Page 98 of Diluted Truths

I had no reason to be so annoyed by everyone around me, but I was. I was so angry, mad, scared, annoyed. You name it, I probably felt that.

I couldn’t help but think about what Jackie was going through. Was she hurt? Injured? Scared? Was she even alive?

I shook my head, trying to stop the spiraling of my thoughts. “I know. I do… I just…” I began, but didn’t even know how to answer.

“You just want to find her,” the officer responded. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I do, too.” Officer Guerrero said, I finally looked at her nametag. “I did make some calls about Griffin.”

This caught my attention. I wasn’t sure how, but I was sure he had something to do with her disappearance.

“He was in lockdown at the time of her disappearance, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t involved. His sketches of her indicate a clear obsession with Miss James.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “I was able to make some connections between him and a few religious organizations. One of which may be associated with the Cult you have been investigating.”

“Wait, seriously?” I asked, excited about an actual lead.

She nodded. “Their beliefs and practices closely align with what you have ascertained from the Cult of Creatio. We still have people we need to question about this, but it seems like a viable lead.”

“Do you think it was the cult who took her?” I asked, hopeful.

“I can’t answer that. I don’t have enough evidence to make a clear judgment.”

“Officer Guerrero…”

“Scarlett, call me Scarlett,” she interrupted.

“Scarlett,” I continued, “Completely off the record, in your opinion. Do you think it was them?”

Scarlett hesitated for a moment before answering my question.

“Yes.”

Missing for Five Days

I walked into the Fibonacci Files office to find everyone sitting around the conference table. I had gone home to change and shower because Sarah dropped enough hints that I smelled like, and I quote, ‘a publicrestroom’. They hadn’t seen me yet and I took the opportunity to listen to their heated discussion. It seemed as if it was Sarah, Kai, and Theo against Fai, Goldie, and Oliver.

“We can’t just assume it’s the cult,” Fai said to the group.

“No, but we can’t assume that it’s not,” Kai argued. “By immediately disregarding that possibility, you are disregarding a legitimate explanation for what’s happened.”

“We don’t even know if the cult itself is legitimate,” Goldie said to Kai.

“Maybe, but there is more pointing to it being real than it not,” Theo responded.

I started to chuckle at the scene in front of me, drawing the attention of the group. Jackie really brought the most diverse group of opinions together. Hell, Fai didn’t even know Kai existed until last week. Yet, here we were fighting.

Fighting for Jackie.

“What’s so funny?” Sarah asked me.

“Nothing. This, us,” I responded, gesturing to everyone. “Jackie would love this. All of her favorite people in the same room.”

I watched as everyone smiled, obviously agreeing. I walked around the table and took a seat at the end. I took one more moment to look at all of us.

We had journalists, a photographer, a psychiatrist, an analyst, a professor, and an Army Ranger. None of us were qualified to be heading a search for Jackie, yet here we were. For the first time since I walked into that empty apartment, I felt hope we would pull this off.

“It’s been five days,” Oliver said quietly.