“No one did,” a girl with shaggy blond hair said.
Hunter pulled out his phone to show them all the picture of the sketch that Amy had done of “Billie.”
“We’re looking for this young woman,” he said.
“She was in church—here!” the blonde girl said. “She was in one of the back rows.”
“Have you seen her since?” Hunter asked.
“Oh, my God—do you think she killed someone?” another teen asked.
“No. We think she might be in danger, and we’d like to help her,” Amy assured him.
They were met with blank faces.
“If anyone does see her, please make sure you get ahold of us right away,” Hunter said. He pulled a stack of cards from his pocket and set them on the chair he assumed Karyl would be taking to begin her class.
“Please,” Amy said. “Any help is welcome.”
“Should we be afraid?” the blonde girl asked.
“Should you be afraid?” Hunter repeated, weighing his answer. “We don’t believe the victim was from near here, so I don’t believe any of you would be targeted by this...killer or these killers. But there’s being afraid, and there’s being smart. No one should ever have to walk through life being afraid. But everyone, anywhere, needs to be smart. Think about what you’re doing. Pay attention to your surroundings. Especially out here where we have miles of brush and trees, and night can bring the deepest darkness, so don’t be out alone right now. Remember to lock doors, and again—be alert to things happening around you. That’s the way to be smart—not just here and now, but everywhere and always.”
Amy noted the group had grown silent. A few of the young women were watching him with starry-eyed wonder.
But the boys in the group also seemed to pay attention. Even with his impromptu words, Hunter was a powerful speaker.
“And be wise,” Hunter added. “One of our biggest dangers is not believing with our rational minds what our instinct tells us is true. Then again,” he added with a softening grin, “that goes with being smart! Thank you. Thank you all for your time and your attention. And don’t forget, you can reach us if you need to—my cards are up there.”
The group broke into applause and Hunter lifted his hand. “Thank you. Please, just be careful and wary and observant, okay?”
He turned and gravely thanked Karyl again and headed out of the room with long strides. Amy quickly followed him.
“That was excellent,” she told him.
He let out a sigh. “I didn’t mean to turn into a teacher. We do go out—you must know. I’m sure FDLE does it to, talking to high schools, even younger kids sometimes.”
“We do. But for a two-minute off-the-cuff, that was good.”
He glanced her way. “Thanks.”
“Pastor Colby still isn’t due for several hours. I say we need to know more about him and his family—and Ethan Morrison.”
“What was the phone call?”
“Brenda Nelson. I guess we’ve made a deal with John. He’ll be a good patient as long as we let him use his mind and his research abilities, and his relationships. Colby has three kids, two boys, Jayden and Chase, and a girl, Casey. The daughter, Casey, has been showing up at a church in Miami. The pastor there was worried that she might be upset. Then again, maybe she was just visiting friends in Miami.”
“We need to know so much more about these people.”
“Yes, we do need to know more. When this happened, Detective Mulberry sent men out, searching for witnesses. The story was always the same—no one saw anything, and everyone was horrified this could happen here. Thing is, I still don’t believe this could have happened with no one knowing anything.”
“We can’t bring everyone in the area in for questioning. We haven’t the time or the resources.” Hunter shook his head. “But for now, I know where we can go to find out more, or at least try to get in on some gossip.”
“True—gossip is an amazing help. But where is that we’re going?”
He laughed. “I say we stop in at the diner. Ryan will be happy. I’m sure he needs some company by now.”
“People do talk, and a local café is great for gossip. But I’d like some hard facts on this, too. And more on all the groups out here.” She hesitated. “You know, when I was a kid, my parents encouraged me to find out about different religions. My dad believed good people just took different paths to the same place. I can’t believe any legitimate rabbi, pastor, priest, imam or other leader of a legitimate church is doing this.”
“Ah, but on that side, you do have fanatics. And any fanatic is terrifying,” Hunter said. “I’m going to agree Pastor Colby looks suspicious—if this friendship with a man like Ethan Morrison is real. But it doesn’t brand him a murderer. Nor does it mean the man is anything other than what we see—a good man who is the head of a church. Sects can happen, though. And it’s terrifying and mind-boggling how one man can seize control of the minds of others. Thing is, a leader like that has an agenda. Sometimes money, sometimes power. We can all be fooled, but I don’t see Jared Colby as that kind of a man.”
Both of their phones buzzed simultaneously.
“Probably John or Brenda—with John having figured out he should just give us both anything he comes up with,” Hunter said.
She looked at her phone; yes, John had sent a message.
“Okay,” Hunter said. “So, the two priests and the rabbi check out as lily-white. But so does Jared Colby. We can’t condemn him just because of his associates,” he warned. “So far, no one has been able to prove anything against Morrison.”
“Innocent until proven guilty. Too bad it’s difficult to prove guilt when witnesses wind up dead. But there’s something else, too, Hunter, that’s been nagging at me.” She took a deep breath. “I’m afraid this is nowhere close to being over.”
After a pause, he said, “Four Horsemen.”
“Right. I’ve been doing a lot of reading. And the main thing is the text of the Bible is a matter of interpretation. And there are so many theories around it. But the first horse brings death by the sword, pestilence, famine and disease.”
“Yes?” He paused to look at her, frowning. “I see what you’re saying. We’re not even going to need a second horseman. Our first victim was struck through the heart—she wasn’t killed with a sword, per se, but with a metal-tipped stake. You’re afraid we’re going to find someone dead due to starvation, insect infestation or poison—and through sickness, brought on by a lethal disease.”