The Safest Lies. Debra Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ got the picture now. Ross and Cecelia were a couple. He didn’t want her anywhere near the line of fire. A personal connection more often than not spelled trouble when it came to an assignment like this one.

      “Help from most any source can be useful, but Ross could be right,” Sadie said, not to change the woman’s mind but because it was true.

      The hard look Ross sent her way shouted loud and clear that he wasn’t happy with how she had responded to the offer. Too bad. He wanted Sadie to do a job, an extraction—a very risky extraction. Why wouldn’t she use any available resources?

      “Levi is my brother,” Cecelia said. “I want to help.” She glanced at Ross. “I need to help.”

      “You understand that when this is over, there could be a backlash?” Sadie needed her to comprehend the long-term ramifications of any step she might opt to take. Sadie didn’t like getting civilians involved but it seemed as if this one was already eyeball deep in the situation.

      “I do. The past decade of my life has been one long backlash. I think I can handle a little more.”

      Ross obviously didn’t think so.

      Sadie stared directly at him. “Is this going to be a problem for you?”

      She didn’t like problems. Especially those that came from the people who were supposed to be on her side.

      He held her gaze for a moment before saying, “I guess not.”

      “Good.” Sadie turned back to Cecelia. “You tell whomever you believe will get the word out the fastest that the agent who was working with your brother showed up and was going around town asking questions.” She shrugged. “Trying to help, but now she’s suddenly gone missing and you’re worried about her.”

      Cecelia nodded. “I can do that.”

      “The most likely starting place?” Sadie asked, looking from one man to the next.

      “The church,” Ross said. He glanced at Cecelia as he spoke. “We have reason to believe the Salvation Survivalists were working with the primary group in some capacity. They were housing weapons most likely intended for the Resurrection group, but we don’t have solid evidence of that conclusion. The ATF is looking at that aspect along with numerous others but, as we’ve established, they’re taking too damned long and they’re not sharing.”

      “But you’re certain the two are or were connected.”

      “We are,” Ross said.

      Tanner and Brannigan agreed, as well.

      “Then that’s where I’ll start.” To Cecelia she said, “You put the word out about me asking questions.” She shifted her attention to Tanner. “Make sure the local news reports a missing federal agent. No name, just a description,” she reminded.

      Tanner nodded. “I can make that happen.”

      “I’d like to familiarize myself with maps of the area, particularly around the church.”

      Ross spread the maps on the conference table and started the briefing regarding landscape. Sadie took her time and carefully committed the maps to memory. One of the things that made her good at her job was her ability to memorize maps and recall landmarks. For a girl who grew up in the city, she was a damned good tracker. As good as any hunter she’d ever worked with and she’d worked with a few.

      More than anything, she paid attention. The old saying that it was all in the details was more often true than not. The details were crucial. One didn’t need a photographic memory to recall the details. She just had to pay attention.

      “What about the church?” Sadie considered the map of the area around the church, which appeared to be well outside town. “I need some additional history on the church.”

      “My father started the church about thirty-five years ago,” Cecelia explained. “He was a very cruel man, capable of anything. He had many devoted followers who turned to my older brother, Marcus, after our father’s murder. There are those who still believe one or both to be messiahs of a sort. I’m confident the most deeply devoted know far more than they’ve shared. If they hear about you, you better believe the word will go where you want it.”

      Ross pushed a folder in Sadie’s direction. “This will give you a good overview of what we know. It’s not complete by any means, but it’s as much as anyone knows.”

      Sadie opened the file and skimmed the first page. “I’d like some time to go over what you have and then I’ll drive out to the church, hide my car and start digging around. If I’m lucky, someone will come looking for me in short order.”

      “For the record,” Chief of Police Brannigan spoke up again, “I still think this is a bad idea.”

      Sadie wished she could convince him otherwise but to an extent he was correct. This was most likely a bad idea.

      But their options were limited. Sometimes the bad ideas were the only feasible ones.

       Chapter Two

      Dusk was settling way too fast. Sadie had knocked on doors in the vicinity of the church—not that there were that many. She’d asked straightforward questions, calling the group she sought by name. Then she’d driven to the now-defunct church of the Salvation Survivalists and she’d started poking around.

      Breaking in had been a breeze. The ATF and the FBI had gone through the building numerous times and though every entrance had been secured, the lock on the back door was damaged. All of ten seconds were required to rip the crime scene seal away and finagle the thing open. As easy as taking candy from a baby.

      It was possible a couple of days might be required to garner the attention she sought. Not good for her target. Levi Winters might not have a couple of days. On the other hand, it was possible he wasn’t a hostage at all and was happily ensconced among friends deep within this suspicious group. His sister, Cecelia, was convinced he was a hostage, but sisters didn’t always know the whole story.

      Sadie’s sister certainly did not.

      She and her sister had never been friends. Maybe it was the ten years that separated them in age or the fact that her sister had chosen a path Sadie despised. Pricilla Buchanan was a criminal defense attorney. Her entire existence was focused on undoing what law enforcement personnel like Sadie risked their lives to do. Of course their mother insisted they were both angels, but she was wrong. Their mother wanted to see good in everyone. Pricilla was not good. She was self-centered, self-serving and indifferent when it came to justice.

      Sadie kicked aside thoughts of her older sister as she strolled the halls of the extremist church whose followers still refused to speak ill of their most recent infamous leader. The man, Cecelia Winters’s older brother as it turned out, had been hiding smuggled guns. He’d sworn he had no idea how the weapons had ended up in the secret underground hiding place beneath the church. He’d gone so far as to attempt to claim the weapons had been there since before his father died almost nine years ago. Talk about a scumbag. Then again, apparently his father had been an even bigger lowlife.

      Ross and the others suspected Marcus Winters СКАЧАТЬ