Attempt to Locate

by Christy Barritt

  “You really need medical treatment for that wound,” Cassidy said.

  She’d tried to give the woman her jacket, but Moriah had refused—just as she’d refused help from the paramedics.

  She’d also been continuously glancing over at Gilead—either to make sure he was watching or to check if he was. Cassidy didn’t know which.

  “Listen, I need you to come to my police car with me,” Cassidy said, desperate to get her away from the man. “I need to take your statement.”

  “Can’t you just do it here?” Her eyes widened with fright.

  “I’m afraid not. My computer is in the vehicle.”

  With a begrudging nod, Moriah followed her outside. The wind whipped around them, and Cassidy knew the woman must be cold with only her nightgown on. She also knew the woman would refuse any help or assistance.

  Instead, Cassidy got her to the SUV as quickly as possible, sat Moriah inside, and then she cranked the heat.

  Finally, Cassidy breathed more easily. They were out from under Gilead’s watchful eye.

  She pulled out her computer and took Moriah’s statement, just as promised. When they finished, Cassidy reached into her glove compartment and pulled out the first aid kit.

  “Look, I know you refuse to go to the clinic,” Cassidy started. “But at least let me put some ointment on your shoulder.”

  Moriah stared at her, uncertainty in her gaze.

  “No one will have to know,” Cassidy continued. “I won’t bandage it. But the ointment will help with infection. I know it must hurt. It looks very painful.”

  Moriah sat there silently, tears streaming down her eyes and looking a little like a lost girl. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

  Cassidy let out a relieved breath. It was a small victory, but it was still a victory.

  She dabbed some gauze with the ointment and directed Moriah to turn toward the window. Carefully, Cassidy tugged down the collar of her nightgown.

  She flinched when she saw the wound there.

  Moriah had been branded, just like Kaleb had. The whole process seemed so horrific that Cassidy couldn’t imagine anyone in his or her right mind going through it.

  Then again, Anthony Gilead knew just how to control the people here. He had a way of getting his followers to do whatever he asked . . . and that thought terrified Cassidy.

  Gently, she dabbed the ointment on Moriah’s wound. The woman gasped as the gel hit her skin, but she said nothing.

  “You don’t have to stay here, you know,” Cassidy gently told her.

  “I want to stay here.”

  “Someone who loves you wouldn’t want you to suffer like this.”

  “I don’t mind suffering for a good cause. It will be another feather in my cap and jewel in my crown.”

  “Is that what Anthony Gilead said? That if you follow his decrees that you’ll be rewarded eternally?” Cassidy’s stomach twisted as the words left her lips.

  “He’s a messenger from God, so yes.”

  “Moriah, your family is waiting with open arms to take you back. You’ll have a safe place to go, away from here. You’ll have warm clothes, medical treatment.”

  “Gilead takes care of me.” Her voice waivered. “Together, we’re going to lead all his people.”

  That was it, wasn’t it? Cassidy realized. He’d promised Moriah that she’d be like royalty. And that idea was too appealing for Moriah to walk away from.

  “At least take this ointment back with you.”

  Moriah glanced back at her. “I have no pockets, nowhere to put it.”

  “Gilead doesn’t want you to have it?”

  “My faith should be enough to heal me.”

  “Faith is a wonderful thing. But if this infection gets into your blood stream, you’ll never get to lead anyone.”

  Her eyes widened again.

  Cassidy let out a breath, trying to think this through. Finally, she reached into her glove compartment and pulled out some duct tape. “We can tape this to your chest. No one will be able to see it there. Even if someone hugs you, if we tape it high enough, they shouldn’t feel it. No one will need to know. Can we do that?”

  Moriah said nothing for a moment before finally responding quietly with, “You don’t think that would be a sign of weak faith?”

  “No, I don’t think so at all.”

  “If Gilead found out . . .”

  “He won’t find out. He doesn’t have to know. This can be our secret.”

  Finally, Moriah nodded. “Okay.”

  Good. At least it was something.

  Cassidy ripped a piece of tape and handed it to Moriah. “I’ll let you do this. How about if I give you some aspirin as well? They’re in these small packets, so they should fit under the tape as well.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s no problem.” Cassidy handed her what she needed and looked away, to give the woman a moment of privacy. “How good are you at memorizing numbers?”

  “What?” Moriah asked.

  “Are you good at memorizing numbers?”

  “I . . . I don’t know. I guess I’m okay.”

  “I want you to memorize this one.” Cassidy rattled off her cell phone number. “Do you have that?”

  Moriah repeated it.

  “Don’t forget it,” Cassidy said.

  “Why? Why would I need it?”

  “In case you ever need me, I want you to call, okay? The moment you realize you don’t want to be here anymore, I’d be more than happy to come get you.”

  “You say it like it’s a sure thing.” Moriah straightened her nightgown and turned toward Cassidy.

  “Moriah, that woman . . . Lela. She was married to Gilead.”

  Moriah shook her head, her wavy, matted hair flinging out around her shoulders and an innocent—yet fearful—expression pulling at the corners of her mouth. “No, that can’t be right. I’m the one God told him to marry.”

  “Apparently, God told him to marry Lela as well. It wasn’t a good marriage. She ran away.” Cassidy needed to get through to her somehow.

  “She must have done something wrong, then. That’s the only reason she would have left. Some people just can’t handle commitment—”

  “He was violent toward her, Moriah. Gilead hurt his wife, Lela.” Cassidy said each word carefully, trying to drive home the point of who this man really was.

  Moriah remained silent a moment before drawing in a deep breath and proclaiming, “Gilead would never hurt me.”

  Cassidy studied her face, trying to figure out if Moriah really believed that. Based on the fact the woman wouldn’t make eye contact, Cassidy would guess she didn’t. But Moriah wanted to believe that this place was the answer to all her problems. She didn’t want to let go of that hope and face the repercussions of wrong choices.

  “Manipulative people will make you feel like it’s your fault they’re hurting you,” Cassidy told her quietly. “Those are all lies.”

  “Like I said, Gilead would never hurt me!” Her voice rose and tears rushed to her eyes. She crossed her arms and looked away, her chin quivering.

  “Moriah—”

  Before Cassidy could say anything else, someone banged on the window.

  Gilead stood there, peering in at them.

  As soon as Moriah spotted him, she scrambled from the SUV and fell into his arms.

  “Thanks for taking care of Moriah for me,” Gilead told Cassidy. He kept an arm around the woman as he led her away.

  Cassidy frowned.

  It hadn’t gone as she planned. But maybe she’d planted some seeds. Maybe, in the long run, her conversation would do some good.

  Now Cassidy hoped she could talk to Lela. She was her best hope of finding out some dirt on Gilead. Maybe she would talk if they offered her a deal.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Cassidy stepped back into the Meeting Place and saw Abbott standing beside Danny Simpson, who lay handcuffed to a stretcher. His condition was obviously not life-threatening�
�he suffered only from a gunshot wound to his knee. It could have been a lot worse.

  A few feet away from them, Mac and Ty talked to Kaleb.

  On the other side of the room, Lela stood handcuffed next to Dane.

  Like a snake, Gilead wound his way across the room toward her and whispered something in her ear.

  Lela’s skin paled, and her eyes widened as she looked up at him.

  What was Gilead telling her?

  Whatever it was, Cassidy knew it was trouble.

  She charged toward them.

  As she stepped closer, Gilead moved back and plastered on a winning smile. “Thank you again for everything you did here tonight, Chief Chambers. You really are a hero to this community.”

  Cassidy said nothing, just turned to Lela. “A word with you.”

  She took the woman’s arm and pulled her aside, fearing she’d lost the opportunity to get any information from her.

  “You know things that could be useful to me,” Cassidy started.

  Lela said nothing.

  “I know you’ve been through a rough time, but prison is going to be rougher. Even if Danny coerced you into participating with him, you’re going to be facing charges. You understand that, correct?”

  Cassidy had to be careful here because she was dealing with two separate investigations. The state had taken over the case against Danny and Lela. But Lela could prove very useful in Cassidy’s crusade to bring down Gilead’s Cove.

  Still, she had to watch what she said and what she promised.

  “I understand,” Lela said.

  “I need information about what goes on here at Gilead’s Cove. Specifically, I need information on Anthony Gilead.”

  Lela looked like she fought tears, like she fought to hold it together. “Gilead is a kind man. Enigmatic. I have nothing bad to say about him.”

  Cassidy’s spine tightened. “Then why did you leave him?”

  “Because I was young and naïve. I suffer from ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ syndrome.” Lela raised her chin and refused eye contact, as if she wasn’t proud of her actions yet she felt too weak to change.

  With sudden clarity, Cassidy knew exactly what happened just a few minutes ago. “He got to you, didn’t he?”

  Lela said nothing.

  But how? What could Gilead have said to her to make her be silent like this?

  “He threatened Kaleb, didn’t he?” Cassidy realized.

  Lela said nothing.

  “We could protect your brother,” Cassidy said.

  Lela lowered her voice. “My brother doesn’t want to be protected. He wants to stay here.”

  “Lela, if we bring Gilead down, then there will be nothing to protect him from.”

  She raised her head again, looking straight ahead. “I didn’t say there was a threat. Or any reason he needed to be protected. I left because I wanted to and nothing more.”

  “Lela—”

  “I’m done talking. And nothing will change my mind.”

  Cassidy bit her tongue. This had been their one opportunity—and Gilead had known it. He’d gotten to Lela before Cassidy could.

  She turned and searched out the man with her gaze. He stood near Moriah, rubbing her arms and talking in soothing tones.

  A snake oil salesman. That’s who this man was.

  But Cassidy wasn’t giving up hope. She would catch him. One day. And she would bring this whole place down.

  As soon as things began to slow down in the Meeting Place—and Danny had been taken away into state custody—Ty approached Cassidy. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead, thankful beyond words that she was okay.

  But she still didn’t look at peace as she stood there, her ever-observant gaze watching everything around them. No doubt, she was trying to figure out how to shut this place down permanently.

  “We may have arrested Danny and Lela, but I still don’t like this, Ty,” Cassidy finally said.

  “I don’t either. The more I’m around Gilead, the more uncomfortable the man makes me.” Something about the man was just off.

  “I’m a little surprised he even called the police.” Cassidy shook her head, her thoughts obviously still focused on business, as they should be. “It seems against his MO to involve anyone other than his own people.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that.” Ty watched as another officer led Lela away. “And I wonder if the only reason he called you was because he feared bad publicity.”

  Cassidy glanced up at him, questions in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, the media hasn’t gotten hold of this story yet. Once they do, Anthony Gilead is going to be under a lot of scrutiny. I think he’s trying to stay quiet for as long as possible.”

  “Until he’s ready to announce himself to the world, you mean?” She pressed her lips together before frowning.

  Ty nodded. “Yeah, I guess that is what I mean. That he’s planning something big and still trying to control the timing of all this.”

  “Just what is that big thing he’s planning?”

  “That’s what we need to find out.”

  “We will,” Ty told her. “Just give it time. This guy is a ticking bomb. Sooner or later, he’s going to mess up.”

  Ty followed Cassidy’s gaze. She looked at Gilead and Moriah standing together.

  That woman needed to get away from Gilead. But she had to make that choice on her own.

  “Whatever happens after this, you did a good job here tonight, Cassidy,” Ty told her. “I’m proud of you.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.” She squeezed his hand. “But I’ll probably see some repercussions.”

  “Nobody will fault you for doing the right thing. Moriah is alive right now because of you and a twisted man is behind bars. Don’t forget that.”

  “I won’t. Thank you, Ty.”

  “Always.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Three hours later, Abbott stared at Cassidy as they stood outside the police station. Figurative daggers shot from his eyes, so hot and furious that they nearly lit the utter darkness surrounding them.

  “You disobeyed direct orders,” Abbott said.

  “I had no choice.” Cassidy rested her hands on her waist, grateful they could have this conversation outside for privacy purposes—even if it was freezing cold. “I was told if I said anything that Moriah would die.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You obviously told your husband and the former police chief.”

  “I wasn’t stupid enough to go in without backup.”

  He crossed his arms, sighed, and finally shook his head. “I could make life difficult for you, you know.”

  “I stand behind my actions. You made the wrong call, Agent Abbott.”

  He stepped closer, his hands going to his hips. “The only reason I’m not pushing this is because everyone thinks we’re heroes right now. The NCSBI is looking like a star, bad guys are behind bars, and everyone is living happily ever after. You should just be glad there wasn’t a different outcome. You wouldn’t have a job right now if there had been.”

  “Yes, sir.” Cassidy kept her head up, not feeling even a twinge of guilt. She’d done the right thing.

  As Abbott walked away, another car pulled up to the station. Cassidy immediately recognized the vehicle as Mayor Tomlinson’s and braced herself for another confrontation.

  The man slammed his car door and stormed over toward her. He stopped a mere foot away from Cassidy but said nothing for a minute.

  Finally, he nodded slowly. “Well, what can I say, Cassidy? You did it.”

  Cassidy offered a curt nod, not willing to believe this conversation would be this easy. “Yes, sir.”

  He lowered his forehead, his lips pursed. “It’s a good thing. Because I was serious about my threat.”

  “I had no doubt.”

  Like clockwork, his gaze flickered back up, almost like this whole confrontation was scripted. “Don’t disappoint me again, Cassidy.
Do you understand?”

  Before Cassidy could respond, another voice cut through the air. “Cassidy handled the investigation with the utmost integrity.”

  Cassidy turned her head toward the new figure.

  Mac.

  He must have stepped out the back door and rounded the side of the building.

  “She did everything by the book, and you’re out of line.” Mac stared down the mayor, and Cassidy realized that, even in his retirement, Mac hadn’t lost his ability to look intimidating. No, the man looked as hardcore as ever.

  “Is that right?” Tomlinson smirked.

  “And she won’t have the chance to, as you called it, ‘disappoint’ you again,” Mac continued.

  Tomlinson cocked an eyebrow up. “Why is that?”

  Mac thrust his chest out, satisfaction lighting his gaze. “Because I just decided that I’m running against you for mayor.”

  What? Mac really was going to run for mayor? Cassidy couldn’t believe it—but the thought thrilled her.

  Tomlinson’s mouth dropped open, and he gawked for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe it either. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I am.”

  “You won’t win.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Tomlinson opened his mouth to say more but, before he could, a new figure stepped out the door.

  Detective Jackson Sullivan.

  Tomlinson shifted, his arrogance disappearing for a moment. He offered a curt nod before turning to walk away, putting on his best behavior around the outsider—like a true politician.

  Sullivan followed Tomlinson with his gaze before turning to Mac and Cassidy and shrugging. “I don’t even want to know what all of that was about.”

  “No, you really don’t,” Mac said. “Small-town politics.”

  “I know a little about those myself.” Sullivan paused and turned toward Cassidy. “Listen, I just wanted to thank you all on behalf of the Nags Head Police Department for your hard work. Our area is safer because of the actions of your people here.”

  “Of course,” Cassidy said. “I’m sure you’d do the same for us.”

  “Any time you need anything, you know where to find us. And tell your friend Serena that I talked to Joey. She extended a personal invitation to Serena to come down and watch Relentless film sometime in Wilmington. I’ll give you my information before I leave so we can be in contact.”