Page 136 of Seven Deadly Sins

“As much as I don’t want to, despite the beauty of the mountain from that height, it’s our best way of finding out where Robert is hiding. If he was in town, someone would’ve spotted him or Lucy before her body was dumped. Theoretically.”

“But Thompson is like a ghost. A master of disguise. We could pass him on the street and not know he was there.”

She nodded. “That’s what makes him so dangerous.”

He stretched out a leg and nudged her. “We’ll get him.”

“Yes. It might not be until he comes for us, but we will get him.” Her phone buzzed. “It’s a text from Barker. A receipt for lumber.” She grinned. “I’ll send this to Robert right away.”

~

Robert used a cane as he entered a nightclub frequented by country club members. A few of his followers that weren’t rounded up might be there. A loyal few who would join him at the compound and temporarily leave their lives of luxury behind.

He approached one who had not been caught by the police. “Are you enlightened?”

“I am.” The man never glanced his way.

“Are there others?”

“A handful. It’s good to know you are still with us.”

Robert dropped a business card on the floor by the man’s feet. “Gather them up and come. All are needed. Convert if you can.” He walked on by as if they hadn’t spoken and took a seat at the opposite end of the bar.

What he wanted to do was stand and preach about the coming new world, but that would send someone straight to the police. He had to stay in the shadows and let his faithful few take the reins. “A glass of your finest whiskey.”

“You got money, old man?” The bar tender tilted his head.

“More than I need.”

Seconds later, he had a drink in front of him and studied those in the building. These people were too upscale for the work he needed them for. He needed men and women from the seedier side of life. People who would do anything he asked for the promise of something far greater.

He finished his drink quickly and left for a less nice bar. There, he took a seat between two men already deep into their drinks and struck up an innocent conversation at first, slowly weaving in the great vision of the man the authorities were looking for.

“Think about it. A world without sin?”

“No such thing,” one of them said.

“What if sin then becomes whatever the enlightened say it is?” Robert crooked a brow. “Does that kind of world entice you?”

“What do you care, old man?” He downed a shot of amber liquid. “Why so interested in what I believe?”

Robert shrugged. “I’m thinking of joining the cause. Time is short. Why not see an improved world before I go?”

“I’m intrigued. Leave me some details to think on.”

Robert slid a business card to each man on each side of him. “Spread the word.” He slid from his bar stool and left with a spring in his step.

His phone signaled a text. He pulled it from inside his vest and glanced at the screen. A receipt for lumber.

He really hadn’t expected the man to come through so quickly. He’d wanted to use the woman as an example of what happened when his demands weren’t met. He sighed heavily and returned to the rusty sedan he’d left in the alley.

Why didn’t the fact he’d cured a man of his sin not make him feel better? He’d rid Barker of being a sloth. The community would be a better place now.

Had he really gone so far that he wanted to cause pain to someone tied to a chair?

Chapter Three

Robert stared atthe frightened woman in front of him. “Your husband came up with the money.”