Cold Betrayal

“This is nothing but idle speculation,” Alvarado declared. “It’s also utterly absurd. Amos would never do something like that. What makes you think this girl is telling the truth?”

“What makes you think she isn’t?” Ali countered.

They had reached an impasse. “Amos Sellers is a sworn deputy,” Sheriff Alvarado said finally. “I trust him.”

It was as simple as that. Alvarado trusted Amos Sellers and Ali didn’t. Any operational intel shared with Alvarado would go straight to The Family via Sellers. It was time to back away from her real purpose in coming here and take shelter in the backup story.

Ali stood up. “Do me a favor,” she said. “The next time you see Deputy Sellers, you might ask him about Jane Doe as well as that missing evidence box. If I happen to see him first, I’ll do the same.”

“Fair enough,” Alvarado said. He started to rise.

“Don’t bother showing me out,” Ali said. “I can find my own way.”

She waited until she was out in the parking lot before she called Sean Fergus’s number and left a message on his voice mail. “Ali Reynolds here. Sheriff Alvarado stands behind his deputy one hundred percent. That means that, as far as I’m concerned, the sheriff isn’t a trustworthy ally in terms of any operation launched against The Family. You asked for my opinion, and here it is. If you want to maintain the element of surprise, you’d best leave Sheriff Alvarado and his department out of the equation.”

30

Ali filled up with gas before leaving Kingman. On the two-hour drive back to Flagstaff, she struggled to stay awake. She was on the phone to Andrea Rogers, telling her she’d be at the shelter around one, when a call came through from an unknown number. Half expecting it to be from a law enforcement official of some kind, Ali switched over immediately.

“Ali Reynolds here.”

“Where did they go?” a male voice demanded urgently. “I can’t reach Sister Anselm, and no one at the hospital will tell me anything.”

It took a moment for Ali to recognize David Upton’s voice.

“Oh, David,” she said. “Yes. The hospital was worried about security issues. They suggested that Enid and the baby be moved elsewhere. They’re on their way to a hospital near Tucson. I thought you knew all about it.”

“Before I left the hospital last night, there was some talk about transferring her,” David said, “but I had no idea it would happen this fast. What I don’t understand is what am I supposed to do with Patricia and Agnes?”

“Who?”

“Patricia and Agnes,” David said, “Enid’s friends. She was afraid someone might figure out that they’d helped her, so I went and got them.”

“The Brought Back girls from Colorado City?”

“Where else?”

“How did you find them?”

“How do you think?” David replied. “Enid gave me the address. My car is impounded. I drove up there in a borrowed minivan. I used the GPS on my phone to locate the address and followed that to hike in and find them. There was a third girl Enid was worried about—someone named Mary. Patricia showed me where she’s being held—a jail kind of thing, right next to the church—but that was locked up tight. We tried to find a way to let her out but couldn’t. By then it was starting to get light. We finally had to leave Mary where she was and get the hell out. I wanted to be back in the van and out of there before anyone noticed they were gone.”

“Where are you now?” Ali asked.

“Back in Flag.”

“Are Patricia and Agnes there with you now?” Ali asked.

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean, not exactly?”

“I left them in the van out in the parking lot while I came into the hospital,” David said. “The way they are now, I couldn’t bring them inside and I couldn’t take them to my dorm, either.”

“Why not?”

David sighed. “Because they’re dirty. They’re dressed in filthy rags and they stink. On the way down, cold as it is, I had to drive with the windows open just to breathe. You wouldn’t believe the way they were forced to exist, looking after the pigs and having to live with them, too. No wonder Enid was so afraid of being taken back home. The same thing would have happened to her. No telling what they would have done to her baby.”

Unfortunately, Ali had an idea of the kind of fate that would have awaited Enid’s child. She took a deep breath. “Do you know where the YWCA is?”

“I think so. Why?”

“Take them there. If you go around to the back of the building, you’ll find an entrance to the women’s shelter, Irene’s Place. The director, Andrea Rogers, is a friend of mine. I’ll call ahead and let her know you’re on your way. I’m coming there, too.”

“What’s going to happen to them?” David insisted. “Enid is on her way to Tucson, so she’s probably safe. What if someone comes after these two?”

“Did anyone follow you?”

“No,” he answered. “At least I don’t think so. I tried to keep an eye out. Patricia told me they usually don’t talk to anyone until early evening when they go up to the house to get food. They gave the pigs an extra feeding before we left, but still, if the animals start acting up, someone may notice the girls are gone sooner than tonight.”

“Okay,” Ali said. “Go to the shelter. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Andrea can help them get cleaned up and find something for them to wear in the clothing bank. After you drop them off, wait around in case I need to talk to you.”

Ending the call, she immediately redialed Andrea and let her know what was happening.

“Don’t worry,” Andrea said. “We’ll look after them.”

Andrea sounded reassuring, but as far as Ali was concerned, looking after Patricia and Agnes wasn’t the most pressing issue. Off the phone with Andrea, Ali immediately located the last call to Sean Fergus and punched that number. She was relieved when he answered the phone.

“Did you receive my earlier message?” Ali asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “I did. Going around Sheriff Alvarado makes it tough, but I’m working on an alternate strategy.”

“Good,” she said without asking for details. “Right now we’ve got another problem.”

“What?”

Trying to explain David Upton’s co

“There goes any chance of taking them by surprise,” Sean muttered.

“Exactly.”

“You say this person hiked in?”

“Yes. His name’s David Upton.”

“How did he gain access? Did he encounter any resistance going or coming—any guards or anti-intrusion devices?”

“Not that he mentioned. According to him, he parked somewhere along the highway and walked in and out.”

“In that case,” Sean said after a pause, “maybe losing the element of surprise isn’t as big an issue as we thought. If this chap was able to gain access to the compound without being detected, he may be able to tell us what route he followed.”

“All right,” she said. “I’m almost to my exit. I should be meeting up with David in the next few minutes. I’ll have him give you a call.”

Ali pulled into the parking lot behind the YWCA and parked next to a dusty Dodge Caravan minivan. David, waiting in the doorway, came out to meet her.

“Is this what you drove up and back in?” Ali asked.