Page 104 of 5 Golden Flings

She glanced between the two men, taking their measure. “A preparatory school sounds very fancy out here in the country?”

Immediately Colby knew where her thoughts were going. They’d talked about the town leaders, the upper class. He could see where she’d be suspicious.

“Gray is a friend I grew up with,” he quickly said. “Knox here started the boy’s school earlier this year. He and Gray knew each other in the military and went to high school together, but Knox isn’t from Thornbury Woods.”

That backbone relaxed just a notch.

“Why the room?” she asked, obviously not convinced.

Gray spoke from just behind Knox. “Where the materials were hidden can tell us a lot. Plus, we want to compare it to what we’ve already found.”

She nodded slowly. “And that is?”

“During renovations,” Knox said, “We’ve found some evidence beneath Hawthorne Manor of some kind of cult. Possibly linked to a rash of missing women that occurred—unsolved—about twenty years ago. We are quietly investigating what happened there—and now possibly here.”

“Is it still happening?” Brynn was nothing if not direct. Colby was proud of her. For her own safety, she needed to ask...and they both needed to know.

Knox glanced over his shoulder at Gray, who gave a quick nod. He turned back to Brynn. “We don’t have any evidence at the moment of women going missing now, but we think some of the original players are still out there. That’s why we’re investigating—we need to be sure.”

“What about holding them accountable?”

Knox’s hands tightened into fists. His expression turned hard and closed. “Oh, they won’t all get away this time.”

Whatever Brynn saw in his face satisfied her. She stood and led them through the doorway leading to the kitchen area. Without speaking, she pushed the cabinet aside, then gestured toward the darkness below.

Knox and Gray took small but bright flashlights from their pockets to light their way. Brynn remained near the edge, staring down into the shadowed hole as if she didn’t trust it for one minute.

“Are you okay?” Colby asked.

Seeing that look on her face caused guilt to settle low in his stomach, as if he’d left her behind in a place that scared her.The foot of space between them felt like a mile, when he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and keep her safe.

Brynn slowly shook her head. “I just—I know something bad happened down there.”

Colby agreed. He could feel it in the air. See in his mind the visage of the woman crying by the alter. He’d known a bit of a sixth sense at accident scenes. He always had a feeling as he approached. Somehow, he knew if the person up ahead was going to make it or not.

Unfortunately, he’d never been wrong. But that had not prepared him for what he’d seen in the cellar.

“You can stay up here if you want?” he said, keeping his voice low, his words just between them.

Honestly, he had no desire to descend those stairs. He would never force her to do so.

Brynn shook her head. “No. It’s okay. I want to know what they think, what they see.”

Colby could understand that, even though he worried. He held his hand out until Brynn placed her palm against his. He didn’t let go as they descended the creaky, dust-covered stairs into the suffocating blackness.

Knox and Gray had crossed to the other side of the room, crouching behind the lectern to look inside. Brynn pulled him to the right, almost skirting the edges of the room to join them, despite the space in the middle being empty.

As they stood, Gray focused on the antlers hanging on the back wall with his flashlight. “Definitely the same group,” he said, his voice almost musing. “Maybe the origins? Same symbolism.” The circle of light swept over the lectern and table. “Same setup.”

Feeling his throat tighten up, Colby coughed to try to clear it. “So, this isn’t some kind of makeshift sanctuary then? Like maybe an original one before they built the church upstairs?”

“Oh, it is. But not the kind you’re thinking of.”

The grimness of Knox’s voice almost echoed in the dark space. Brynn crossed to stand beside the altar table. “So the woman in the picture, the one who looked like she was sleeping here?” She glanced back over at Colby as if he would have the answer.

The men were silent so long Colby felt dread sink into him. But he couldn’t deny his curiosity of the “how” even though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she was gone.

Finally, Knox said, “She was either drugged or already dead.”

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