He’s a native from Cold Plains but he’s now an FBI agent working on the case.”
“And what exactly is the case?” Confusion coupled with exhaustion made everything difficult to comprehend for her at the moment.
“The main investigation is into the killing of five women. We believe Samuel is responsible for their murders.”
Olivia gasped and shot a hand to her head as an ache began to pound at her temples. She’d heard some vague rumors, but she hadn’t believed any of them. Still, as terrible as it sounded, at the moment she didn’t want to hear about murdered women. She didn’t want to hear about cults and Samuel.
She dropped her hand back to the table and looked Micah in his cold, dark green eyes. She raised her chin, refusing to be intimidated by him and firm in the decision she’d just made. “I’m not talking to anyone until I get my son back.”
And then to her horror she burst into tears.
ISBN: 9781459238442
Copyright © 2012 by Karen Whiddon
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