“Yes, she’s here,” I replied, glancing down at Eden’s wide-eyed expression.
“If both of you can come over as soon as possible, we’d appreciate it. The stores are fine. Just…something we need you to see. And bring your phone. I want to take a look at it.”
I told her we’d be right there, scrambled to get dressed, and grabbed Eden’s hand. The streets were silent and empty at this time of night, but an odd chemical smell hit us the minute we turned onto Main Street. Then, as we got closer, the flashing lights of emergency vehicles illuminated the area outside our stores.
“What the hell?” Eden whispered.
Right outside our front doors sat the charred husk of a car. Barriers blocked off the street again, though there was no traffic at this time of night, so I pulled into a parking spot on the next block and we moved toward Rose, both of us staring at the burnt car.
“Milo. Eden, this is Chief Roberts,” Rose said, introducing Spruce Hill’s police chief.
Eden murmured a polite greeting as the chief shook her hand. Though Roberts was originally from Oakville, the next town over, he’d been part of our community for a long time, coaching Little League and volunteering at school events. In all my life, I’d never seen him look the way he looked now.
Completely and utterly furious.
He schooled his expression as he spoke to Eden, but when we all looked toward the car, I caught his scowl out of the corner of my eye. Whatever this was, he wasnothappy about it.
“I know it’s hard to tell,” Roberts said in a low voice, “but that car was originally pale gold. Plate matches the partial we got from a witness at the coffee shop.”
Eden jerked at my side, her hand clenching tight around mine. I turned her into my arms and met Roberts’ gaze over her head.
“If you were going to destroy evidence of a drive-by, wouldn’t you do it somewhere not associated with the crime?” I asked.
“You might, unless you wanted to send a message.” Roberts gestured for us to move to the sidewalk in front of the stores. “Hanson said you got a phone call tonight?”
“Yes. The caller said, ‘You’re next,’ and hung up.”
“Man? Woman? Any indication?”
I frowned. “No. It was quiet and hoarse, like they were disguising their voice.”
“Phone number?” Rose asked.
“Local,” I told her, “but I didn’t recognize it. I would’ve tried a reverse look-up, but you called right after.”
She held out a hand, so I passed her the phone. Roberts led me and Eden closer to the wreckage of the vehicle while Rose jogged toward a police cruiser parked down the block. When Eden shivered, I tucked her back under my arm, then we caught sight of the side of the burnt car and my body locked solid.
PURIFY.
The word was gouged deep into the metal, showing starkly silver against the blackened skeleton of the vehicle.
Eden let out a strangled sob before burying her face against my chest. For a long moment, I stared at the car, then I looked at Chief Roberts. My blood had frozen, like ice water now ran through my veins.
“Who owns the car?” I asked.
Roberts glanced at Eden, then said, “It’s registered to the Church of Eternal Light, out in Cortland. Do you know anything about that location?”
“That’s the church my parents belong to,” Eden replied, “but they were in Binghamton. My brother is the minister there now. I didn’t even know there was a congregation in Cortland.”
“Only name associated with that location is Pastor Simon Baumgartner, who reported the car stolen three weeks ago. His name ring any bells?”
Eden shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I stopped attending services with my parents when I was twelve. I haven’theard from them since I left home at eighteen, and I only know about my brother because Addie found an article about him.”
“We’ll be taking a closer look, don’t you worry. Cortland’s only an hour and a half away, but that’s a trek for random acts of malice.”
That was true—which meant there was probably a resident of Spruce Hill with some connection to the church, maybe a connection to Eden’s past. I wanted to sweep her in my arms and take her away from here until the culprit was caught, but the chances of getting her to agree to that seemed slim.
“Are we in danger? Is Milo in danger? That phone call has to be related to this,” Eden said quietly.
