If Ephraim had gotten murdered, he hadn’t wanted any of the others to survive, either. His mother knew that if he didn’t visit her every three months she was to assume he’d met with foul play. Except that now she didn’t remember one day to the next, much less how long it had been since he’d come to see her. Which was why he’d taken her keys – or thought he had.
That she’d had an actual key, one that she’d kept secret from him? This was really bad.
He’d literally given the Feds a road map to the compound and its assets. He hadn’t yet added a map since their last move, after Miriam ran away, but it didn’t matter. They were reusing a past location because it had been November and they’d needed shelter as snow had already begun to fall.
So the Feds would still find them. Fuck me.
‘Harry?’ Dr Burkett prompted. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine,’ he insisted. ‘You’re sure that Miriam wasn’t there with a man? Either blond or with dark hair like hers?’
‘The aide only said that she saw the two women. She took a photo of them with her phone. I can send it to you.’
‘I can’t get photos with this phone. It’s very basic.’ And he didn’t want to give the doctor the number to his smartphone, in case the doctor was too chummy with Pastor. He didn’t want DJ to be able to track him with the smartphone, like he’d done with the last one.
‘I can print them up for you if you want to come and get them. And you might visit your mother. She misses you.’
‘I’ll stop by when I can.’
If the cops got hold of that key, they’d know everything about Eden. They’d know where the compound currently existed. And if Ephraim told Pastor that they had to move again, Pastor would want to know why. If he admitted that the Feds had his maps? Ephraim might as well kiss the millions goodbye.
He needed to get to Mercy asap. His brain started to spin, trying to think of how to best lure her away from her protectors. ‘Thanks,’ he said brusquely. ‘I need to go.’
‘Not so fast,’ the doctor chided. ‘I’m really surprised you didn’t ask more about the key that your mother gave your wife.’
Ephraim bit back a snarl at the thought of Mercy in the same room with his mother. ‘I don’t know what key my mother thought she had or thought she gave to Miriam Smith, but she was mistaken. And if she did have a key, it has nothing to do with me. Thank you for calling, Doctor.’
‘Harry, Harry, Harry. I think it has everything to do with you. And I know you took the original key from her a few years ago.’
Ephraim licked his lips nervously. ‘The original?’ he asked carefully.
‘The original,’ the doctor confirmed, his tone smug. ‘I made the copy for her. Before you took the original, obviously.’
Ephraim’s blood ran cold. This man knew too much. ‘You’re lying.’
‘I think you know that I’m not.’ Burkett spoke calmly. Confidently.
Ephraim wanted to break his fucking neck. ‘Why did she make a copy?’
‘Because she was becoming forgetful and was afraid she’d lose the original. I didn’t realize at the time that the key had belonged to you.’
‘Get to the fucking point,’ Ephraim growled. ‘What do you want?’ Because if his mother had given the copy to Mercy, there was nothing the doctor could do to him that was worse than what Mercy could do.
‘My goodness. No need to be so hostile. The point is, I made more than one copy.’
Shit. Shit, damn, and fuck. Ephraim took a deep breath, forced his voice to be as calm as Burkett’s as he adjusted his plans to include silencing this doctor who knew too much. ‘Still not making a point, Doc.’
‘My point is that now I realize that the original key belonged to you, I thought you might like the other copy I made.’
A shiver of relief loosened some of Ephraim’s dread. This would be about money, then. ‘What do you want?’
‘I think that’s a conversation best had in person. When can I expect you?’
When can I expect you? Seriously? Could Burkett truly believe that Ephraim would negotiate with him? Didn’t he watch the goddamn news? Was the man truly that stupid? Did he think Ephraim was that stupid?
Not that it mattered what Burkett thought. It also didn’t matter if Burkett really had a key to his safe-deposit box or not. Nor did it matter if Ephraim got the damn key back. It only mattered that Burkett wasn’t allowed to use it or tell anyone else about it. And, should the good doctor die tonight, Ephraim would have accomplished both goals.
Santa Rosa was only a few hours away. ‘I’ll be by your house by ten at the latest.’ With my gun loaded and ready to shoot your fucking head off.
‘See you then, Harry.’
Twenty-six
Granite Bay, California
Tuesday, 18 April, 7.05 P.M.
‘DJ was talking about me?’ Mercy asked. It wasn’t unexpected after their trip to Snowbush, but hearing Amos confirm it was disconcerting.
‘It was likely a call from the owner of the Snowbush general store,’ Molina told them. ‘The time frame matches up to the call you saw the man make after you all left the store on Monday.’
‘He was telling DJ that I was in the store,’ Mercy said. ‘So it was DJ who killed Ginger and the store owner. And his wife?’
Molina shrugged. ‘Maybe. We don’t have direct evidence yet, but the facts line up to give us a helluva lot of circumstantial evidence. Mr Terrill has accurately described Ginger’s house as their first stop after leaving the compound.’
‘Abigail and I were hiding in the bed of DJ’s truck, under a blanket,’ Amos explained. ‘That’s how we got out. DJ got out of the truck and went into the house. After he came out, he drove away in another car. That’s when I figured it was safe enough to poke my head out. I got a quick glimpse of the house, but I was really checking for DJ. He was gone, so I took the truck and drove away as fast as I could go. I didn’t know he was going to kill anyone,’ he added, looking at Gideon. ‘I promise you that.’
‘I believe you,’ Gideon said. He turned to Molina. ‘You think that DJ Belmont killed Ginger from the general store?’
‘It makes sense,’ Molina said. ‘DJ Belmont was a wild card we weren’t expecting.’
‘That’s for sure,’ Gideon muttered, then returned his attention to Amos. ‘You heard DJ mention Mercy’s name when you were still in Eden?’
Amos nodded, his expression still a bit stunned. ‘I followed him because he’d just rejected my request to accompany him into town. I was trying to find a way to smuggle Abigail out, but I couldn’t do that unless I could go with her. He didn’t outright reject me, but I knew that’s what he meant. I’d been wondering who was in on the lies and I figured DJ had to be, too. But I still couldn’t believe my ears when he said Mercy’s name. Neither could DJ, I think. When the person on the other end of the call mentioned her, DJ went pale as a ghost. He was really scared. All this time I thought she was dead. I think DJ did too, based on his surprise. He didn’t bring back a body for you, Mercy. He told us that he had to bury you in the forest so that he could look for your mother. He was afraid the animals would attack him if he carried your remains.’