There was little they could do after surveying the room, though Amy had her sketchbook out. She worked, and Hunter marveled at the way her eyes seemed to stay on the condition of the room, assessing details, while her fingers seemed to work on their own.
He called both John Schultz to keep him apprised of the day’s events, and then Ryan to tell him that they’d be back soon.
“What’s the next move?” Ryan asked him. “I mean, we know where they set the young women up for killing—where they tortured them before murdering them—but does it give us anything else? What about the kid—Artie?”
“Well, we found the shack thanks to Artie. They’re keeping him in protective custody now. The attorneys are going to have to decide if he’ll be charged. He’s seeing a Dr. Kashi down there—maybe he can be confined in a facility for a while. Kashi seems to do well with him. Artie needs to be deprogrammed. He’s already better than he was last night.”
“But did he give us any names?” Ryan asked.
“According to him, Hank was the man in this area. The plan was to kidnap Amy, then Artie would have been allowed to meet others in the church. Artie was an easy mark for someone like Hank, who promised him a place to be loved and appreciated. It can be frighteningly easy to take over the mind of someone who has felt ignored and mocked their entire life, unloved, so to speak. We don’t know much about his family or Hank’s family. Detective Mulberry is going to be speaking with the families, finding out what he can through them.”
“Okay, do you want me to stay on top of that? I like Martin and Patty, but...”
“You’re tired of babysitting.”
“I just think I could be more useful.”
“Let me talk to my superior first.”
Ryan thanked him and he ended the call. He immediately called Charles Garza to bring him up on the latest events regarding the case, and let him know that he wanted to head north again.
“Why do you think they ‘practiced’ on a woman up there, and then came south with their next victims?” Garza asked.
Hunter told him, “I think they chose this area—and the north—because Ethan Morrison has property in both places.”
“You really suspect he’s behind this?”
“I do.”
“You’re talking big money here. Huge money. And influence.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t make any mistakes. Don’t let us look like fools in court.”
“No, sir. I’ll only hit him if I see him with a weapon in his hands about to commit murder.”
“Hunter—”
“Sir, I know. Sorry. But...none of this could be carried out without connections. Victims who have no identities...easily could have come from a private detention center. Hank killed himself with a suicide pill—Morrison has massive pharmaceutical holdings. He has a reputation for being a white elitist and a womanizer.”
“Right—so how do you become a Divine Leader with that reputation? I know you can explain this, and you know far more than I do.”
“Easy. You find people who feel the world is against them. Those who welcome the concept of rewards, because they feel like lesser people and want to be the chosen ones.”
“But why would a man like Morrison even want to do this?”
“He craves power. The right to do whatever he wants. Any time anyone kills at his command, it’s a tremendous lift. This is what I believe. Now the way to him, of course, is paved with followers—like Hank. Ready to die for their cause because they believe the rewards that await them will be great. Sir, you know as well as I do how many cults there are in existence today, and they have massive numbers of followers. Some are collecting weapons, and training their members as potentially violent forces, and so we have them on our watch lists. Most people do have a faith they adhere to. Some take it to the extreme because someone craves power.”
“Follow your nose, then, Hunter. Close this one. Details have been kept out of the media so far, but the news has wind of the women who have been killed and we need to get this stopped, now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call in for any help you need—even in the wilderness.”
“Special Agent Ryan Anders is proving to be quite an asset.”
“Then keep him working.”
“We may wind up with something big going down. We may need a small army.”
“And you’ll get it.”
“Right now, sir, I need a way out of here. When we learned about the shack, we asked for help from forensics expert Aidan Cypress. He’s busy right now.”
“I’ll see they send a local officer with an airboat out to get you. Leave Mulberry and his people and the team to gather what they can.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hunter finished with his call; he saw that Amy, too, had been speaking with her immediate supervisor.
“We’re good with FDLE,” she told him. “Well, not that you need to be good with FDLE, but I do. They’ve promised plenty of help when needed.”
“So, we’ll leave this to the experts here,” Hunter said. “Our drive north is about six hours.”
“Ready when you are.”
As they stood there, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and looked at Hunter as she studied the number, frowning, and then answered the call.
“Larson,” she said.
After a second’s pause, listening, she covered the phone’s microphone and whispered, “Artie.”
She listened gravely, and then thanked him.
“What is it?” Hunter demanded. He chaffed a little; he was officially in charge of the case. But then again, he’d been glad Amy’s talents included setting up a rapport with victims, and those involved as criminals, as well.
“He said he was talking to Kashi, and Kashi got him to remember everything, how Hank had gotten him into this all from the beginning. At one point, he remembered he told Hank he was worried about the cops. Hank told him not to worry. He says he’s been going crazy, trying to remember if Hank meant they’d be too slick for law enforcement, or that law enforcement might be involved.”
Hunter weighed her words.
Detective Victor Mulberry?
He’d known the man and known his reputation.
Mulberry couldn’t be involved with any of this. It seemed impossible.
But they couldn’t take chances. He nodded and called Ryan.