“Uh, can it wait like two hours? I’m balls deep in the financials for the Delaney case and I’m just about to make them scream my name.”
Linc rolled his eyes. Calder laughed but Robby flushed, his gaze dropping to his hands. Was he thinking of last night? Of Calder buried balls deep inside him? Of the noises he made or how hard he’d come? Did he want to do it again? Calder couldn’t fucking wait to do it again. He mentally shook the thought away. Linc was willing to forgive only so much, and overlooking inappropriate office boners was a big ask, especially after everything else.
“No. Now.”
All traces of humor were gone as Webster replied, “Roger that. Give me fifteen.”
Linc ended the call. “Are you sure this was your sister?”
Robby licked his bottom lip, nodding. “I only saw her for a minute, but yeah, I’m pretty sure. Who else would ask for my help?”
“Do you trust your sister?” Linc asked.
Robby shrugged. “I don’t really trust anybody…except you guys.”
Linc scribbled notes as he lobbed questions at Robby. “Could your sister be working with your father? Could this be a trap? What’s your sister’s age? Birthdate?”
“My sister and my father aren’t close. I don’t think it’s a trap but I don’t know. She’s about four years older than me, I guess. We never actually celebrated birthdays, so I don’t really know.”
“You don’t know your birthday, angel?” Calder asked, surprised.
“I mean, my father put September ninth on my birth certificate, but I don’t know if that’s my birthday or he just made something up for the birth certificate he ordered from the state. We were all born off the grid. The government didn’t know most of us existed until my father needed them to know.”
Calder shook his head. Jeb Shaw was a fucking monster in a thousand dollar suit. Everybody knew Magnus Dei was a cult of loons but nobody understood just how horrible conditions could be in places like that, how fast things could go from a dream to a nightmare. As a Texan, Calder remembered watching Waco unfold practically in his backyard. Even as a teenager, the horror of it was evident. Seventy-six people willing to die for a man who spouted nonsense. Would Jeb Shaw’s people die for him? Would they kill for him? How about this Brother Samuel? Which of these men were after Robby and why? Hopefully, Rebecca might have the answers.
“Tell me what you know about the church,” Linc said.
Robby once more wrapped his arms around himself. “They call themselves Christians. They preach the gospel with an emphasis on Old Testament. They teach that God is jealous, petty, vengeful. They are quick to punish, slow to praise. Most of the women looked to Samuel as some kind of messiah figure. They often shared his bed, even my mother. I think that’s when my father decided that what he wanted didn’t align with Samuel’s goals. Whatever those might be. My dad wanted money. He wanted the spotlight. He wanted fame. He saw religion as a way to justify his fury and indignation about growing up poor and staying poor. It’s been years since I left. I don’t really know what’s happened since. That’s why I think I need to talk to my sister.”
“You can’t meet your sister in public and you damn sure aren’t meeting her wherever she’s hiding out,” Calder said, leaving no room for argument. “I won’t have you putting yourself in harm’s way.”
“Ask her to meet you here, Robby,” Linc said. “Neutral territory. Also, if she’s on the run, then this is the safest place for her, right?”
Robby nodded.
Linc’s phone rang. Once more he left it on speaker. “Whacha got?”
“Burner phone. I can try to triangulate a signal but it’s not really going to help. That’s about the best I can do. Anything else? Or can I get back to the Delaney financials?”
“I need you to do something for me,” Calder said before he lost his nerve.
He thought he’d maintained his composure when he spoke, but given the stricken way both Linc and Robby were looking at him, maybe not. “What can I do for you?” Webster asked, sounding almost sympathetic.
“I—” Calder hesitated. Robby took his hand, threading their fingers together. Calder watched Linc make a note of it, but he had bigger things to worry about at the moment. “I need you to try to find my sister, Megan Michelle Seton. Date of birth four eleven sixty-eight. Brown hair, brown eyes, strawberry birthmark the shape of the Death Star on her left shoulder. She went missing in eighty-four. Disappeared outside Dugger’s Grocery in El Paso, Texas. Nobody’s seen her since.”
The silence was deafening. It was like they were all staring at an invisible corpse and nobody wanted to disturb the dead. Maybe it was the quiet? Maybe it was the way Robby squeezed his hand or the fact that Linc looked poleaxed. “I know, okay? I know she’s probably dead. I know she probably died hours after she disappeared. I’ve run the numbers. I know the statistics. I’d just like to know for certain. If possible, I’d like to bury her with my parents. I just need to know. Can you please help me do that?”
“Yeah, man. I can help you do that. It’s not a quick ask, but I’ll get on it as soon as I put the Delaney thing to bed. Okay?” Webster asked.
Calder nodded even though there was no way Webster could see him. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Once Webster hung up, Calder looked to Linc. “Anything else?”
“The keys to the safehouse,” Linc said, opening his middle desk drawer and tossing a set of keys in his direction. “The keys to the Land Rover are on there too. Ditch your truck in the garage and take that. The press knows what you’re driving and they have your license number. Have Robby make the call to his sister from one of the office lines before you leave. Just to be safe.”
“We’ll use the one in the conference room. I’ll be in touch.”
Calder and Robby were almost to the door when Linc called out, “Watch your six, hoss. I really hate religious zealots.”
Calder gave one last nod. “Will do.”
