Page 59 of Fighting for Mallory

“I’m sorry, Ali. I’m being as gentle as I can.”

“Yes, I believe you.” His breathing grew heavier.

“Almost done.”

After she finished tending to Ali’s back, Mallory relished the cheeseburger and fries, though cold. Ali watched her in amusement.

“You brought me just what I wanted, Ali. Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

She pinned him with her eyes. “What happens to me tomorrow?”

“Osiris’ handmaidens will come to prepare you for the ceremony.”

“What does that entail?”

“I do not know. We men are forbidden to observe, and the women do not speak about it.”

Handmaidens? Somehow Mallory assumed only men belonged to this crazy cult straight out of an episode of the Twilight Zone.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

27 September

Two days until Harvest Moon

“Forty-eight hours!” Luca railed. “That’s all the time we have left to find Mallory! And you’re telling us, Clayton, that you have no idea where the Cave of Osiris is located? You’re supposed to be the expert!”

To his credit, Clayton controlled his temper. “I am the expert. And as the resident expert, if I had known of such a cave, I would have taken you there yesterday. Obviously, there are caves in this area that haven’t been charted, like the one you fell into, Luca.”

“Then we need to go back to the entrance I discovered. Mallory marked the way with arrows. I saw them.”

“I think we should arrest Dr. Patricia Samir,” Judd suggested. “We already have her sister in custody. Dr. Khalil doesn’t know the location of the Cave of Osiris, but I bet Samir does.”

“I agree with Judd,” Hutch declared. “We should have arrested her yesterday. At the very least we should have continued to keep eyes on her.”

Luca nodded. “Make the call, Judd, to have her picked up.” When he spoke, his voice resonated with steel.

Judd contacted the Memphis PD, introduced himself, and asked to speak with the Chief of Police. The phone operator, suspicious of his identity, argued with him until he exploded. “I am U.S. Fuckin’ Attorney Judd Morgan! If you want to be responsible for the murder of D.A. Mallory Hayes in two days, then keep fuckin’ around! Now put your fuckin’ Chief of Police on the line!”

Faith sidled over to him and murmured, “That was the fuckin’ hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Judd grinned and planted a kiss on her lips, much to everyone’s amusement. When the Memphis Chief of Police came on the line, he put his cell phone on speaker. “Chief Watkins, I’m U.S. Attorney Judd Morgan out of LA County in California. Our D.A.’s husband, Bentley Hayes was brutally murdered by a cult, and they have abducted Mrs. Hayes with the intent of sacrificing her in two days. We believe Dr. Patricia Samir, a professor at the University of Memphis, knows where she is being held. Her nephew is the leader of this cult, and according to her sister, whom we’ve placed in protective custody, they are working together. We need her brought in for questioning ASAP. I’m in Rutherford County, but I can be in Memphis,” Judd glanced at Hutch, who flashed his hands three times, “in thirty minutes by helicopter.”

“Look, I’m not going to blindly take your word on this. Dr. Samir is a respected member of this community, well-loved by her students and peers.”

“She’s also a cold-blooded killer, and?”

Clayton intervened. “Hi ya, Chief Watkins. Clayton Wemys here. Remember me?”

The chief let out a sound of disgust. “Don’t tell me you’re mixed up in this. Never could stay out of trouble, could you?”

“It’s my middle name. Look, my new friends are tellin’ you the God-honest truth. We know Mallory Hayes is bein’ held in a cave here in Rutherford County, and Dr. Samir, pillar of the community that she is, can help us find her. And, I’m just gonna throw this out there, my new friends are connected to some powerful people. Cameron “Hurricane” McAdams, for one, and the Stones for another.”

They imagined the scowl on Chief Watkins face when Clayton name dropped.

“Be here in forty-five minutes, or this arrangement is off the table.”

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