The Devil's Daughter (Hidden Sins #1)(72)
Chase opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, shot a glance at Martha and Abram, and seemed to think better of it. But if the heaviness of his footsteps was anything to go by, he wasn’t pleased with the new development. Well, fuck, that made two of them. But the truth was that Zach didn’t have jack to hold anyone on. This case was high on the circumstantial evidence and low on actual evidence, and the circumstantial stuff seemed to point at both everyone and no one at Elysia. Since he couldn’t bring in and question the entire community without starting a riot, he needed to let them go and regroup once he had a chance to sit down with Eden and her partner.
Martha leveled a look at him that sent a chill right down to his bones. “I don’t like the way you’re handling this case, Zachary Owens.”
“Well, ma’am, that’s really none of your business. I go where the evidence leads me. You wouldn’t want the person who killed two teenage girls to get a chance to bring his kill count up to three, would you? You know he’s kidnapped a third.”
There was no shock on her face at the news, but he had no way of telling if that was because she was that good an actor or because she already knew about both the abduction and the second killing. The latter would be common knowledge around town by this hour, and he needed to find the killer before the Smiths gathered their wits enough to head out to Elysia for a witch hunt.
My life would be easier if I could just sit back and let it happen.
He shut that temptation down real fast. A mob was an unpredictable thing, and he still didn’t know for a fact that someone at Elysia was behind this—not beyond a shadow of a doubt. Beyond that, there were kids out there and a few hundred people who likely weren’t involved in this nightmare. Once a mob got rolling, it wouldn’t discriminate. It would be chaos, and the innocent were more likely to get hurt than the guilty.
Martha wilted, and Abram immediately put an arm around her shoulders. She wiped at dry eyes. “It’s just horrible about those girls. If you think of anything I can do, you tell me right away, you hear?”
“Funny, but your daughter did ask for help, and all she got for her trouble was a knock on the head and you giving her the runaround.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Now, Sheriff, that’s simply not true.”
So now he was Sheriff. Go figure. He stepped back as Joseph and Lee walked into the room. Joseph went immediately to Martha, engulfing her in a hug that appeared to be genuine affection. Was there a damn person in that cult who actually acted and reacted honestly? He was starting to think the answer was no.
Lee, on the other hand, stalked directly to the door, not looking at anyone. He was gone by the time Joseph let Martha go. She looked around, a frown on her face. “What did you do to my Lee?”
“You can’t lay the blame for this one on me.” Lee was falling apart, but that had more to do with him realizing what Zach and Eden had known all along—that one of Martha’s flock was likely responsible.
And that Lee having feelings for Elouise had likely drawn the killer’s attention to her in the first place.
Zach stood back and watched Martha and Abram herd Joseph and a reluctant Lee to the SUV they’d parked by the street, unable to shake the feeling that he’d be seeing one—or all of them—again very soon. Frankly, he wished it weren’t so. If Martha was involved in all this, it would hurt Eden. It didn’t matter that she’d been estranged from her mother for ten years. A mother was a mother, which meant Martha was uniquely qualified to deal devastating emotional blows to her daughter. He didn’t like it. He’d shield Eden from that if he could.
The problem was that he couldn’t.
He had a feeling they’d all need a shield before this thing was over.
His phone rang, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that it was Eden. Even knowing she was with her partner didn’t stop him from worrying about her. Rationally, he knew everyone in the city limits wasn’t under his explicit care, but rationality had no place in their current situation. “You find anything?”
“She had DNA under her fingernails.” She gave a breathless laugh. “She fought, Zach. She’s going to be the key to unlocking this.”
Elation hit him, quickly followed by the ever-present guilt. A girl had to die in order for them to get this break. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair, but neither was the world they were living in. He moved to the window and watched Abram hold open the door of a Suburban for Martha. Joseph prodded Lee into the back and then climbed in behind him. “They won’t submit to DNA tests without a warrant.”
“Martha wouldn’t let them even if they were inclined. She’s bred the distrust of the government too deep.”
And he’d stake his badge on the fact that someone in the car pulling away from the curb was directly responsible for those girls’ deaths. Zach put aside all his personal bullshit through sheer force of will. “I’ll give the judge up in Augusta a call. It may take some convincing, but I’ll get us a warrant by morning.”
Judge Tanner used to hunt with Zach’s old man back in the day. Now, the tough son of a bitch preferred golfing and gardening, though he often complained it was harder on his knees than sitting in a tree stand for hours had been. There was no telling what side of this thing he’d come down on with the warrants. He wasn’t the type to do favors if he thought it went against the law.