Hearths of Fire (24 page)

Charlotte took a step back as Neal leaned down and pulled his jeans back up around
his waist. He still needed to take care of the condom, but his phone was still ringing.
He sprinted into the living room to answer it, leaving her in the kitchen to sort
out the feelings he’d invoked with those last five words. Her English major kicked
in as she considered his verb. Yes,
worry
was the correct term. It encompassed everything in her life at the moment. She hadn’t
misspoken before though…she’d take this one moment at a time.

‡

N
eal came out
of his room after having taken a quick shower to find Charlotte sitting at the kitchen
table in the same chair they’d just had sex in. She’d pulled her hair back into some
type of clip, so the strands fell around it in soft waves. Her lips weren’t swollen
like he preferred them to be, but that was his fault. He’d been too preoccupied to
kiss her properly. He also refused to think about how his decision to continue their
intimacy might affect the two of them. He would have to make up for the quickness
of their act later tonight, but they had more important things on their agenda right
now.

The older member from the cult had been the one to call earlier. He’d finally had
a chance to slip into town and from what he’d alleged, the police had missed the trapdoor
behind the altar which was the main entrance into the subterranean area beneath the
compound. It was hard to make out the man’s words, as they were muffled against some
phone. He had to have used some place of business to engage the call for there were
no longer any public pay phones in the town of Hearth.

Neal could have taken the information to the sheriff or the state police, but at this
point they weren’t likely to take the blame for missing a concealed door that was
right under their feet. Besides that, the fact was that none of what he had alleged
to the police had panned out and that brought the probable cause for the warrant into
question. The only thing passing this intelligence on to the local authorities would
do is to somehow leak word to the Ashes that Neal was aware of this hidden access
point and possibly alert them to the presence of an informer. If they did have Becky,
the Ashes might do something drastic and he couldn’t take that chance.

“Neal, I think I’ve figured it out,” Charlotte said, excitement in her voice that
was just as evident in her sparkling blue eyes. When he looked at the table in front
of her it was to find the photos he’d taken at the Ashes’ residence. He ignored the
rich smell of coffee that he’d yet to have after he’d woken up earlier. “Look here.”

Charlotte stood, the chair squeaking slightly behind her as she did so. She had used
scraps of paper to place underneath each name, giving substance to what she’d discovered.
He immediately comprehended where she was going with this as he came to stand beside
her.

“Carl is a mechanic. Lindsey is a teacher. Frank is a farmer and Mandy is going for
nursing. The Ashes even had a photograph of Deputy Bryan. He’s in law enforcement.”
Charlotte placed her finger on another picture and pulled it down in front. “David
Kozlow is an engineer at the power plant. Each of these people would be able to contribute
a skillset toward enabling the cult to be self-sustaining.”

“They’re recruiting different people from various occupations. The police have to
have found these photos and the map during their search, which means they are trying
to determine the meaning of the same puzzle.” Neal ran through different scenarios
through his mind in regards to what the sheriff or the state police would do with
this information. Technically they would interview the people but if the cult had
yet to make contact with them…there would be nothing to tell them except the same
vague story they all knew. It wasn’t illegal to have pictures of people. “You did
really good, Char. I’m going to make a phone call and see if I can’t get this situation
resolved in a safe and legal manner without further police involvement.”

“What do you mean?” Charlotte looked at him inquisitively while she started to stack
up the papers and pictures. “And if it’s that simple, why didn’t you say something
before?”

“Unfortunately it’s
not
simple or certain, for that matter.” Neal couldn’t resist kissing the top of her
head and inhaling the sweet floral fragrance that her hair never seemed to be without.
It fueled him on for what he needed to do. “I’m going to go out onto the porch though.
I think it best we show that we’re not afraid of Ashes to Dirt and considering they
don’t know that Mandy is gone, it’s best to keep up appearances. I figure once the
police gave them the all clear, Robert and Patricia will have their members back out
on patrol in force.”

Neal could see the numerous questions flood through Charlotte that she wanted to ask,
but since he really didn’t have any answers yet he walked out of the kitchen to his
destination. He closed the front door firmly behind him, wishing he’d grabbed that
damn cup of coffee he’d been wanting since he’d gotten up. He wouldn’t go back inside
though until he had made his proposal to Starr and Gunny.

Before he took a seat on the front step of Charlotte’s porch he casually glanced around
the neighborhood. It was in the middle of a Monday so he assumed the majority of the
residents were at work. There was an older gentleman that sure looked like Mr. Mangus,
his chemistry teacher back in high school, down four houses raking the leaves from
the large oak tree in his front yard. There was no sign of any strangers roaming the
streets wearing black clothing. That sure as hell didn’t mean they weren’t around.

Pulling his cell out of the front pocket of his jeans, he swiped the screen and entered
his pin. He selected his speed dial buttons and hit HRT’s operations line. He rested
his feet on the step below, relaxing his elbow against his right knee. There was a
slight breeze that had a nip in the air and Neal figured it wouldn’t get above sixty
degrees today or for that matter, the rest of the week. Perfect weather for what he
planned to take place in a few days.

“Talk to me,” Gunny barked into his phone on the other end of the line.

“I figure if I’ve timed it right I’ve got around five minutes to convince you to bring
the team to Missouri.” Neal figured it was best to get his request out there, similar
to ripping a bandage off in one swipe. He’d certainly done it enough while on his
combat tour to know it was more effective. “You got your stopwatch?”

“Why the fuck would you think I would even consider authorizing something like that?”

“Starr tell you about this cult I’m dealing with?”

“That your ex-fiancée’s sister got herself caught up with a bunch of nuts who believe
their son is the messiah?” Gunny’s voice had a touch of humor in his words that Neal
didn’t appreciate, but then again his lead operator didn’t know the circumstances…yet.
“Yeah, Starr mentioned it. That isn’t our concern and you know it. You’re due back
here tomorrow.”

“What if I said the same cult you’re referring to kidnapped a seventeen-year-old girl
and the police have been unable to do shit about it?” Neal could sense that he finally
had Gunny’s attention. “The police searched the property and found no trace of her.
I have an internal informant who’s saying that the girl is definitely there. My gut
is telling me that the sheriff thinks I’m causing a stink due to Mandy’s involvement.
If I push any harder for Plinkton to continue looking he’ll back off indefinitely
and fix his sights on another alleged lead. I’m telling you…Rebecca Garson is on that
property. I think this is a great opportunity to practice our non-lethal force hostage
rescue mission on a live situation. It’ll be a valuable training tactic for the team.”

“Say I were to agree with you, although I’m not saying that just yet. Who would foot
the bill for this excursion?”

“I would.” Neal came to the conclusion that it was the only way. Becky’s parents didn’t
make enough in a year for what this would cost in flights, hotels, preparation, gear,
and anything else that might be needed. It was a small price to pay to find the girl
and eradicate any threat that may still pose for Mandy. If that meant putting off
that fishing boat he wanted, so be it. “Dock my pay.”

“Son of a bitch, Doc,” Gunny bit out, clearly annoyed that Neal would even make this
proposal. It was a damn good one though, and they both knew it. “Do you understand
that days of planning would have to go into this before we actually execute a strategy?
We have to obtain clearance from federal, state, and local law enforcement. We have
to split our time in twelve hours shifts to monitor the comings and goings of the
compound. The background checks alone would—”

“Backgrounds are being run on every member that I had the ability to pinpoint.” Neal
left out that Daegan had been taking information from him daily. Whomever was helping
his friend had created a list of people who’d followed the Ashes to Hearth. She was
already compiling dossiers and Daegan should have them shortly. It wouldn’t do to
get either of their asses on suspension before this went down, so Neal kept that piece
of information to himself. “I’ll have profiles printed out before your feet land in
Hearth, blueprints are already sitting in your inbox, and I know the patrol routine
of the compound.”

There was silence on the phone telling Neal that his proposition was being considered.
The team had yet to work on cohesion during a real world situation. One couldn’t put
a price tag on experience and the team unequivocally needed the practice before doing
an offshore mission. Neal had continually been looking around the area, and finally
one of the members chose to make an appearance. It was even obvious from where he
was sitting that the man hadn’t expected Neal to be outside. The man jerkily kept
moving, crossing the four-way stop and walking away.

“They want Mandy and although they’ll stop at nothing to get her, the Ashes are being
careful now that the sheriff has targeted them. I’ve sent Mandy somewhere safe, but
it’s only a matter of time before they come looking for her.” Neal stretched his legs
out in front of him, debating on following the member around the corner of the street.
He decided against it. “I’ll be stoking the fires this afternoon though when I pay
a visit to the school today during Garreth’s credit class.”

“Don’t go fueling any fucking thing until I talk this over with Starr.” Gunny wasn’t
happy with this scenario, but there was a slight enthusiastic tone to his voice that
wasn’t there before. The team had been training for months, but there was nothing
like a live mission to get the adrenaline pumping. It was who they were. “Give me
ten and I’ll call you back.”

Neal wasn’t surprised when Gunny disconnected the line without a by your leave. Their
lead operator wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like this to see how well the team fit
together as a unit. If he read Gunny’s character right, the team would be here by
nightfall. Neal’s phone was vibrating within thirty seconds.

“I have to admit, Doc…you had more equipment in that medical bag of yours than I would
have thought,” Daegan said, apparently having some extra time to talk now that Gunny
hadn’t started their block training. “Gunny and Starr are having an intense conversation
in Starr’s office.”

“I don’t need a blow by blow, Einstein.” Neal had picked up on the fact that Daegan
didn’t like being called out for his high IQ. Dishing a little dirt back was kind
of fun. “You have your girl working on those dossiers?”

“When will you learn not to question me? When I say I’ll have things done, they’ll
be done. If Starr agrees to this plan do you want me to hand over the profiles before
we depart?”

Neal wanted to say no due to the fact he didn’t want Daegan’s antics in this little
sideshow highlighted unless they had to be. Unfortunately they were running short
on time and if the team was given those hours to review the members of the cult—specifically
the Ashes—it would save them a lot of time.

“Yes. Give them the necessary backgrounds and plead the fifth from any questions they
throw at you.” Neal unfolded his frame and stood, deciding it was time to make a few
visits. He’d start with Becky’s parents and then hit the school before the dismissal
bell rang. He wanted to catch Garreth unaware, provided he was even at school. They’d
detained him at the station last night long enough to get a head start on the property
search. Neal hoped like hell the kid was in class as dropping by the compound might
not be such a good idea at the moment. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Confident much?”

“It’s got me through this far, it’ll carry me through the rest.” Neal wasn’t just
talking about this scenario so much as he was referring to his eight years in the
military. He thought back to what Daegan had said in regards to the past and though
this wasn’t the most opportune time to bring the subject up again, he couldn’t resist.
“When you said it was impossible to recapture the past…what if I told you there was
a way?”