A Deadly Influence (Abby Mullen Thrillers #1)(100)
They sat in the task force room around the table, all eyes on her. Her body thrummed, flooded with adrenaline, as she knew the next few hours were pivotal, not just to the case but for numerous lives that would be affected by the outcome. She had to get this right.
“Leonor has been a member of the Tillman cult for over a year,” she said. “During that time she has gotten closer to the inner circle of the cult’s leadership, which consists of four people. Otis Tillman, who is the cult leader. Karl Adkins, his nephew and assumed successor. David Huff, who is Otis’s right-hand man and also Nathan Fletcher’s father. And Richard Styles, who is Otis’s attorney.”
As she spoke, she spread the pictures of the four men on the desk. They had recent pictures of Karl and Richard from Karl’s interrogation. David and Otis’s picture was the same one from Gabrielle’s Instagram feed, very outdated.
“First of all, Leonor clarified that Karl doesn’t have an alibi for the day of the kidnapping,” Abby continued. “She says that in the past few months, he’s been leaving the compound frequently. Otis had commanded the entire group to verify Karl’s alibi if asked. Which, of course, is what they did. The so-called official version is that Karl almost never leaves the compound. But like I said, this claim has been refuted by Leonor.”
“Can we trust her?” Barnes asked. “She lied in your first interview.”
“Yes,” Abby said adamantly. “The first interview was in the presence of Otis Tillman. What she said there has little relevance. Leonor added that since we showed up at the compound, she’s talked to multiple members of the cult and slowly found out there had been discussions of abducting David’s children for years. These discussions were mostly secret, but it’s a small community. People talk. Leonor named three different people who knew of this plan. We believe their primary target was Gabrielle Fletcher, who, according to Eden Fletcher, was supposed to marry Karl Adkins when she turned twelve. This was the reason Eden left the cult.”
“Why didn’t Leonor come forward earlier?” Griffin asked. “If she knew they had kidnapped Nathan Fletcher?”
“Like I said, she’d only found out about it fairly recently. And Otis Tillman made sure to tell everyone the rumors were unfounded. That they did actually plan to welcome back David’s children to the group but had decided to wait until the children came on their own. Leonor believed him. This morning I managed to convince her otherwise.”
“Where are they keeping him?” Marshall asked.
“We don’t know,” Abby said. “Leonor pointed out two cabins that are off limits to most members. In addition, the basement in the main house is off limits and always locked as well. He could be in either of those locations, or they might be keeping him somewhere off-site.”
“Leonor’s testimony, along with the forensic evidence we have so far, gives us enough grounds for a search warrant,” Carver said. “We have Eden Fletcher’s testimony about Karl as well as her pointing him out in a lineup. We have Karl’s digital footprints all over Gabrielle Fletcher’s Instagram page. We know several members of the cult wear boots that match the prints we found in both Liam Washington’s and Eric Layton’s crime scenes. I sent a sworn affidavit to the Suffolk County Police detailing everything, and they’re acquiring a search warrant right now.”
“Okay.” Griffin massaged the bridge of his nose. “And once we get the search warrant, we’ll need to approach this carefully.”
No one needed to say Waco or Ruby Ridge or Wilcox. The collective trauma from those armed standoffs—and their horrific conclusions—was still fresh in every law enforcement officer’s mind, even dozens of years later.
“Leonor was very clear about the firearms in the compound,” Abby said. “There are at least a dozen automatic rifles stashed in the main house. The patrol guards and the lookout have two automatic rifles and two shotguns between them. If we show up brandishing a search warrant for the entire premises, it will almost certainly devolve into a full-blown crisis with multiple innocents and potential hostages. There are twelve minors in the compound, six of them under the age of ten. In addition, Nathan Fletcher himself might be on the premises.”
“Can we negotiate their surrender?” Griffin asked, eyeing both Abby and Will.
“It’s not likely,” Abby admitted. “From everything Leonor told us, and from what we’ve seen, the entirety of the cult believes that higher-ups in the police and the bureau are intent on killing them all. I’m also concerned that if Nathan is on the premises, Otis might decide his best bet is to kill him and get rid of the body before we storm inside. And the kidnappers’ recent email indicates we have very limited time. Negotiation needs time.”
“So what’s the alternative?”
“We need to coordinate a raid with the Suffolk Police,” Carver said. “Leonor gave us the location of the stashed guns. And even more important, she gave us vital information on the cult’s schedule. We know when to strike.”
CHAPTER 68
“We have good satellite images of the compound, but we’re not sure if the blueprints of the main house are updated,” Baker, the commanding officer of the Emergency Services Unit, said.
It was a cloudy night, the moon mostly hidden. But even in the darkness, Baker was easily visible, looming over everyone, his shadow almost like a fairy-tale giant. But in this tale, the giant was on their side.