Page 137 of Seven Deadly Sins

Tears poured down her cheeks. “I knew he would.”

“If he could get it so easily, why didn’t he finish the project?”

“Because I wanted the mansion built here. It’s our third home.” Her sobs increased. “I never thought he’d run out of money.”

Too bad they weren’t on the sin of greed. This woman would’ve been at the top of his list. He snarled and marched from the room, turning off the light and plunging her into darkness. Let her think about her sins.

He climbed the stairs leading out of the storm shelter. A van driven by Daniel pulled onto the grounds. Men, women, and children poured out, pulling the hoods from the heads and looking around. Robert clapped. He was building back his empire.

They would all be crowded until more housing was built. Something they couldn’t do as long as helicopters circled the mountain every day. They’d manage.

Arms wide, he welcomed the newcomers and ushered them into the house. “Good job, Daniel.”

The other man nodded, then headed for the barn. Ah, the barn. A massive structure that could easily be converted into sleeping quarters. The few men who had built the compound would gladly move there. That would leave the main house for the families. He’d give Daniel the order as soon as the newcomers were settled. They would also need a place to meet so he could properly train his new followers.

So much to do, so little time. He wouldn’t finish his mission of ridding the world of the agent and detective as soon as he would’ve liked. But, he had souls to nurture. They must come first.

~

Harper hadn’t had a text from Robert in a week. He didn’t respond to any she sent him. The man had gone dark. Why?

The federal agents were as stumped as she was. She’d heard rumors that some of them might be called back to their offices of origin. There was further talk that Robert might have been in an accident or died some other way. She didn’t think so. The man was up to something.

She’d thought he would’ve asked about construction on the new community. Since he hadn’t, she had to assume he knew work was commencing. That meant someone had told him. She tapped a pencil on her desk.

“Anxious?” Liam glanced over from his desk.

“A bit. The silence from Robert is both confusing and frightening. I don’t like not—”

Annie burst into the room. “We have several abandoned vehicles sitting in a farmer’s corn field.”

“Okay?” Harper frowned. Rusty vehicles showed up in fields all the time.

“Newer models.”

Harper glanced at Liam who shrugged. “We’ll check it out. It’s a slow day.” He stood. “You have something better to do?”

“Not at the moment.” She followed him outside. While abandoned vehicles weren’t very exciting, neither was sitting idle at her desk. At least they’d stopped going up in the helicopter for a few days.

“Want to grab lunch after we pay a visit to the field?” Liam slid into the driver’s seat.

“Sounds good.”

“Barker called again this morning. He’s worried that we’ve not seen live feed on his wife.”

“I don’t blame him. It concerns me, too. We have no idea of knowing whether she’s alive.”

“I’m going with her being alive until we hear otherwise.”

Since she’d expressed her desire to keep things professional, he no longer opened the door for her. It shouldn’t bother her, but it did. No matter how much she told herself things were better at an arm’s length, her heart called her an idiot. Her decision might be the reason Liam flees Oakdale the second their case was solved.

The field wasn’t too far out of town and set off a ways from the main house. A little used dirt road led to where seven vehicles were parked in a perfectly straight line. “Spooky.”

“Orderly.” Liam opened his door and exited the jeep. He stopped at the edge of the field. “Partiers?”

Harper stared at the thick stand of trees on the other side of the field. “Why be so neat about their parking if they’re going to party in the woods?” She marched toward the vehicles.

She stopped a few feet away and studied the ground. A lot of footprints in the dirt around the cars. The footprints led to where another vehicle had been parked, then disappeared. “Someone picked these people up. A day trip?”