Astrid’s reflexes kicked into gear without her leaving the car. She scanned everything nearby, seeing the homeless woman pushing a trolley piled with bags, the overturned pram and the guy on a mountain bike, until the stray dog caught her attention. Only it wasn’t a stray, but running towards its owner, a large man who was dragging Evie next to him. As he bundled her into the back of the vehicle, Astrid was already driving towards them. At her speed, she’d catch them before they pulled away. But did she want to?
Maybe this abductor has something to do with the Glick murders?
Which meant Evie was in danger. Yet if others were involved, then it also meant Astrid could follow this car to them. It was a risk, but was it one worth taking? She relaxed and eased the pressure on her foot, letting the car slow to stay a safe distance behind them.
What if there’s someone else in the car and they’re hurting Evie now?
Not if they’ve got a dog with them. It was an irrational rationalisation, but she didn’t fight against it. She followed them across the river and away from the residential areas, past a long barren field where horses searched for something to eat and into what appeared to be an abandoned industrial park. It had taken no more than fifteen minutes as they stopped near a large factory. Astrid parked outside the gates, hoping she was well out of sight.
Two men and the mutt got out and the bloke she’d seen earlier dragged Evie into the open. The men talked to each other while the dog barked, and Evie squirmed in the arm of the big guy. Then he let her go and she spoke to him.
Why doesn’t she run?
Astrid watched them chatter away as if they were old friends, surprised to see Evie scrunch over to pat the dog on the nose. Astrid scratched her head as they entered the factory. Her confusion lasted no more than twenty seconds before she got out of the car and followed them into the industrial park and up to the factory gate. The hound stopped barking as Astrid stepped inside.
There was a long corridor ahead of her, with offices on each side. They were either empty or contained a single upturned chair or desolate table as if the former occupants had recently left.
The sound of voices dragged her to the end of the corridor and a wide entrance. She hung back in the shadows and peered inside, seeing Evie hugging the dog and surrounded by six people. Two were the blokes from the car, another man and two women she didn’t recognise, but one she did: the girl from outside the hotel who’d pulled the gun on Evie.
She was ready to rush forward when they bent their knees to Evie. Astrid restrained the gulp in her throat and steadied her hand against the wall. The cold concrete flaked onto her fingers, and bits of it dribbled across her leg. She shook it off as she strode towards the strange scene ahead of her.
‘What’s going on, Evie?’
All of them jumped with a mixture of shock and suspicion aimed at her. The mutt stepped forward and growled, until Evie pulled it back.
‘Down, Chief. She’s a friend.’
Astrid kept one eye on the hound and the other on the group. ‘Do you know these people?’
Evie’s eyebrows narrowed as she controlled the dog. ‘I recall Chief from my time in the church.’ She glanced at the men and women around her. ‘I was too young to remember most of them, and Josie was younger than me.’ She stared at the girl who’d threatened her life. ‘She’s still younger than me, but that’s why I didn’t recognise her at the hotel.’
The questions stacked up in Astrid’s head. ‘Josie tried to kill you.’
Evie continued to peer at the petrified young woman. ‘I don’t think she meant me any harm. She’s just scared.’
‘Scared of what?’
Evie moved forward and put one hand on Astrid’s arm. ‘She’s scared of the same things we all are: of loneliness, of not being loved, of rejection, of ridicule. And that’s just the start. They had an environment which protected them, but it’s gone now, and they’re confused.’
Astrid analysed each of them, recognising what Evie was speaking about and understanding what this was.
‘Are these what’s left of your parents’ congregation?’
She nodded. ‘After the accident, after they died, there was no one strong enough to hold it together. Most drifted off to other churches, some abandoned their beliefs, and this is what remains.’
‘Six people and a dog?’ Astrid didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She watched Josie retreat into the shadows. ‘Did she come to the hotel to ask you to lead the church?’
Evie leant into her so the others wouldn’t hear her words. ‘Can you imagine such a thing? I’d laugh, but I don’t want to upset them.’
Astrid addressed the biggest bloke. ‘Did you go to her brother first?’
His face was grim enough to give young kids nightmares. ‘There were more of us then. He laughed in our faces and slammed the door on us. But now we know why.’ The group mumbled between themselves.
‘Adam didn’t kill the Glick girls.’ There was a fire in Evie’s eyes Astrid hadn’t seen before. ‘And I’m not leading your church. My parents funded the website for a decade, so you’ve got plenty of time to attract more members without me.’
She turned her back on them and stormed away. Astrid lingered there for a second, wondering if one of the adults was the drunk driver who’d killed Evie’s parents. Then she put the thought from her mind and followed her outside. She found her next to the car, smoking a cigarette. Astrid coughed as if she’d caught her doing something illegal.
‘Where did you get that?’
Evie took two drags before throwing it down. ‘It’s been in my pocket with the matches for seven years.’ She held the box up. ‘They still work, but it tastes terrible after all this time.’
Astrid kicked the butt into the gutter. ‘They’re all terrible, no matter how old they are.’
Just like people.