Page 12 of Twisted Truths

A knock on the door makes us pause, and Archie Conway, the other partner of the firm, sticks his head in. “John Cooper’s in reception asking for you,” he says in a serious tone. “He doesn’t look happy.”

Ryan frowns. “Have him wait in the conference room. I’ll be five minutes.”

“No,” I interrupt. “Send him in here. I want to talk to him.”

Archie’s brow rises, and he defers to his partner.

Ryan shakes his head. “Not a good idea, Nash. This is neither the time nor the place.” To Archie, he says, “I’ll see John in the conference room.”

With a nod, Archie closes the door behind him.

“We have to tread carefully,” Ryan tells us. “If you want justice for Zara and your family, you need to be patient and go through the right channels. This is not the time to become a vigilante. If we’re going to build a case, we need to play it smart. Gather our own evidence … legally,” he adds when I straighten in my seat. “I know it’s frustrating, but any misstep could jeopardise everything. We have to stay within the law, or all of it will be for nothing.”

“How are we supposed to gather evidence?” I press. “It’s not like either of us can infiltrate the fucking cult.”

“Have you considered it could be someone who’s not involved with the Circle?”

I let out a derisive scoff. “It’s no coincidence this all happened hours after she got free of Gabriel Solomon’s clutches. If it wasn’t him, I’m sure his old man wouldn’t be happy having someone leave his flock.”

“The timing makes sense,” Levi adds. “It has to have been them.”

He levels us with a hard look. “Don’t do anything stupid. Let’s ascertain the validity of this letter first. We’ll go from there.”

My jaw tightens, but I give him a terse nod as I get to my feet. I’m lying. There’s no way I’m sitting on my arse and waiting for the incompetent local police to investigate whenthey’re so hellbent on blaming Zara and wiping their hands of it. He knows it, too, by the worried gaze he watches us with as we leave his office.

The tension vibrates between Levi and me as we walk out to the car. Levi’s as restless as I am as he starts the engine, gripping the wheel tighter than usual. A frown mars his calm façade. It’s been five days since my family was murdered. Six days since Levi helped my sister escape Solomon’s cult. We still don’t know why she joined them in the first place.

“We need to talk to Tanner,” I finally say, breaking the silence.

Levi’s frown deepens. “You think he had something to do with it?”

“He had something to do with why she ended up in the cult. I want to know what he did to her.”

Pressing his lips into a thin line, he nods and takes the next turn, heading towards what I assume is the house Tanner shared with my sister until eight months ago.

I never met Tanner Crawley. He only moved to Barrenridge five years ago, but he quickly took a shining to Zara, and it wasn’t long before they started dating. When they finished high school, they moved to Rafters Falls so Zara could study a Certificate III in Hairdressing at the TAFE, while Tanner began a building apprenticeship.

The small farmhouse they rented is on the outskirts of town, and something niggles at me when I realise how secluded it is. Set on an acre, their neighbours wouldn’t hear a thing. Levi and I exchange a loaded glance as we turn onto the driveway and see Tanner’s ute sitting in front of the garage. It’s four in the afternoon. He would have just finished work.

We pull up behind it, and Levi shuts off the engine.

“How do you want tohandle this?”

I shrug. “We ask him what he can tell us about Zara and take it from there. See how he reacts.”

“Right.”

Tanner steps onto his front porch as we climb out of the car, and my gaze locks on his as I shut the door. His face twists in confusion, but then Levi rounds the car, and there’s a fleeting moment of panic in his eyes when he registers who I must be. He quickly schools his expression though.

“Levi,” he says in greeting, tucking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “What’s up?”

“Tanner.” Levi’s voice is gruff. “This is Nash, Zara’s brother.”

My sister’s ex-boyfriend shifts his attention to me. “Sorry about your family.”

“Are you?” I challenge, and he balks.

“Excuse me?”