“Probably, but isn’t that something you can easily find out?” His cluelessness was hard to believe, given how deeply involved he’d been with The Society. Unless…
“Are you no longer with them?”
Eliot leaned back and sighed. “Well, isn’t that a loaded question? The short answer is no—I’m no longer with The Society. A lot has changed since you left.”
Dread grew in the pit of my stomach. If Eliot couldn’t help, what chance did I have to find out more? “If you’re no longer with them, then why did you give them Nick?”
He had the nerve to look apologetic. “Just as you have a cross to bear, so do I. In your case, it’s in the form of a tracker and a yearly brutal visit. In my case, my freedom was granted in exchange for delivering one young man to them each year.”
“You were doing that regardless.”
“While I was still with them, yes. But I wanted to leave completely, to sever my ties with them, and that was their price. They hadn’t asked me to deliver anyone for almost three years, and I began to believe that I was finally done with that part of my life.”
“So, what happened? Did Agatha tell you to give them Nick?”
He nodded. “She did, and I see that you’ve figured out her involvement. Nick’s case was peculiar because The Society had never asked me for anyone specifically. Since I’m no longer in contact with them, I couldn’t ask them directly about it, and Agatha agreed that this was indeed odd.”
Then it meant she hadn’t been the one to choose him. I was gaining more questions than answers. “I first met Nick a few weeks before he disappeared,” I said. “Do you think they knew about that?”
He shrugged. “Perhaps, although I can’t see why they’d care.”
I didn’t either. Seeing Nick a few times wasn’t the same as dating a detective. “Why did they put Nick’s video on the darknet? It makes no sense.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What video?”
“A video of him being tortured in the dungeon. The police found it.”
He shook his head. “I can honestly say that I’m shocked. That goes against everything I know about them.”
“Well, what about The Director? Can’t you speak with him and find out more?”
“Oh my.” Eliot sighed. “I have so many things to tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s no point, Jonah. If they’ve taken the detective, he’s gone. You know that. Let it go.”
“I’m not going to do that. If you tell me where the estate is, I’ll—”
“I don’t know.”
I smacked my fist on the table. “What the fuck does that mean? You’ve been there many times!”
He raised his hands. “Calm down.”
“They took him, Eliot. Hayden, he… shit.” I wiped my eyes frantically, my defenses crumbling. “His boss told him to drop the investigation, but he insisted on solving it behind his back. I tried to make him change his mind, but I didn’t try hard enough, and now…”
“Now he’s paying the price for his stubbornness, but if you end up dead, how would that help him?”
I couldn’t see myself moving on knowing that they had him, knowing what he was going through. That scar on my conscience would never heal. “How can you not know where they are?”
“The Society changes the estate every decade or so. When a new location is ready, they destroy the old one. Last time was about four years ago, but I was no longer a member by then.”
“And The Director?”
He shook his head. “My brother can’t help you, I promise.”
I stopped myself from asking why because the less I knew about Eliot and his brother, the better. “Then who can tell me? Someone must know.”
