Page 41 of Vows of Murder

I opened my laptop, planning on updating my status and seeing what was going on with my virtual friends. I saw that New Hope Lies, Friends and Parents of Deceived Members had a new post. Their name might be long, but at least it showed a clear direction for the group. And they’d let me join the group without having to answerany questions.

A man, Tanner O’Dell, had posted an update on his missing wife, Heather. I pulled out my notebook where I’d been writing down ideas and noted the important facts ofHeather’s case.

She was at the compound. The security cameras at the fabric store showed her buying denim the day Amanda and I watched Carlie being detained by the police. I compared the grainy black-and-white screen shot to the summer picture on the lake he’d also posted of his wife.

At the end of his post, he wrote, “Just wait, I’ll have some answers today. That is if the South Cove police aren’t on the take, like we believe they are.”

I texted the link and the last line to Greg. “What is he planning?”

Greg called instead of responding. “I can’t believe they did that. We got an anonymous tip last night asking for a welfare check—someone’s kids had gone to the compound with his wife. This must be that Heather. Now the compound knows we’re coming, and we’ll be the idiots both there and with this group.”

“How will the compound know you’re coming?” I was confused. Did they have to announcewelfare checks?

“You knew. You don’t think Roger and Maryanne are smart enough to put a spy into the group? Did they ask you any questions when they let you in?”

I hadn’t thought of that. “No. They didn’t.”

“I’ve got to go. Toby’s probably calling off work for the week at the bookstore until we can get this under control.” He paused. “Sorry if it’s leaving you shorthanded.”

“We’ll be fine. I’ll split his hours between Deek and me. You get to tell your mom she’s lost her personal tour guide.”

He chuckled. “I think she’s going home with Jim and Beth soon anyway. She’s worn out.”

“She thinks she’s giving us space. She doesn’t realize that during an investigation, we have all the space we need.” I ended the conversation and opened the Google calendar for the store. Toby had five shifts to cover. I checked my calendar, then emailed the staff and offered to take two and switch for the rest if I could have the early shift.

Then I dug into the links Beth had sent me about the Matthews brothers. I copied my thanks to Greg, so he wouldn’t think I was hiding anything.

By noon, I’d read everything and I had an idea. I went into my office and found my old address book. I found the number I was looking for and dialed. I got voice mail, no surprise. Anya Carter was always busy. She worked with Child Protection Services. I also knew she answered her voicemails while she drove to the next appointment.

“Hey, Anya, a blast from the past, it’s Jill Gardner. Can you give me a call? I’ve got some questions about welfare checks.” I left her my number and set the phone down. I was at a standstill. At least with the compound. I went back to the Facebook group and looked for any over-the-top threats against the church or Kane himself.

By the time I’d finished, I had ten names. Eight still were members and two had closed out their Facebook page or just stopped posting. I started with these two. I got hits on both with obituaries.

I bookmarked the pages, then looked at the other relatives listed on the obituaries and added them to my list.

If Greg didn’t have these names already, I might be adding them to his list of suspects to weed out. Then again, one of these people might just have acted on the threatsthey’d posted.

As I finished up the list, I went back to the group page and studied the posts that Tanner O’Dell had made. His wife had cleared out their joint bank accounts, cashed in her 401(k), and taken off to join the New Hope church. And she’d taken the younger son, Jimmy, with her.

Mr. O’Dell’s post said the older boy had been in school, but when his mom tried to pick him up in the middle of basketball practice he told her he’d get a ride from a friend. Then he’d called his dad to see why Mom had Jimmy in the car with a pile of suitcases. The post had the hashtag #thankgodforafterschoolsports.

Now, the dad wanted his other son back. He’d filed for divorce and gotten full custody, so if Greg did find Tanner’s son at the compound, he could returnhim to his dad.

It all sounded too adversarial for a church, at least to me. Where was “turn the other cheek” and why did the Matthewses pretend tobe living a simple life while dining at expensive restaurants? And have two million in stock?

I didn’t think I was going to get very far with my internet research. I didn’t have anywhere to be until Tuesday morning when I would open the bookstore, so I decided to go shopping and fill our fridge. Maybe I’d get lucky; if I bought a full gallon of milk, Greg would solve the case today. If I didn’t buy food on the chance that we might be leaving sooner rather than later, the case would stay open. It just worked that way. I’d buy the stuff to make a pie as well. It would at least keep me busy. I could have my aunt clear out the fridge if we left town. Or Toby. Toby loved getting free food.

I went through the fridge, discarding old stuff as I made my list. The farmers market was closed for the season, so I added fruits and vegetables to the list. I’d figure out which ones when I got to the store. Then I texted Greg and asked if he needed anything.

The reply I got made me curious.Can’t talk. Toby says we’re out of dog food.

I went into the laundry room. Toby was right. We were getting close to being out of Emma’s food. I added it and dryer sheets to the list.

I checked the weather and found that it was going to be cool all day. I grabbed Emma’s leash. “You can come with me. You’ll have to stay in the car when I’m at the grocery store, but we’ll go to the dog food place together.”

Emma wagged her tail. She understood go. And probably dog food. But she’d be so excited when we hit the pet store. I took a couple of ice packs out of the freezer and put them in an insulated bag. I’d put them in the cooler we kept in the back of the Jeep for grocery runs.

But when we got to the car, there was no cooler. Someone had cleaned out the Jeep for the wedding. It took me a few more minutes to find it in the shed. By the time we got going, I was starving. But food would have to wait until we hit Bakerstown since there wasn’t a fast-food place nearby.

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