Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(75)

“You taught me to snorkel,” Luke said with pride.

We all chuckled save for Carmichael. His mouth grew tighter. “Uh, can we begin?” Carmichael asked.



“Yes. Of course,” I said, sitting up straight. “Let me just begin by apologizing again for any problems I may have caused. Sheriff Hancock as well. We truly had no idea anyone was investigating New Morningism. As I said, had the sheriff known, I would have ceased my personal investigation and left it in your capable hands,” I lied. That so wouldn’t have happened.

“Why wasn’t the sheriff informed?” Luke asked, God bless him.

Echolls glanced at Carmichael, who momentarily grimaced. “I didn’t feel we’d reached that point yet. We’re only three months into the investigation,” Carmichael said.

“Three months on their patch and you didn’t think they deserved to know? What? Did you think they couldn’t help you?” Luke asked.

Carmichael scowled, but I smiled at the unhappy man. “There’s plenty of fault to go around, Agent Hudson,” I said. “But I would recommend that after this meeting you bring Sheriff Hancock into the loop. For what it’s worth, I professionally and personally vouch for him. He was my mentor. I wouldn’t have become half the law enforcement professional I am without his guidance. Sheriff Hancock would be an absolute asset to your investigation. And he’s motivated. The moment I brought my suspicions about the Movement to him, he immediately wanted to open a file. I begged him not to. I was terrified for my brother. I still am. I wanted to extract Billy before anything official began. I didn’t even tell Lu—Agent Hudson what I was doing,” I said, forcing a blush at my “faux pas.” I shook my head. “Sheriff Hancock fully intended to begin building a case but was keeping it unofficial until I saw my brother. But I will reiterate again, had he known about your investigation perhaps all this trouble could have been avoided. The sheriff and the Grey County Sheriff’s Office did nothing wrong, legally or morally. And I will swear to that in a court of law.”



Echolls cleared his throat. “I don’t think that will be necessary, Dr. Ballard. We’ve worked with Tim before. It was a mistake not to keep him in the loop. We will from now on.”

“Thank you, Agent Echolls. I’ll hold you to that,” I said with a saccharine smile. I reached into my purse and removed my notes and the zip drive with my interview recordings. “And now that we’re all finally on the same page, here are my notes, thoughts, and evidence on the New Morning Movement. I’m also prepared to answer any and all questions I’m sure you no doubt have.”

I gave them the quick version of my investigation, making sure to be vague with the details. It was the only way to get them to share.

“So Megan Snyder recruited you?” Carmichael asked.

“More or less. She was my primary handler. From the start she was manipulating me. Tons of compliments, acting like my best friend, she even tried to seduce me at one point.” I glanced at Luke, who had more red in his cheeks than usual. “And when it was revealed who I was, she went into defense mode. I don’t know if she believes in their dogma, but she definitely believes in Mathias. Getting her to flip would be impossible. She is loyal. But I do think she knows more than others. If this were the military, she’d be a lieutenant or sergeant. It would not surprise me in the least if she were involved in the apparent drug side.”

“What about Helen Mitchell?” Carmichael asked.

“No, she’s a true believer. She’s there to help people. She might suspect something untoward, but with her son’s history, I’d be shocked if she had anything to do with drugs. She’s their front.”



“Do you get the sense she’d flip?” Lucerno asked. I took him to be Carmichael’s partner.

“She has a conscience, and her son died from drugs, so it’s possible. But if you’re after the group for drugs, then she’d be a bad source of intel. Plus she does love everyone there, so she could also decide she just doesn’t care. She’s a gamble. I wouldn’t chance it.”

“What about Paul Roselli?” Carmichael asked.

“Don’t know. He believes, but that doesn’t mean he’s an angel. He’d do what Mathias and the others told him to. He was ready to marry me before we even met, so…” I shrugged.

“Who gives the outreach assignments? Where do they send people to hand out fliers?” Lucerno asked.

“They’re called journeyman ambassadors,” I clarified. “Uh, Megan maybe. I don’t recall. Why?”

“And do these ambassadors use their own cars or does the Movement provide them?” Carmichael asked.

My eyes narrowed. “Do you think that’s how they’re transporting the drugs? The ambassadors act as mules?”

“We’re not at liberty to say,” Carmichael said.

“Oh, come on.” I leaned forward. “Look, I get why you’re mad. I treaded on your case, but I’m not some civilian. I was imbedded with these people, brief though it may have been. And the whole time I was thinking fraud, not drugs. I’ve been to The Apex. I’ve met the man himself. If I’m really going to be any help to you, I need the full picture.”



“But you are a civilian now,” Carmichael pointed out. “And this is an active investigation.”