Allison Brennan - Silenced

Noah asked, “Did Ivy attend church here?”

“I don’t keep a roster. Everyone is welcome.”

“But you recognize her.”

“That photo is unclear.”

Noah was growing frustrated. He changed tactics. “Do you also run the preschool?”

“Yes. When I left the Army I got my degree in Early Childhood Education.”

“You served?”

“Yes, sir. Corporal, Fort Hood. Spent a year in Iraq as a Chaplain.”

“Air Force,” Noah said. “Captain, Raven Force.”

“The Ravens. Elite.”

He shrugged it off. Ninety percent of his job had been guarding aircraft and transporting international prisoners. Not very exciting. “How many students do you have?”

“The numbers fluctuate. We average ten to twelve, but can have more. We’re licensed with the city.”

“There was a car crash down the street earlier this morning, followed by gunfire.”

“I heard about it after the fact. I didn’t hear any gunshots, but Remus told me about the crash. He’d taken the children to the park before it got too hot, and the crash meant they had to take the long way back.”

“Ivy was in the car. I think she came here after the crash. Did you see her? Anyone who had been in a wreck?”

Now Noah realized he had the pastor. Marti had been trying her best to obfuscate and not tell a lie-either because she was devout, or because she didn’t want to be caught lying to a federal agent, which was a crime.

“A young woman did come in here,” she said momentarily, “with a cut on her arm. She didn’t say she’d been in an accident. I offered to take her to the hospital, she declined. I gave her a small first-aid kit, and she left.”

Noah was getting tired of twenty questions. “Had you seen her before?”

“Yes, she had been here for services in the past.”

“Did she leave on foot or in a vehicle?”

“She walked out.”

Noah handed Marti his card. “You may think you’re protecting Ivy, but you’re putting her in more danger. Someone is trying to kill her, and nearly killed my partner in that crash. I can help her, but only if she comes to me. Two of the girls who lived in that house are dead, and it’s my opinion that whoever killed the two girls intends to kill Ivy and the others. If he finds Ivy before I do, she will die. I’m sure you don’t want that on your conscience.” He started to walk out, then stopped and turned to face her. “If she contacts you in any way, give her my number. If you find out where she is, let me know immediately. She has a diagnosed medical condition that could make her a danger to herself or others. I want to help her, but she has to come forward. If she comes in on her own, it will help her.”

Marti rose from the pew. She was taller than Noah, at least six foot two. “Agent Armstrong? A lying tongue hates those it hurts.”

She tilted her chin up, making the stately woman appear even taller. “Don’t take everything you hear as Gospel. You may leave.”

Ivy waited until the FBI agent had left before she came downstairs.

“He’s still outside. I see him watching.”

“You’re safe here. I locked the front door.”

“The Reverend is coming. He’s going to take Sara. He’s already lied and they believe him.”

Only one person would have told the FBI that she had been diagnosed mentally ill. Her father.

Her entire body shook so hard she thought she’d crack right down the middle. She had to get it together or she’d never make it out of town.

Marti came over and put her large, narrow hands on Ivy’s shoulders. “You are no longer safe here. The FBI will be back.”

“I know.” She breathed deeply. “You’ll find Mina a home?”

“I have an old friend in Fort Hood. We went to theology school together. She’ll love Mina like we do. I’m already getting the papers in order. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Mina is her niece from upstate New York. No one will question it. You’ve done the best you can, Ivy. You saved Mina, protected her all this time. Now let me. Let me help.”

Ivy nodded. “Thank you.”

“Your identities will be here in the morning. Take Sara, do not tell me where. I am not a good liar.”

“And I’m too good.”

“God has forgiven you. Now forgive yourself.”

Ivy chest heaved in silent sobs. Marti pulled her into a tight, bony hug, and Ivy had never felt so loved since the night her mother tried to save her from the monster.

Sean did not take well to being threatened.

He considered calling his brother Duke about Paxton’s bombshell, but decided to keep it to himself for now. He didn’t want to tell Duke what he’d done. Not because he regretted it, but because he’d learned the hard way to keep his not-quite-legal activities a secret.

It was nearly eleven years ago while at Stanford University that Sean hacked into a tenured professor’s computer and exposed him as a child pornographer. It was a brilliant plan. When the FBI got involved over the illegal hacking, he came forward, admitted what he’d done, expecting a medal for getting the pervert thrown off campus and under indictment.

Instead, he’d been arrested.

Duke had fixed it, but Sean had never trusted the FBI after that. Duke got him into MIT, even though Sean wanted nothing to do with any educational or government institution. But of course he went. He’d always done what Duke wanted, at least on the surface.

Sean knew exactly what Paxton was referring to, because there was only one felony Sean had committed that had a statute of limitation of ten years. The ten years was up next March. Eight months, one week from yesterday.

He had to put the situation on hold because right now, there were far more important things to worry about than his freedom. As soon as he solved Paxton’s blackmail problem, he’d find the answer he needed.

He pushed the thoughts aside and got to work. Paxton had e-mailed Sean his appointment schedule from the week he said the note Lucy wrote had been stolen.

He hated being put in the position of keeping something this important from Lucy. His stomach ached, a sure sign that he was torn. And there was no one he could talk to about it. Patrick was out of town, and Sean didn’t know how he would react if he knew Lucy had kept such an important piece of information secret. Her sister-in-law Kate would understand, and Sean trusted her more than any other fed, but Kate was still a fed and Sean would be putting her in a compromising position.

Sean wasn’t as conflicted about keeping the information about Lucy’s acceptance into the FBI a secret. It would destroy her, and Sean wasn’t going to be party to that. If she quit because he told her, it would taint their relationship forever. Worse, she’d give up on her dream. She would say she understood, but he remembered how upset she’d been when she failed her first personal interview.

She not only deserved this assignment, she would make an amazing cop. Better than most cops out there. Sean would much rather she work for RCK. Her instincts were sharp and she certainly had the brains for private security work, but that’s not what Lucy wanted.

Paxton’s schedule had been full the last week of June. He had meetings with locally elected officials, lobbyists, nonprofit groups, other congressmen-more than a dozen meetings on Monday alone. How could someone work like that? Sean kept meetings to a minimum. Sitting around doing nothing, in Sean’s mind. He knew part of it was his kinetic personality-he had to be doing something, physically or mentally.

Normally, Sean would forward the list to RCK West and have their support staff do the grunt work, but he didn’t trust anyone else with this job, and he didn’t want to explain it to his brother. This kind of work, though simple, needed to be thorough. At least it kept his mind going, and he ran multiple searches simultaneously.