“If she calls us again or comes back,” Patty said softly. “Especially after this.”
“Martin, did you go out last night, hoping Billie had come back?” Hunter asked.
Martin sighed. “Yes, and I knocked over one of the big garbage bins. I thought... I thought I heard something. Maybe I did. Maybe those bastards were killing that poor woman right beneath my nose.”
“No, Martin, like I said,” Hunter told him. “The ME thinks she was killed before, that...well, he thinks she was killed a few days ago. She was just left to be...found recently.”
He glanced over at Amy. She knew what he was thinking.
The woman had been left out for the insects to finish consuming her, down to the bone. She was meant to be found, but not in any recognizable condition.
“Are we in danger?” Patty asked suddenly, her frown fierce.
“I don’t believe so. You have each other, and if you disappeared, you’d be missed. But another agent will be taking a room here for the next few nights, if that’s all right with you. He’ll be here tonight, and he’ll be keeping an eye on things, too. His name is Ryan Anders. Special Agent Ryan Anders, and I think you’ll find him trustworthy, as well.”
“We’ll get him set up right next to you, Special Agent Forrest,” Martin said.
“Maybe on the other side of Special Agent Larson,” Patty said.
“Whichever,” Hunter told them. He glanced at Amy. “Agent Larson is pretty good at taking care of herself.”
“Of course,” Patty said. “I didn’t mean to imply—oh, yes, sorry. I guess I was.”
“It’s all right, Patty,” Amy assured her. “We all need others to watch our backs.”
“I’m sure glad she has mine,” Hunter said, rising.
Amy followed suit, as did Patty and Martin.
“One more thing,” Hunter said. “And please, think carefully. Have you seen anything unusual around the motel?”
They looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I mean... Well, I guess we just don’t expect things like this to happen and don’t spend time watching for bad things?” Patty said weakly, the words a question to them, and herself.
“I do have a rifle,” Martin said. “I don’t have a pool, but where we are...well, I’m prepared for an aggressive gator.”
“Or human being,” Patty added. “Unfortunately, we don’t have an alarm system.”
“Even our room keys, as you’ve noticed, I’m sure, are older than dirt,” Martin added.
“You’ll be okay. Just...stay vigilant. You know, I can call in—get someone to watch over this place, if you’d like,” Hunter said.
Patty looked at her husband; Martin held her gaze. “No,” he said softly, addressing Patty rather than the two of them. “But, Patty, I’m not worried about me. I worry about you—”
“You think I’m more afraid of those bastards than I am of chemotherapy?” Patty asked him. “I think I’m going to put my faith is something high.” She looked straight at Amy and Hunter and said, “I’ve had incredible years, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get a few more. But I’d trade my old life for that young lady’s years in a heartbeat. Don’t you worry—Martin knows how to use his shotgun. And he wields it well, with damned good ammunition. You ever try to pierce a gator’s skin?”
Amy smiled. “No, I’ve never tried.”
“You tell me if you change your mind,” Hunter said, addressing Martin and Patty.
He and Amy took their leave at last. Hunter headed toward the driver’s seat and Amy didn’t protest.
Sliding into the passenger’s seat, she said, “Please tell me you think they’re the real deal?”
He smiled. “I do. But remember, we could be wrong.”
“He admitted to being out there last night.”
“I don’t see Martin Sanders for it,” he said. “But all avenues remain open.”
“Do they? What about Victor Mulberry? Why would anyone be afraid of local law enforcement?”
He was quiet, giving her words thought.
“Again, all avenues are open. Sometimes, people are complicit without knowing it, but Mulberry is an old, seasoned cop, with no suggestion of any form of corruption in his record—no hint there were ever even whispers.”
“You know this?”
He nodded, glancing her way. “We have ways of finding things out,” he told her.
At her look, he laughed. “Legal ones, I swear. There’s no good in catching a bad guy if you wind up losing him in court. Hey, grab my phone and give Ryan a call. Catch him up on everything—make sure he checks on Martin and Patty Sanders when he gets back.”
“He’ll have to check with them if he wants to get in a room,” she reminded him.
“Yes, true, but emphasize we want to make sure they’re doing all right, that nothing else has happened in the area or with them.”
“Got it.”
When she ended her call, Amy glanced at the dashboard clock and groaned. “Look at the time! Do you still think we’re going to find Pastor Colby at the church?”
“Yes.”
“And why are you so sure?”
“Because news of bodies seems to spread like wildfire. The press was out there right on the heels of law enforcement. Pastor Colby will be at church, reassuring the frightened and nervous among his flock. Also, he knows we’re coming. Young Pastor Karyl will have told him.”
“So, he’ll be waiting.”
He glanced her way again. “Oh, yes. Waiting, and most probably worrying over everything he’s going to have to say.”
* * *
“You’re saying a man must be evil if he’s rich?” Pastor Jared Colby asked.
Hunter smiled easily. “Pastor Colby, I said nothing of the kind. Those are your words.”
Amy looked over at Hunter. “I know tons of wealthy people who are wonderful. I know you do, too,” she said.
“Yes, but you’ve come to me over Ethan Morrison, having heard from someone that I have a friendship with him.”
“Well, you do, right?” Amy asked.
Colby sighed. “What does this have to do with anything?” he asked.
“The young women who have died—” Hunter began.